GUELPH, Ont. - For the second time this weekend, the No. 7-nationally ranked Guelph Gryphons knew they had a very tough opponent coming into their gym. Although they kept battling and competing up until the final whistle, they didn't quite have enough Sunday afternoon falling 72-62 to the No. 6-nationally ranked Carleton Ravens.

After going on an 18-6 run to end the 4th-quarter and force overtime on Friday against the No. 4-nationally ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees, the Gryphons found themselves in a trailing position on Sunday and in need of that big run again, but the Ravens were able to snuff each of Guelph's attempts.

Midway through the opening quarter the Ravens were able to establish a 14-5 lead over Guelph. Despite seeing the Carleton lead get as high as 14 points in the 1st though, the Gryphons managed to push back before the buzzer sounded. Using a five-point spurt from Ashley Wheeler, the Gryphons were able to trim the deficit to 21-13 heading into the 2nd-quarter.

Able to get the Carleton advantage down to just four points early in the quarter, the Gryphons continued to show their fight and determination. Unfortunately, an injury to their 3rd-year guard Burke Bechard seemed to take some of the air out of their sails. Trying to compensate for not having one of their best players on the floor, the Gryphons did their best to adjust, but the adjustment took some time. As the 2nd-quarter continued on the Ravens were able to take advantage of the process by going up 40-24 heading into the half.

In the 2nd-half, the Gryphons were able to get organized on both ends of the floor and they began to see the results on the scoreboard.

Having trimmed the Carleton lead down to 10 in the 3rd-quarter, the Gryphons ultimately wound up gaining three points in the frame as the Ravens held a 55-42 advantage heading to the final ten minutes of regulation. 

Like they have all season long, the Gryphons continued to fight no matter what the score said, or which of their bodies were healthy. Getting solid contributions from their bench, Guelph again was able to win the quarter, but in the end it wasn't quite enough to complete the comeback.

"Hanna (Pryce) and Ashley (Wheeler) stepped up today and did everything in their power to try and get the ship pointed the right way," said Gryphon's head coach Mark Walton. "I'm continuously impressed by the fact that somebody will step up every time. I also thought Burke (Bechard) did a tremendous job of setting the tone on defence as well despite the result."

From start to finish, Ashley Wheeler had the hot hand for the Gryphons on Sunday. Wheeler finished with a game-high 19 points shooting 7-8 from the field. Off the bench, Hanna Pryce tallied 12 points for the home team, while MacKeely Shantz also hit double-digits for Guelph scoring 10 points. 

For the Gryphons, who now sit at 4-2 this season, they'll get set to travel to Waterloo on Wednesday. They will play their first of two games in the upcoming week when they battle the Laurier Golden Hawks. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00pm.