GUELPH, Ont. – For the third straight game to begin their 2021 OUA regular season, the Guelph Gryphons found themselves in a contest that was decided by just one possession and came down to the final seconds. Unfortunately for the Gryphons, despite a late comeback, they wound up on the wrong end of a 123-121 final in overtime.
In what was an incredible back and forth contest that saw no leader bigger than nine, neither team was able to separate much from the other before having to play an extra five minutes.
Doing his best to propel the Gryphons to a victory over McMaster, Guelph guard,
Malcolm Glanville left everything he had on the floor scoring 11 points in the 4
th quarter, including three free throws with less than a second to play in regulation to force overtime. The Scarborough product then added nine more points in overtime, however, in the end it was not quite enough. Glanville finished the contest with 35 points and eight rebounds on 13 of 18 shooting.
Throughout the first quarter, neither team was able to create a lead bigger than four points before the Marauders wound up with a one-point lead after ten minutes.
Trying to pull away in the second, the Marauders began to put a couple of runs together. Early in the quarter, McMaster seem to have an answer for every Gryphon's basket. The Marauders were able to get their advantage as high as nine with 6:17 to play in the first half. After fighting back from a 15-point deficit to earn their first win of the season on Saturday against Windsor, the Gryphons began their comeback once again. Holding McMaster to just seven more points the rest of the quarter, Guelph scored 17 points of their own to take a two-point lead into the half.
Flipping the script from the start of the second quarter, the Gryphons came out of halftime as the aggressors. Scoring three of the first four field goals to begin the third quarter, along with a couple of free throws, Guelph had built up their own nine point lead. However, just like Guelph worked away at McMaster's nine point advantage, the Marauders returned the favour, fought their way back and managed to take a lead late in the quarter. After going back up by one, the Gryphons then ended the third on a high when
Khalid Ismail went coast to coast in the final seconds before laying the ball up and in right before the buzzer sounded giving Guelph a 75-72 lead heading to the fourth.
With neither side able to establish a lead bigger than five points during the final quarter of regulation, the entire crowd at the GGAC was left on the edge of their seat with each and every basket. As time wound down, McMaster found themselves leading by two in the final minute. After
Rasheed Weekes tied the game for Guelph tipping home an offensive rebound, the visitors came back down the other way. Drawing a foul, Marauder's guard, Sefa Otchere also made his shot from the free throw line for an old-fashioned three-point play, giving his side a three-point lead. Although it was a tremendous play by Otchere, it only served as an appetizer for what was about to happen next. With the clock running out, Glanville rose up from three with only 0.5 left on the clock and got fouled. Needing to make all three free throws to keep the game alive, Glanville did just that with the gym totally silent and all eyes on him.
However, despite the late effort, the Gryphons were unable to maintain the Marauders pace in overtime ultimately dropping the 123-121 decision.
Glanville led all scorers in the game with 35 points, while
Rasheed Weekes was second with 25. For Weekes, the 25 points served as one half of his double-double on Wednesday as he also recorded a team-high 13 rebounds. Weekes also led the Gryphons in assists with five.
Khalid Ismail had another strong contest for the Gryphons meanwhile, scoring 23 points on 9 of 16 shooting.
Although 1-2 on the season, the Gryphons have only been outscored by four points total in their two losses. The Gryphs will now head to Hamilton on Saturday looking to get their early season record back to even.
