GUELPH, Ont. – A signature win on their home court over the No. 4-ranked team in the country. The momentum continues to build for the red-hot Guelph Gryphons men's basketball team. On Friday night (Feb. 3) at the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre, the Gryphons picked up an impressive 94-84 victory over the visiting Queen's Gaels. The Gryphons used a big 3rd quarter, outscoring the Gaels 27-18, and had six different players score in double figures to hand the No. 4-nationally ranked Gaels (14-3) just their third loss of the entire season. Guelph joins Carleton and TMU as the only other schools to have defeated Queen's this season. The win marks the latest in an impressive five-game win streak for the Gryphons, who improve to 8-9 on the season and remain 3rd in the OUA West Division standings with just two weeks remaining in the regular season schedule.
Gryphons veteran point guard,
Keenan Dowell, put together perhaps his best performance of the season, scoring a team-high 20 points, to go along with 7 rebounds and 3 steals, to help lead the way for the Gryphons against the OUA East Division-leading Gaels. Dowell, a native of Surrey, B.C. currently in his final season as a Gryphon, knocked down four three-pointers on the night, with the Gryphons shooting an impressive 46.1% from the field as a team.
Dylan McFee, a transfer from Simon Fraser University currently in his first season at U of G, showed off his sharp-shooting abilities, going 5-of-8 from beyond the arc while pouring in 19 points in 27 minutes off the bench.
Rasheed Weekes (16 points, 9 rebounds),
Dezayne Mingo (14 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists),
Viktor Nausedas (10 points, 4 rebounds) and
Khalid Ismail (12 points, 4 assists) all made big contributions to a balanced Gryphon attack.
It is not the first time this season in which the Gryphons have shown the ability to go toe-to-toe with the very best programs in the country. Back on January 14, the Gryphons gave the three-time defending national champion Carleton Ravens all they could handle in Ottawa, with Carleton eventually earning a 78-73 win. Now, with a win over the No. 4-ranked Queen's Gaels on their resumé, the Gryphons will look to carry that momentum into Saturday night (Feb. 4) where another tough test awaits, this time in the form of a road matchup at Brock versus the No. 5-nationally ranked Badgers (13-3). Game time in St. Catharines on Saturday night is set for 8pm and can be seen live online at oua.tv.
The Gryphons have five games remaining in their 2022-23 regular season schedule, three of which come on home court.
