Jan. 7: Guelph 3 – Lakehead 66 – Guelph 55

 

GUELPH – The Guelph Gryphon men's basketball team dropped a 66-55 final to the Lakehead Thunderwolves on Friday night at the W.F. Mitchell Centre. The Gryphons record drops to 3-6, while the Thunderwolves improve to 7-2.

 

It's clear that injuries are catching up with the Guelph Gryphon's squad. With three starters in street clothes, the Gryphon's bench only had so much fire power to give. And it wasn't until an unfortunate turnover and an intentional foul in the final quarter that sealed their fate.

 

The Thunderwolves were led by Yoosrie Salhia's double-double, scoring a game high 25 points while grabbing 12 rebounds.

 

The Gryphon's were led by George Mason's (Orillia, Ont.) 15 points, while Jerald Greenidge (Brampton, Ont.) added 11 points in the losing effort. The Gryphon's were done in by their up and down offense, who couldn't put together successive quarters to put away a gritty Lakehead team.

 

Guelph was able to take an early nine point lead thanks to strong defensive pressure, holding the Thunderwolves to 28% shooting while shooting 53% themselves in the first quarter. They couldn't continue their hot start, as they struggled in the second, going almost seven minutes without a field goal. Lakehead was able to take a four point lead into the half, as Salhia's sizeable height advantage left the Gryphon's struggling to match up.

 

The Gryphon's were able to regroup in the third to take a three point lead into the fourth, but were outscored 22-8 in the final quarter to leave the Guelph squad wondering what could have been.

 

The Gryphon's will hope to avenge their loss as they again host the Lakehead Thunderwolve's Saturday night at the W.F. Mitchell Centre. Tipoff is scheduled for 8pm.