Feb. 19: Windsor 92 – Guelph 85
Guelph, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphon men's basketball team fell 92-85 to the Windsor Lancers in their last regular season game of the season at the W.F. Mitchell Athletic Centre in Guelph this afternoon (Feb. 19).
The Lancers improved to 16-6, while the Gryphon's finished the season with a 9-13 record and will now travel to Laurier for an OUA playoff game.
One of the biggest problems for the Gryphon's this year has been playing four complete quarters and this afternoon proved to be no different, as the Gryphon's saw their halftime lead evaporate in a disappointing loss.
The Gryphon's were led by Dan McCarthy's (Guelph, Ont.) 22 points, while senior's Jonathan Moscatelli (Toronto) and Michael Petrella (Brantford, Ont.) added 20 and 19 points, respectively. Both Moscatelli and Petrella were playing their final home games for the Guelph basketball team.
Isaac Kuon led all scorers with 23 points for the Lancers, while Josh Collins contributed 21 on an impressive 60% shooting.
The Gryphon's stormed out to a 10-0 lead early on thanks to seniors Moscatelli and Petrella, but the Lancers were able to chip away to trail 23-22 after the first. The Gryphon's saw balanced scoring from their starters, while the Lancers relied heavily on Kuon and Collins.
The second was equally close, with Guelph using an 8-1 run to take an 11 point lead halfway through the quarter. Again, the Lancer's chipped away, cutting the deficit to five heading into halftime.
The third quarter was all Windsor as they did most of their damage inside and in the charity stripe. With the Gryphon's utilizing a guard heavy lineup, the Lancers were able to get to the line and get a number of easy looks inside. The Lancers outscored the Gryphon's 27-18 in the quarter to take a 71-67 lead.
Windsor kept the pressure on in the fourth, extending their lead to as many as 10 points before the Gryphon's answered with back-to-back threes by McCarthy and Petrella to narrow the margin to 87-83 with four minutes remaining. Unfortunately, that was as close as they would get.
The Gryphon's would like to thank Michael Petrella and Jonathan Moscatelli for all of their hard work and determination they have shown over their careers with the Guelph Gryphons. Petrella became one of Guelph's best point guards, while Moscatelli built a reputation as a savvy shooter. While both will be moving on, they have surely left a lasting impression on their teammates that will be returning next season.
The Gryphons finished the season tied for sixth in the OUA, however tie-breaking rules give the Gryphons sole possession of the sixth place spot and they will now travel to play the third place Laurier Golden Hawks in an OUA Playoff game on Wednesday, February 23. Game time will be at 8:00pm.
