Feb. 5: Western 74 – Guelph 60

LONDON – The Gryphon men's basketball team drops to 7-11 on the season after falling 74-60 this afternoon to the Western Mustangs in London.

Western's Andrew Wedemire was excellent today leading all scorers and ending the game with 27 points and 12 rebounds. It was a strong offensive and defensive start for the Mustangs, as Western took the early 18-12 lead. Defense continued to reign strong for Western throughout the second quarter, as they captured another seven defensive rebounds and held Guelph to an additional six points.  Western had a 36-18 lead at half.

After the half, Guelph came out with a quick seven points to inch closer to the Mustang lead while maintaining control of the ball for the majority of the first half of the quarter.  The Gryphons outscored the Mustangs 19-12 by the end of the third.

Despite the ongoing offensive excellence by Gryphon Michael Petrella (Brantford, Ont.), who ended the game with 32 points, a series of fouls and steals against the Gryphons allowed Western to continually extend their lead. Guelph's defense could not contain Wedemire as he had 11 in the fourth.

The pair of Petrella and Dan McCarthy (Guelph, Ont.) contributed 80% of Guelph's scoring as Petrella finished with 32 and McCarthy 16 points. 

As a team the Gryphons shot 35 percent (20-57) from the field compared to Western's 49 percent (26-53).  Western also out-rebounded Guelph 34-27.

Up next the Gryphons return home to the W.F. Mitchell Centre this week to host the Laurier Golden Hawks on February 9.  Game time is 8:00 p.m .