SAULT STE. MARIE, ON – Saturday afternoon in Sault Ste. Marie, the Gryphons men's basketball team won 80-60 over the Algoma Thunderbirds at the George Leach Centre on the campus of Algoma University. With the win, the Gryphons improve to 5-6 on the season while the Thunderbirds fall to 1-11.
 
The trip north to face Algoma is always a long one. This year's edition just happened to be even longer than usual. The Gryphons team bus left U of G Friday morning at 9am. Thanks in part to some lane closures and subsequent backups on one of the major northern highways, the Gryphons were forced to pack their patience as the bus trip took just over 11 hours with the team bus finally rolling into Algoma shortly after 9pm Friday night.
 
The Gryphons took a two-point lead into the locker room at the half before blowing things wide open with a dominant third quarter in which they outscored Algoma 26-10. Leading the way for the Gryphons on Saturday was fourth year forward Ahmed Haroon. The Mississauga native exploded for a career-high 28 points, surpassing his previous career-high of 26 which he set earlier this year in a win over the then-No. 8 Western Mustangs. Haroon was doing a bit of everything en route to those 28 points, going a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line while also knocking down one three pointer in the game and finishing an efficient 9-of-18 from the field. Perhaps even more impressive than his point total was his effort on the glass, where Haroon racked up a career-high 13 rebounds.
 
Third year guards Daniel Dooley and Jonathan Wallace were the other two Gryphons to reach double digits in scoring, with the two combining to go 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. All 12 Gryphons who made the trip north saw the floor, including Guelph native Tommy Yanchus who knocked down the first three pointer of his OUA career in this his rookie season with the Gryphons.

The Gryphons were able to pull away in the second half in large part due to their play on the defensive end of the court. Leading the way defensively were Andrew Grant and Drew Walford who combined to shut down Algoma's scoring options from the perimeter.

The Gryphons, who will arrive home around 3am Sunday morning, will now start to prepare for yet another tough road trip. On Friday and Saturday (February 5 & 6) the Gryphons will travel to Kingston to face Queen's on the Friday before traveling to Toronto to face York on Saturday. The Gryphons are currently 1-1 on a six-game road trip.