LONDON, ON – Trailing by as many as 18 points during the first half, the Gryphons men's basketball team stormed back and used a huge third quarter to help lift them to an 83-81 victory over the Western Mustangs on Saturday night in London in what was the regular season opener for both teams.
 
The story of the opening half for the Gryphons was missed opportunities. Despite the fact that the Gryphons were the aggressors in the paint, they were only able to knock down 7 of their 16 trips to the free throw line in the opening half. The Gryphons finished the night with an impressive 31 trips to the charity stripe, but knocked down just 17 of those (54.8%). The Mustangs, who led by 18 at the 4:30 mark of the 2nd quarter, took a 10-point lead to the locker room at the half.
 
In the 3rd quarter, the Gryphons came out looking like a different team, pouring in 29 points in the quarter while locking down defensively and limiting Western to 14 points. Fourth year guard Jonathan Wallace, who finished with a team-high 18 points, had several strong takes early in the 3rd quarter to help set the tone for what was a dominant stretch by the Gryphons. Taylor Boers, who was Guelph's second-leading scorer on the night with 16 points, scored all 16 of those points in the 2nd half. Defensively, the Gryphons were led by Daniel Dooley and Andrew Grant who combined for 6 steals.
 



















The Gryphons took a 5-point lead to the final quarter and saw their lead grow to 11 with 5:47 remaining in the game. However, Western was able to close the gap and made it just a one-point game with :20 seconds to go. The Gryphons may not have impressed from the free throw line on the night as a whole, but they were able to knock some down late when it mattered most, as Ahmed Haroon and Taylor Boers combined to hit 5 of 6 from the free throw line late to ice the game.
 
"We were able to grind out a solid road win to start the season. Obviously it was a bit up-and-down, but at the end of the day, wins like these can go a long way when you're looking back on things come February," said Gryphons head coach Chris O'Rourke after the game. "I thought we were aggressive offensively and did some nice things on the defensive end as well at times. It was a nice team win."
 
The Gryphons are off to a 1-0 start to the season for the first time since the 2011-2012 campaign.
 
Fourth year forward Ahmed Haroon, double-teamed in the post most of the night, finished with 12 points on an efficient 3-of-6 shooting, while fourth year guard Andrew Grant came off the bench to help lead the way on the defensive end, finishing with 5 rebounds and 2 steals. The Gryphons played this game without the services of fourth year starter Drew Walford who sat out with a lower body injury.  
 
The Gryphons (1-0) will next be in action on Saturday, November 12 when they return home to face Queen's. Tip at the W.F. Mitchell Athletics Centre is set for 8pm.