GUELPH ON – Scoring has not been an issue for the Gryphons men's basketball team this season. But on Friday night, it was the defence that locked things down in the second half and pushed their win streak to three thanks to an 84-79 victory over the Toronto Varsity Blues at the W.F. Mitchell Athletics Centre. With the win, the Gryphons improve to 9-8 on the season and now sit a half game back of Lakehead for the third and final playoff spot in the OUA Central division. The Varsity Blues meanwhile fall to 5-11 on the season and sit in third in the OUA East.

With 13 seconds remaining in regulation, Toronto had the ball and a chance to win the game. Gryphons fourth year forward Ahmed Haroon picked a great time to come up with his biggest defensive play of the season. Haroon was able to poke the ball away from U of T guard Sage Usher at the top of the three point line, corral the loose ball and find teammate Daniel Dooley who was fouled on the ensuing layup attempt. Dooley went 4-for-4 on free throws during a pair of trips to the charity stripe late in the game as the Gryphons were able to hold off U of T late and pick up yet another vital two points to remain in the thick of a hunt for a playoff spot with now just two games remaining on their regular season schedule.

After allowing the Varsity Blues to shoot just over 57% the first half, the Gryphs stepped up defensively holding the visitors to just under 36% shooting over the final two quarters, forcing 7 turnovers and limiting Toronto to just 34 points in the second half. "That was a big focus coming into the game. We talked about defence, defence. Offence will always come if we play our defence right," said Gryphons third year forward Colin Corrigan after the game. The biggest challenge defensively for the Gryphons was finding a way to slow down Toronto's fourth year star forward Devin Johnson. Johnson came into the game as one of the top scorers in the country, averaging just over 23 points per game. Friday night in Guelph, the U of T standout exploded for 33 points off the bench, marking the third time this season he's surpassed the 30-point mark on the road after having also pulled off the feat at Windsor and McMaster. Despite Johnson's 33-point effort, the Varsity Blues still found themselves trailing late as they struggled themselves on the defensive end against what was a balanced Guelph attack. In the second half, the Gryphons shot 50% from the floor as a team and were 5-of-9 from beyond the arc. Three of those five trifectas came from Haroon who was one of five Gryphons to score in double figures in the game. Haroon finished with a team-high 21 points on an efficient 7-of-9 shooting.

The Gryphons outscored Toronto by 12 over the final two quarters and held on for a five-point win. The Gryphons (9-8) have now won seven of their last 10 games overall. The only team in the OUA with a better record over their last 10 games is the No. 1-ranked Ryerson Rams, who have gone 9-1 during that stretch, with their only loss coming at Guelph on Wednesday night.

The Gryphons are currently tied with Lakehead with 18 points on the season, but the Thunderwolves have a game-in-hand as the two teams battle it out down the stretch for the final playoff spot in the OUA Central Division.

Guelph's final two games of the regular season both come on home court against the No. 5 and No. 7 ranked teams in the country. On Friday, February 26 the Gryphons host the No. 5-ranked McMaster Marauders (11-5) followed by a Saturday night clash with the No. 7-ranked Brock Badgers (11-5). Both teams currently sit above the Gryphons in the OUA Central, with the Saturday night contest against Brock marking the final varsity basketball game ever to be played at the W.F. Mitchell Athletics Centre. Next season, the Gryphons are set to move into the New Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre. Tickets for the game on the 27th are on sale now and available online.