Box Score
GUELPH, ON - The preseason is officially underway for the Gryphons men's basketball team as they opened the exhibition portion of their 2016-17 schedule Sunday evening at the W.F. Mitchell Athletics Centre. The Gryphons lost 94-83 to the Northwestern State Demons, a Divison-1 NCAA program based out of Louisiana.

The Gryphons gave their NCAA opponents all they could handle as the two teams were separated by just one point at the half. In the third quarter, the Gryphons opened up a double digit lead only to see Northwestern State storm back late to take a 94-83 victory.

On the defensive side, the Gryphons faced a tough test as the Northwestern State Demons boast one of the top scorers in all of NCAA basketball. Zeek Woodley has averaged 22.2 PPG each of the past two seasons. Two seasons ago, he was the NCAA's 2nd-leading scorer. Last season, he was the NCAA's 11th-leading scorer. Sunday night against the Gryphons, Woodley finished with 27 points as multiple U of G defenders were given an opportunity to guard one of the best scorer's from south of the border.

From a U of G perspective, Sunday night's game was an opportunity to get the entire roster involved with a five-on, five-off platoon implemented throughout the game. For head coach Chris O'Rourke, there were plenty of bright spots to take away, "Obviously it's hard to find a rhythm when you're rotating that much, but I thought the attitude and effort from our guys was great. We just ran out of gas late and missed too many free throws on the night."

The Gryphons finished the game 16 of 31 from the charity stripe.

A trio of Gryphon players finished with double digits in scoring, with both Daniel Dooley and Taylor Boers scoring 12 points each, while Ahmed Haroon chipped in 11. A total of 13 different Gryphon players found the scoresheet, while Drew Walford impressed on the defensive end with three steals and a block.

Up next for the Gryphons in their preseason schedule is yet another encounter with a Division-1 program from the NCAA. This time, it is the University of Buffalo Bulls who will be visiting the W.F. Mitchell Athletics Centre. The UB Bulls will be another tough test for the Gryphons as Buffalo has won the MAC (Mid American Conference) Tournament each of the past two seasons to earn back-to-back berths into the NCAA Tournament. The Gryphons and Bulls will square off on Saturday, August 20 at 7pm.

The Gryphons will play a total of eight preseason games before beginning OUA regular season play on Saturday, November 5 at Western.