GUELPH, ON - It was a bitter sweet end to the 2016-17 season for the Gryphons men's basketball team on Saturday night. Despite ending their season on a winning note by earning a hard-fought 76-74 victory over the visiting Waterloo Warriors , the Gryphons ultimately fell just short of qualifying for the OUA playoffs. The top 12 teams in the OUA's RPI rankings qualify for the postseason. The Gryphons officially finished 13th.

Playing in his final game as a Gryphon, fourth year forward Ahmed Haroon (Mississauga, ON) put together a solid performance, filling up the stat sheet with 15 points, 9 rebounds and 5 steals. Haroon was one of two graduating players to be honoured pre-game as part of the team's "Senior Night" ceremonies, with Martin Popiel also suiting up for the final time as a Gryphon. Whether or not those two seniors were going to be able to end their careers on a winning note was in question for much of the night. But the Gryphons, who trailed by 11 midway through the 2nd, would storm back in the 3rd quarter, using a 13-0 run to shift momentum. The Gryphons limited the Warriors to just 12 points in the 3rd quarter and took a five-point lead into the final quarter.

With :58 seconds remaining in regulation and with the game tied at 74-74, Gryphons fourth year guard Daniel Dooley would knock down a jump shot from just inside the three-point line to give the Gryphons a 76-74 lead. In the game's dying seconds, the Warriors would see a pair of jump shots hit the front rim as the Gryphons would hang on for the two-point victory.

Fourth year guard Jonathan Wallace finished with 15 points while Taylor Boers came off the bench to chip in with 9. As a team, the Gryphons shot just 1-14 from beyond the arc but had 21 points-off-turnovers (compared to just 6 for Waterloo). The Gryphons forced Waterloo into 23 turnovers on the night while committing just 10 themselves. The Gryphs finish the season with a 6-13 record.
 

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