GUELPH, Ont. – With just three weeks remaining in the OUA men's basketball regular season schedule, each win from here on out will be considered precious for the Gryphons as they battle for their playoff lives in the OUA West. Saturday afternoon on their home court, the Gryphons picked up one of those precious victories thanks to a dramatic, come-from-behind 83-80 victory over the visiting McMaster Marauders. The Gryphons, who trailed by as many as 13 late in the third quarter, stormed back in the fourth quarter, outscoring McMaster 24-13 en route to the three-point victory. With the game tied at 80-80 with :39 seconds remaining in regulation, Gryphons fifth year guard Drew Walford knocked down a pair of free throws to give the Gryphons a lead they would not relinquish.
 
"It was a huge, character win," said Gryphons head coach Chris O'Rourke. "We're fighting for our playoff lives here. The guys really dug in late and showed a lot of character. The bench gave us a big spark today and we were able to come up with some big stops defensively down the stretch. This was one we needed in order for us to control our own playoff fate."
 
The Gryphons bench outscored the McMaster reserves 45-19 with rookie Rasheed Weekes leading the way for U of G. The first year man out of St. Martin Secondary School in Mississauga poured in 15 points off the bench on 6-of-7 shooting to go along with 6 rebounds. Third year guard Tommy Yanchus added 14 points off the bench and was 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.
 
Second year guard Jake Chaput (Guelph, ON) and third year guard Kieran Naus (Elliott Lake, ON) were also amongst the cast of Gryphons who came on in a reserve role to make a major impact on the game. With the Gryphons trailing 61-48 late in the third quarter, Chaput subbed into the game and completed a three-point play to trim the deficit to 61-51 with 2:17 remaining in the third quarter.

That bucket by Chaput would spark a 26-12 run by Guelph over the next 7:02 of game play as the Gryphons turned at 61-48 deficit into a 74-73 lead thanks to the cast of Chaput, Weekes, Yanchus, Naus and Daniel Dooley. Dooley finished the night with a team-high 16 points on an efficient 4-of-6 shooting from the field (3-of-3 from three-point range and 5-of-5 from the free throw line).
 
With the game tied at 80-80 with :55 seconds remaining, Kieran Naus stepped up for the Gryphons and drew a charge against McMaster guard Miles Seward to get the ball back for the Gryphons. Following the two made free throws by Walford, the Gryphons would lock down defensively, forcing the Marauders into several contested shots to preserve the U of G lead. The 80-points were the fewest allowed by the Gryphons since a 70-63 win over Toronto on November 18.
 
The Gryphons (4-14) now sit 7th in the OUA West division, with the top six teams in the division making the playoffs. Guelph will now prepare to host the 6th-place Algoma Thunderbirds (4-13) for back-to-back games on February 2 & 3. Four of the Gryphons' final six games will take place at the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre.