WATERLOO, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons men's basketball team is building some momentum at the perfect time. The Gryphons showed some resilience on the road and relied on one of the team's strengths in the dying moments to leave Waterloo with a 65-59 win over the Warriors on School Day at the PAC.
 
The victory was Guelph's third straight, marking the second time this season the team has won that many games in a row. And the Gryphons did it in clutch fashion. Fourth-year guard Tommy Yanchus, who scored a team-high 21 points, was fouled inside with Guelph trailing 59-58. Yanchus stepped up to the line and coolly knocked down both of his free throws to give the visitors the narrow lead with 17 seconds remaining.
 
The Gryphons then came up with a huge steal, forcing Waterloo to foul. Rasheed Weekes would go to the line and also made both shots before adding another three-point play in the final seconds to stretch the final margin to 6 points.
 
The big free throws were no surprise despite Guelph making just 11 of 17 on the day. The Gryphons have been one of the better free throw-shooting teams in the OUA, entering the game tops in the conference in both makes (18.6 per game) and attempts (25.6).

Malcolm Glanville added 9 points and a game-high 3 steals, while Banky Alade scored 8 with a team-high 11 rebounds. Alade, who started the week third in the OUA with 9.4 rebounds per game, had 7 of them on the offensive glass.
 
The Gryphons were impressive on the defensive end of the court early, holding the Warriors to just 17 first-half points, including 7 in the second quarter. But Waterloo came out of the break aggressively and out-scored Guelph 24-13 to cut into the 14-point halftime deficit.
 
The OUA West rivals exchanged buckets throughout a tight fourth quarter before Waterloo went up 54-51 on a three-pointer from Justin Malnerich. Yanchus responded with a make from long range (2 for 4 on the day from beyond the arc) to tie game and then scored again for a 58-56 lead.
 
The Warriors got their own clutch play when Nedim Hodzic scored and was fouled. He hit the free throw for a big 59-58 lead with 23 seconds left on the clock but Yanchus reclaimed the lead before Weekes and J.L. Nwosu double-teamed Hodzic to produce the game-clinching turnover with 6 seconds left
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Gryphon Take
"It was a character road win. We played our best defensive game in the first half and then had a letdown in the second. But we grinded when it mattered. Tommy stepped up and made some big buckets and we had a good adjustment defensively at the end with J.L. and Rasheed." – head coach Chris O'Rourke

 
The Record
Guelph is 6-7.

 
Next up
McMaster, Friday, Jan. 11, 8 pm @ Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre