GUELPH, Ont. – Six days ago, the Guelph Gryphons men's basketball team showcased the ability to grind out a defensive battle with their 65-59 road win over the Warriors. Wednesday night on home court, the Gryphons showed that they can go toe-to-toe with the best offences in the league. Unfortunately for the Gryphs, they fell one point short in a shootout with their rivals from St. Catharines.
 
The visiting Brock Badgers (10-5) escaped Guelph with a 101-100 win. The Gryphons received another monster performance from guard Malcolm Glanville, who poured in 39 points in the loss. For Glanville, an NCAA Division II transfer in his first year at U of G, it marked the second time this month that he has scored 39 points after also doing so in a win over Lakehead on January 5. The Badgers, who arrived in Guelph as one of the highest scoring teams in the OUA at 85.7 PPG behind only Ryerson (88 PPG) and Carleton (89.4 PPG), trailed by three heading to the final quarter before outscoring Guelph 31-27 in the fourth to earn the 101-100 win.
 
With Brock leading 97-95 with just under :30 seconds remaining in regulation, Badgers fourth-year guard Tyler Brown would provide the dagger, capping his 22-point night by connecting on a three-pointer that pushed the Brock lead to 100-95. A free throw from Brock's Ryan Cassidy pushed the Badger lead to 101-97 before Glanville knocked down a triple with :02 seconds remaining to trim the deficit to 101-100. It would be as close as the Gryphons would get in a high-scoring, chippy affair at the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre.
 
Aside from Glanville's 39-point performance, the Gryphons also received huge contributions from fourth-year guard Tommy Yanchus and third-year forward Banky Alade. Yanchus poured in 26 points on 9-16 shooting (4-8 from 3) while Alade, the OUA's second-leading rebounder at 9.9 boards per game, finished with 17 rebounds to go along with 11 points.
 
The Gryphons were able to contain Badgers fifth-year guard Johneil Simpson to 16 points on 5-13 shooting. Simpson ranks 3rd in the OUA at 21.5 points per game on the season. The Badgers did most of their damage at the free throw line, converting on 29 of their 38 trips to the charity stripe.
 
The Gryphons (6-9) will play each of their next six games on the road, beginning Saturday (Jan. 19) when they head to London to face the OUA West-leading Western Mustangs.
 
Gryphon Take
"We battled hard but ultimately our inability to defend them off the dribble is what hurt us." – Gryphons head coach Chris O'Rourke

 
The Record
Guelph is 6-9

 
Next up
@ Western Mustangs – Saturday, Jan. 19 (8pm)