GUELPH, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons men's basketball team is getting that winning feeling. And the Gryphons are also showing they can close the deal late. Guelph was masterful down the stretch in an 85-79 win over the Waterloo Warriors at the GGAC Saturday night, which clinched a postseason berth.
The victory was the third straight for a Guelph team that sits fourth in the OUA West and will taste the playoffs for the first time in a few years. And there were some big performances.
Malcolm Glanville, one of the catalysts in the closing minutes, had a game-high 32 points, while big man
Banky Alade had a monster effort with 19 points and 23 boards, which led all players.
The Gryphons finished the game executing at the highest level possible.
Gryphons third-year forward Banky Alade
With the game tied 77-77,
Jake Chaput forced a steal and Glanville did the rest. He crossed the ball over, stepped back from the left wing and swished a mid-range jumper off one foot with 1:03 remaining for the 79-77 lead. The Gryphons rebounded a Waterloo miss at the other end and Glanville penetrated before finding Alade underneath for a sweet reverse lay in to extend the lead to 81-77 with 30 seconds on the clock.
The in-form guard was then fouled and calmly sank two free throws to make it 83-77 before
Tommy Yanchus (16 points) and Alade added one each from the line.
It was the second consecutive night that the team rallied to register a comeback win on the GGAC court. Like they did Friday against Windsor, the Gryphons relied on their gritty defence to get back in the game and erase an eight-point halftime deficit.
Malcolm Glanville records a game-high 32 points
They outscored the Warriors 23-18 in the third quarter and then pumped in 31 in the decisive fourth.
Guelph played well in the early going to get out in front of 28-21 by the second quarter. But the Warriors went on a big 18-3 run to change the course of the game and go into the half ahead 39-31.
The Gryphons had a hard time containing Waterloo's Justin Malnerich, who finished the night with 27 points.
Gryphon Take
"It was another game where we had to grind in the second half. That's three in a row we've done that. Malcom took over again and Banky showed why he is one of the best rebounders in gryphon basketball history. We did what we had to do to get ourselves in the postseason."
– head coach Chris O'Rourke
The Record
Guelph is 10-12
Next up
@ McMaster, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 8 pm
