GUELPH, Ont. - Coming in to Saturday afternoon's contest, the Guelph Gryphons knew they were going to be in tough in a couple of different ways. Not only were the Gryphons playing host to the No. 10-nationally ranked Windsor Lancers, but Guelph was also going to be playing the game without Burke Bechard, the team's leading scorer.

Kicking off Bell Lets Talk day at the GGAC as the first of four varsity games being played in the gym on Saturday, the Gryphons still came out and gave the Lancers as much as they could handle. Unfortunately for the home side, Windsor was able to sneak out with a 76-71 victory.

As the game got underway, it was the Lancers gaining the early lead going up 9-2. From that point on though, the Gryphons were able to get their feet underneath them and get themselves rolling. Quickly going on a 7-0 run, the Gryphons were able to get the game tied 9-9. Again after Windsor then made another push, the Gryphons were able to pull within six as the opening quarter expired.

Throughout the entire second quarter, the Gryphons really began to push back. Going back and forth with the visitors from Windsor, Guelph was able to maintain pace with the Lancers while also narrowing the gap. Pulling within two of the visitors for much of the quarter, MacKeely Shantz got the Gryphons on even ground shortly before halftime driving the length of the gym before converting the lay-up.

Tied 36-36 coming out of the break, both teams did their best to make their respective pushes in the third. As it turned out though, there was very little to separate the two sides as the frame progressed. With five points being the biggest lead generated by either side in the quarter, it was ultimately the Lancers holding a 60-57 lead as the fourth quarter rolled around.

In the fourth, it was more of the same from the two sides as they jockeyed back and forth. With the lead changing hands on multiple occasions, Windsor held a 65-63 lead with just over three minutes to play. Despite their best efforts, the Gryphons found themselves stuck by seven before narrowing the gap to just three points in the final minute. Unfortunately, that would be as close as the Gryphons would get as the buzzer sounded on the 76-71 defeat. 

"We were wearing them down in the first half and I really thought we had them on the ropes, but then we let them rest by committing too many fouls," said Gryphon's head coach Mark Walton. "When we went and played, and played aggressive we were really good. We have to figure out that piece of the puzzle. Burke (Bechard) really sets the standard for that aggressiveness, so hopefully when we get her back we will find that mentality together."

Leading the Gryphons offensively, Shantz poured in 17 points. Skyla Minaker had a very strong game for Guelph tallying 13 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds and 5 steals. Ashley Wheeler and Ivana Vujadinovic also hit double-digits in points scoring 12 and 11 points respectively.

The Gryphons will resume their season on Friday when they head to North Bay to take on the Nipissing Lakers.