GUELPH, Ont. – Wednesday night (Nov. 22, 2023) at the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre, the Gryphons men's basketball team went toe-to-toe with one of the hottest teams in the country in the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks, who arrived in Guelph riding a five-game win streak. The Gryphons were ultimately unable to recover from a slow start in the opening quarter, with Laurier earning a 91-79 victory over the Gryphons on Wednesday night to extend their overall win streak to six in a row. With the loss, the Gryphons fall to 2-5 on the season while the Golden Hawks remain atop the OUA West Division standings, improving to 6-1 on the season.
 
The Gryphons, who also entered Wednesday night's matchup with some momentum of their own following last weekend's sweep of Algoma, found themselves in an early hole against the Golden Hawks, who jumped out to a 14-point lead after the opening quarter of play. A strong response from the Gryphons saw Guelph explode for 31 points in the 2nd quarter, trimming the deficit to 48-42 at halftime.
 
The Gryphons continued to battle in the 3rd quarter, including a pair of late three pointers from Emmanuel Ansah to make it a four-point game, with Laurier's lead cut to 66-62. But the Golden Hawks would pull away in the 4th quarter, relying on the some sharp shooting from the perimeter to secure the victory, with Laurier connecting on 15 three pointers on the night (15-for-31, 48.4% from beyond the arc). Leading the way for Laurier on the night was a pair of fourth-year guards in Taye Donald (31 points) and DeAndrae Pierre (23 points, 5-of-10 from 3).
 
For Guelph, second-year standout Dezayne Mingo once again impressed, with the Hamilton, Ontario native scoring a team-high 27 points on 9-of-14 shooting (2-of-4 from beyond the arc, 7-of-7 from the free throw line). Mingo also 7 rebounds and 3 assists on the night. Veteran forwards Emmanuel Ansah (19 points, 5 rebounds) and Viktor Nausedas (16 points, 5 rebounds) also made big contributions on the night for the Gryphons, who shot an impressive 47.6% from the floor as a team but were unable to overcome the Golden Hawks three point shooting.
 
The Gryphons (2-5) and Golden Hawks (6-1) will now shift their home-and-home series to Laurier's campus in Waterloo, with the Gryphons set to visit the Laurier Athletic Complex on Saturday (Nov. 25) for a 3pm tip. Each of Guelph's next four games will come on the road, with the team set to visit Queen's (Dec. 1) and Ontario Tech (Dec. 2) in early December, followed by a trip to the University of Toronto in early January (Jan. 4). The next home game for the Gryphons comes on January 6, 2024 when they play host to the Windsor Lancers.