GUELPH, Ont. - The University of Guelph Gryphons men's basketball team took the court at the Gryphons Athletics Centre on Wednesday night (Feb. 15) for their final regular season home game of the 2022-23 season. Playing host the Western Mustangs, the Gryphons were looking to take hold of 3rd-place in the OUA West Division while also hoping to bounce back after a hard-fought loss to the Windsor Lancers last weekend (Feb. 11). The game also served as the 2023 edition of the "Shoot For the Cure" game, a U SPORTS fundraising initiative in support of breast cancer. In a hard-fough match, some late-game heroics from
Rasheed Weekes would give the Gryphons a 90-88 win over the Mustangs.
The Gryphons got off to a quick start, jumping out to a 5-0 lead and forcing three turnovers.
Despite their fast start the Mustangs would respond, and by the midway point in the quarter the two teams would be tied 11-11. Following the tie game the Gryphons would go on 14-4 run to close out the quarter, led by rookie standout guard
Dezayne Mingo. The Hamilton native scored 7 of his 21 total points in the opening frame. In the second quarter the Gryphons and Mustangs played a much closer game, with Western eventually finding the edge late in the frame to outscore the Gryphons 26-21. Despite being outscored, Guelph would still head into the locker room with a 5-point lead, up 46-41.
As the two teams came out for the third quarter they continued to play a tighter and tighter game, this time just two point separated the teams with the Mustangs winning the quarter 28-26. Although they were outscored, the Gryphons had their best offensive quarter, scoring 26 points on 50% shooting including 45% from beyond the arc. The Gryphon effort was led by veteran
Rasheed Weekes who scored 9 points in the third. Weekes would go on to finish the game with a team-high 22 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. Breakout guard
Dylan McFee also had an impactful third frame, scoring 7 of his 10 points to help the Gryphons head into the final quarter with a 72-69 lead. The start of the fourth quarter saw the Gryphons quickly extend their lead and seem in control of the game.
With just over two minutes remaining in the 4th the Mustangs went on an 8-0 run to force a 2-point game. Over a minute and a half later they converted an and-one opportunity to take their first lead since the third quarter. On the ensuing Gryphon possession with 16 seconds left a missed shot, followed by a quick foul left 1.8 seconds on the clock. A missed free throw and a line violation by a Western on the second shot would result in the Gryphons receiving possession. Guard
Keenan Dowell inbounded the ball to
Rasheed Weekes, who was playing in the final home game of his outstanding Gryphon career, who beat the buzzer and sent the Gryphon faithful in attendance into an uproar to claim a 90-88 victory for Guelph.
The Gryphons (10-11) currently sit 4th in the OUA's West Division with one game remaining in the regular season against the Windsor Lancers. The Gryphons can jump the Mustangs in the OUA standings with a win on Saturday (Feb. 18) against the Lancers and a Mustang loss to claim the 11th seed in the Wilson Cup Playoffs. The game is set for 8pm following the conclusion of the Gryphon women's game and can be seen live, online at
www.oua.tv.
