WINDSOR, Ont. - The Guelph Gryphons men's basketball team, seeded No. 11 in the 2023 OUA playoffs, were unable to pull of a second consecutive playoff upset, falling 93-74 to the No. 3-seeded Windsor Lancers on Saturday afternoon in Windsor in OUA quarterfinal action. After a tightly-contested first half of the game in which Windsor took a late lead headed into halftime, the Lancers took over in the second half, scoring in bunches to advance to the OUA Final Four and ending Guelph's memorable 2022-23 season.

With the Gryphons finding themselves down by just six points at the half, it seemed like we were in for another nail-biter between the two teams, with Guelph having won in Windsor just seven days earlier when the team's met in the regular season finale. Coming out for the 3rd quarter, the Lancers defence was ready for the Gryphons, allowing back-to-back Guelph scores just three times in the frame. The Lancer offence was led by one of the top forwards in the country in fourth-year standout, Thomas Kennedy, who finished the game with 20 points and 10 rebounds on 9-of-15 shooting. Kennedy also added a block and a pair of steals down the stretch to help seal the win for the Lancers. Teammate Najee Brown-Henderson also played a significant role in the Lancers second half success scoring 10 of his 14 points in the half. Overall, the Gryphon defence played well against one of the best scorers in the province. Windsor's Najee Brown-Henderson averaged 21 points per game and led the OUA in three-pointers made while shooting 43% from beyond the arc. The Gryphons did their best to contest shot attempts and long range damage, holding Brown-Henderson to just 14 points and 1-for-6 from three-point range on Saturday. As a team the Gryphons perimeter defense was excellent, limiting the nation's 5th best three-point shooting team to just 23% (5-22) from deep.

On the offensive end, the Gryphons were led by a rookie and a veteran in Emmanuel Ansah and Rasheed Weekes, who both scored a team-high 18 points in the contest. Ansah, who is in his first year with the Gryphons, also brought down 13 rebounds and shot 58% from the field. Weekes meanwhile added 7 rebounds and a steal in his final game wearing the Gryphon uniform. Ansah and Weekes were two of the four Gryphons to hit the double-digit point mark with Viktor Nausedas and Khalid Ismail each finishing with 12. Unfortunately for the Gryphons, their offensive output was not enough in the second half against a high-powerer Lancer team. 

The Lancers are now off to the OUA Final Four, and will take on the Ottawa Gee-Gees, who defeated the TMU Bold 73-72 Saturday afternoon. The future remains bright for the Gryphons, who graduate just two players off their roster this season (Rasheed Weekes and Keenan Dowell), while returning a strong core of players for 2023-24 and beyond.
 

---