GUELPH, Ont. – The Gryphons men's basketball team is heading to the OUA quarterfinals. On Wednesday night (Feb. 18) at the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre, the Gryphons opened up the 2026 Wilson Cup playoffs with a thrilling, 82-76, home victory over the Windsor Lancers in a matchup between the No. 8 and No. 9-seeds in the 12-team OUA playoffs. The Gryphons used a 15-0 run in the 4th quarter pull away from the Lancers down the stretch in a contest that marked Guelph's first home playoff game since the 2008-09 season. With the win, the Gryphons advance to the weekend and will head to the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto to face the OUA's top-seeded TMU Bold on Saturday night (Feb. 21) in an OUA quarterfinal matchup.
 
The Gryphons and Lancers posted identical 12-10 records during the 22-game regular season, but the Gryphons owned the tiebreaker and earned home-court advantage for Wednesday night's opening round playoff matchup. The first three quarters saw back-and-forth action between these two OUA West division rivals, but the Gryphons would take over in the final quarter led by fourth-year standout forward, Eric Armstrong. The New Hamburg, Ontario native entered the second half with just 4 points, but exploded in the second half for 24 points. With the Gryphons trailing the Lancers 65-62 early in the 4th quarter, Armstrong drove to the rim, drawing contact, and getting the basket to fall, before making the free throw to complete the three-point play to tie the game at 65-65. That play would mark the start of a 15-0 run from the Gryphons. A Raef Wykes three-pointer would be followed by three straight Eric Armstrong buckets, before an Amare Hamilton three-pointer capped the run, with Guelph suddenly leading the Lancers, 77-65. Eric Armstrong finished the night with a team-high 28 points. While Armstrong took over late, it was Gryphons guard Jack Tunstill stepping up early on, with Tunstill dominating the game throughout the first two quarters, scoring 16 of his 18 points on the night in the opening half. Tunstill also provided the highlight of the night, with the fourth-year guard from St. Thomas, Ontario electrifying the crowd at the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre with a windmill dunk following a Gryphon steal. 
Up next for the Gryphons, a TMU Bold team that finished the regular season with a 17-5 record and won the 4-way tiebreaker to earn home court throughout the OUA postseason. These two sides met on February 6 in Guelph, where TMU came away with a 79-67 win. This is also a rematch of last season's opening round playoff matchup, when the Bold knocked the Gryphons out of the 2024-25 playoffs in the 5-versus-12 matchup. Tip off in Toronto on Saturday night is set for 6pm at the Mattamy Athletic Centre and will be streamed live online at www.oua.tv. The winner of the Gryphons-Bold game will advance to the OUA semifinals, to face the winner of Brock and Ottawa.