Gryphon basketball men fall to Waterloo in overtime
WATERLOO – The Guelph Gryphons surrendered 10 points in overtime as they were handed a 74-68 setback by the Waterloo Warriors in OUA men’s basketball play Saturday on Waterloo’s Carl Totzke Court.
Waterloo rallied from a 10-point deficit at halftime for the win while the Gryphs scored the same number of points in the second half of regulation time as they had in the first half.
Guelph led 14-8 at the end of the first quarter, 32-22 at halftime and 51-47 after the third quarter.
The teams traded baskets and the lead throughout the fourth quarter with Dezayne Mingo hitting one of two free throws to tie it with 1:11 to go in regulation time. The Warriors had two turnovers in the remainder of the fourth quarter, but the Gryphs missed a pair of three-pointers, the final one at the buzzer.
The Gryphs had a four-point lead with 1:14 to go in the overtime, but didn’t net any points in the final 3:08. Waterloo tied it with 55 seconds to go and then added to its lead by sinking six free throws as the Gryphs were forced to foul to have a chance at regaining possession of the ball.
Mingo had 23 points, six rebounds and three assists for the Gryphs while Luke Trojanowski had 12 points, Dylan McFee had seven points and two steals and Viktoras Nausedas had seven points and 15 rebounds. Shaathan Walker had three steals and Carl Veltman had the team’s lone rebound.
Cristian Craciun had 23 points for Waterloo while Stefan Djukic had 13 points, eight rebounds and two assists and Kiran Chadwick-Rupp had 10 points. Josh Akuamoah had five steals and Djukic and Elijah Idehen each had one block.
The Gryphs shot 35 percent from the floor including 29 percent on three-pointers. They also shot 68 percent on free throws, scored 23 points off turnovers, had five points on second chances and had 13 points from the bench. They also had 34 rebounds, six assists and 15 turnovers.
Waterloo shot 46 percent from the floor, 14 percent on three-pointers and 70 percent on free throws and had 19 points off turnovers, six points on second chances, 17 points from the bench and also had 31 rebounds, five assists and 19 turnovers.
Western Mustangs lead the OUA West at 4-1 while Laurier Golden Hawks are at 3-1, Waterloo is at 2-1, Windsor Lancers are at 1-3 and the Gryphs and Algoma Thunderwolves are both at 0-4.
The Gryphs and Algoma are to play twice next weekend at the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre as they’re to battle Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 4 p.m.
- Guelph Sports Journal