Gryphon hoops men trail early in setback to Toronto
TORONTO – The Guelph Gryphons fell behind by 10 points in the first quarter and that proved to be the difference in the game as the Toronto Varsity Blues registered a 95-85 victory in OUA men’s basketball play Thursday at Toronto’s Goldring Centre.
The Blues went on a 18-1 run midway through the opening quarter to build on a lead that was never out of their grasp. Toronto led 29-19 at the end of the first quarter before the teams scored 16 points apiece in the second quarter, 22 points apiece in the third quarter and 28 points apiece in the final quarter.
Dezayne Mingo led the Gryphs with 30 points while Emmanuel Ansah had 15 and Carl Veltman contributed 14 in 19 minutes of floor time. Shaathan Walker added 11 points. Mingo and Ansah combined to take 33 of the 60 field goal attempts by the Gryphs in the game.
Mingo grabbed eight rebounds and had five assists while Ansah had six rebounds as did Viktoras Nausedas who also had two steals. Malcolm Reid had two steals, too, while Dylan McFee and Ansah each had a block.
Toronto had six players reach double digits in scoring – Anthony Daudu had 25 points while Callum Baker had 21, Noah Ngamba 15, Aleer Aleer-Leek 12 and Lennart Weber and Nathan Bureau 10 apiece.
Daudu had 13 rebounds while Weber had 12 rebounds and five assists. Baker had four assists and two steals while Nadav Sahar and Ngamba also had two steals apiece. Ngamba had Toronto’s lone block.
The Gryphs shot 45 percent on field goals, 40 percent on three pointers and 70 percent on free throws. They also had 35 rebounds, eight assists, 14 turnovers, 15 points off turnovers, 13 on second chances, 32 in the paint and 21 from their bench.
The Blues shot 46 percent on field goals, 46 percent on three pointers and 91 percent on free throws and also had 42 rebounds, 17 assists, 16 turnovers, 18 points off turnovers, six on second chances, 42 in the paint, 10 on fast breaks and 23 from their bench.
The loss was the third straight in league play for the Gryphs who are at 3-8 in OUA play. They did win a pair of exhibition games in Brampton at the Sheridan Bruins Wayne Allison Tournament as they defeated the St. Lawrence College Surge 93-75 Dec. 29 and the Nipissing Lakers 88-69 Dec. 30.
The Gryphs are to play three consecutive home games at the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre as they’re to host the Windsor Lancers (2-6) Saturday at 8 p.m., Lakehead Thunderwolves (2-8) Jan. 12 at 8 p.m. and Brock Badgers (4-5) Jan. 13 at 8 p.m.
- Guelph Sports Journal