Saturday 9 October 2010

Guelph 85, Manitoba 58

After a very tight first half during which no team had leads larger than six, the Gryphs outscored the Bisons by 14 in the third quarter, handing Manitoba (2-1 vs. CIS in the pre-season) their first loss of the Southern Ontario trip this weekend.  Guelph wore down the Bisons inside, especially on the offensive glass with 21 "o" boards - part of a 50-27 domination on the glass overall as 6'8" John Brutto and 6'7" Kevin Cameron were strong during the early third quarter run that quickly got a 4 point lead to double digits and the route was on.  Manitoba was playing their third game in 2 1/2 days including last night's overtime thriller in Hamilton against McMaster.

6'2" Dan McCarthy again was very steady for Guelph, getting himself into open areas off the dribble and to the foul line, finishing with a game-high 18 points (but only 1-8 3's).  6'4" Jonathan Moscatelli rebounded from a sub-par effort last night against Fraser Valley with 13 points/5 rebounds while last night's hero, 5'11" guard Kareem Malcolm had a steady 12 points, 8 rebounds.  Cameron flashed his underrated passing skills with 4 assists including a couple of high/lows with Brutto when Guelph began their early third quarter run.  In all, 13 of the 14 players who dressed for Guelph in this afternoon's game hit the scoresheet.

Manitoba was led by their new guard 5'11" Josh Ogden who gave Gryphon defenders trouble all day off the bounce, getting himself to the rim and finishing with 18 points.  But the Bisons three point shooting suffered with strong Guelph "d" and probably some fatigue as 6'7" Sean Maxwell had only 8 points and was limited to just 1-4 3's while 6'6" emerging third year forward Richard Reimer was held in check after a pair of strong offensive games vs. Brock and Mac.  The Bisons, who generally rely on the three point shot as their main offensive weapon, went only 5 for 23 from downtown but still leave Southern Ontario with a 2-1 record during a trip that should raise optimism with their program.

Guelph, now 2-0 in the pre-season, prepares to meet UBC Thunderbirds tomorrow at home beginning at 1 PM.  The T-Birds are playing Guelph Phoenix senior men's team today.

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