The X-Men had a decisive run in the third quarter, rebuilding a double digit lead and went on to a comfortable defeat of the Gryphs in a neutral site game played at the Tower in Halifax at Saint Mary's. Both teams played without key rotation players as Guelph was without 4 regulars and the X-Men missed two including 5'10" Christian "T-Bear" Upshaw. The X/Guelph game was the first of an OUA / AUS doubleheader this evening with uOttawa Gee-Gees taking on host Saint Mary's Huskies in the nightcap.
X had comfortable leads throughout the first half but Guelph rallied late behind the strong play of 5'11" Kareem Malcolm, a long, smooth scoring point guard who led a 12-4 run late in the second quarter that cut X's lead to just one at halftime at 41-40. Malcolm had 23 of his game-high 30 points in the first half as X had a tough time dealing with his array of offensive skills. 6'5" Jeremy Dunn was the catalyst for X, especially at key points in the game, making big shots and getting into the lane. Dunn led X with 19 points and 9 rebounds while 5'9" point guard Will Silver, 6'3" Jordan Clarke and 5'10" Ellis Ffrench exposed a mounting concern for Guelph coach Chris O'Rourke, namely an inability to control the dribble. Silver had 14 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists while Clarke came alive in the second half, finishing with 16. 5'10" Charlie Spurr knocked down 3 3's as part of his 13 point effort and 6'9" Alberto Rodriquez finished with 11 points and 9 rebounds.
Both teams were missing their top, veteran scorers as X was without Upshaw, in street clothes tonight after sustaining a blow to the head in the first half of Sunday's loss at the Jack Donohue Memorial tournament vs. U of T Varsity Blues and will be reassessed tomorrow in advance of X's NIKE tournament first round game against UPEI. X's flashy 6'5" freshman Terry Thomas also missed this evening's affair. For Guelph, 6'4" fourth-year wing Jonathan Moscatelli did not make the trip with the Gryphons after tweaking his knee against Humber last week. Remember that Moscatelli has had a long history of knee injuries through which many had thought he had finally fought through so the Gryphs will be cautious with him. Also emerging 6'8" center John Brutto didn't make the trip out east while nursing a back injury. 6'5" Sharif Wiredu also missed the trip while dealing with concussion symptoms sustained against Guelph Phoenix men's team this past weekend. 6'8" Kevin Cameron, firmly in the rotation up front, will also not be available all weekend due to a family wedding commitment.
The undermanned Gryphs got a nice performance from gritty 5'11" guard Mike Patrella and got strong work up front from 6'5" Jerald Greenidge who had some bad luck around the rim but was active. 6'2" Dan McCarthy had 14 for Guelph, which got it back to 6 with the ball with 4 1/2 minutes left but couldn't get any closer and the deeper, strong X-Men dominated the glass when it counted.
Guelph now travels to Wolfville for a rematch against Acadia, looking to avenge a disappointing loss at home last weekend in which the Gryphs led by 6 late but could not hold on.
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