Guelph, by Way of France

Top performers

Jonathan Moscatelli (Guelph): 30 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists

Ryan McNeilly (Ryerson): 17 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal

TORONTO, ON – The Guelph Gryphons defeated the Ryerson Rams by a final score of 90-77 for their third win a row and their first away from home.

Behind the strong play of fourth-year forward Jonathan Moscatelli, Guelph was in control much of the game: the Gryphons led by 15 points at halftime and even pushed the lead to 23 to start the fourth quarter.

Roy Rana, Ryerson head coach, was not happy with the performance of his team and explained that, “Defensively, we were very, very poor today.”

As Guelph shot over 49% overall and almost 55% from 3-point range, it was hard to argue with Rana. “They hit everything tonight,” said the head coach in praising the play of the Gryphons, an underrated team in his mind.

Moscatelli received player-of-the-game honors for his strong play, as he punished the Rams for a game-high 30 points. He was able to knock down some early baskets, after which he used the threat of his jump shots to break down the Rams defence on the way to the basket.

“(That was) a good win for us,” said Moscatelli, a native of France who arrived to Toronto ten years ago at age 13. “Going on the road, we showed maturity.”

Things almost unraveled for Guelph as its lead was cut to just seven points toward the midway point of the fourth quarter because of a 23-7 Ryerson run. Rams rookie Jordon Gauthier hit two quick 3-point shots early in the fourth and veteran Ryan McNeilly scored five points right after as they the Rams made it clear that they would not go away quietly.

In the end, Ryerson’s comeback bid fell just short, as Guelph was able to respond and regain some momentum.

Rana, rather, wanted to insist on the whole game. He preached to his team that, “It’s not good enough to play one quarter.”

What happened in the fourth quarter? “They put the pressure on us, we couldn’t guard them off the dribble and they got to the line. They could score with the time stopped. That was hurting us,” said Moscatelli.

His team was able to withstand the Ryerson pressure and still come out with the win, in no small part thanks to Moscatelli’s play.

The forward, however, was quick to defer praise to his teammates. He explained, “all the work is done by the point guards who found me wide-open.” Thanks to Michael Petrella and his game-high seven assists, the forward simply had to “put the ball in the rim.”

Moscatelli was the focal point of the Guelph offence, but third-year guard Kareem Malcolm also helped with 19 points. Third-year forward Jerald Greenidge, meanwhile, made many hustle plays and finished with a game-high 16 rebounds, many of which led to second-chance points for the Gryphons.

On the Ryerson side, the offensive effort was balanced with Gauthier (10 points), Jahmal Jones (16 points), Ola Adegboruwa (10 points) and McNeilly (17 points) scoring in double figures.

Guelph will look for its fourth win in a row as they visit a strong Toronto Varsity Blues team that has four wins in five contests this year; the Rams will look to bounce back and avoid a fifth-straight defeat when they play host to the Brock Badgers. Both contests are scheduled for tonight.