Some might describe it as winning ugly, but the McMaster men's basketball team went toe-to-toe with a physical group of Guelph Gryphons and came away with an 82-69 victory on Saturday afternoon in the Burridge Gym.

McMaster came out playing the tough defense it has had on display of late, and behind 12 first-quarter points from Taylor Black, grabbed a 22-12 lead after 10 minutes.,

The second quarter was not classic basketball as the Gryphons tried to muscle the Marauders, and the officials were willing to let the teams play. Mac's Aaron Redpath scored six late points to help his team win the quarter 12-11 and carry a 34-23 advantage into halftime.,

Guelph continued to play a very physical style in the third quarter and behind post Ahmed Haroon, who scored nine straight points, got the McMaster lead down to just 51-45 at the end of the quarter.

Both teams were struggling to find some offense, but gave up nothing easy on the defensive end. With McMaster leading 53-49 early in the final quarter, the Maroon got the spark they were looking for as Trevon McNeil scored five of the team's next seven points, including a huge trey, and the lead was back up to double digits at 60-49. 
 

Now with some breathing space, the Marauders were able to maintain their margin and Guelph could not get closer than nine points for the rest of the contest. ,The final minutes of the fourth quarter turned into a parade to the free-throw line for both teams as the officials tightened up play considerably from the earlier action. Tempers flared late in the game and technical fouls were assessed on both teams, with one of the Gryphons getting ejected.  

Top scorer for the Marauders was Redpath with 21, while Black chipped in 17. Guelph was led by Adam Kemp who scored 21.

McMaster won the battle of the boards 37-23, and actually shot the ball well from the floor with a 52% mark as a team. The Gryphons shot 43% on the day.

The win lifts McMaster to an OUA record of 14 and 3, while Guelph goes to 7 and 10.

The Marauders are in action on Wednesday, February 18th for a home clash with the Brock Badgers. ,Tip-off for the men's game is set for 8 p.m.