Box Score Playing without veteran leader Rohan Boney, who was nursing a sore ankle, the McMaster men's basketball team fell to the Ryerson Rams 99-77 Wednesday night in Toronto.
 
The Rams began the game on a 9-0 run before Mac's Connor Gilmore knocked down a triple before driving in the lane for two more to get the Maroon on the board. Ryerson kept the pressure on though and despite three difficult contested jumpers from the left block scored by Chris Thompson, the Marauders still found themselves trailing 27-17 at the end of the first.
 
Ryerson kept going in the second quarter opening up on a 7-2 run. Gilmore managed to score 11 in the quarter, but the impressive Rams offense gave the home team a 48-36 lead going into halftime.
 
The Marauders struggled coming out of the intermission as Ryerson went on a 16-4 run midway through the quarter. Gilmore and Lazar Kojovic did their best to try and keep the game close, but the Marauders trailed 79-54 going into the fourth after another run by the Rams.
 
The Marauders were unable to cut into the deficit in the final frame and with four minutes left in the game, Mac pulled their starters out as Ryerson went on to take the victory.
 
Gilmore led the Marauders in scoring with 30 points and also pulled down 11 rebounds, while David McCulloch added 11 points and six assists  in the loss.
 
Despite being strong on the glass, scoring 31 second chance points compared to just 19 for Ryerson, the Marauders shot just 35% from the field, while Ryerson shot 46%.
                       
The Marauders are now 7-7 on the season, while Ryerson is still undefeated in OUA play.
 
McMaster heads back to Toronto on Saturday, January 28th to face U of T at 2-pm.
 
The game is available online at oua.tv and is on radio on CFMU 93.3 FM.

By Jonah Tuck