A red hot start staked the Marauders to a healthy lead Wednesday, one which waxed and waned in the team's OUA first round playoff but never quite disappeared.
McMaster began the contest with a 13-0 run and withstood a late comeback attempt from Guelph, to ultimately earn a 78-75 win over the Gryphons at Burridge Gym and advance to the OUA's quarterfinal stage.
Fighting to within a possession, the Gryphons saw their last chance to swing the result pass when Malcolm Glanville's three-point attempt at the buzzer found only the backboard.
With the win, the Marauders earned a trip to Waterloo on Saturday, February 23, where they will battle the OUA West's top-seeded Laurier Golden Hawks at 4:00 p.m.
The duo of Damiann Prehay and David McCulloch led McMaster with 13 points apiece, while a total of six Marauders eclipsed double digits in points.
Much as they did in their previous meeting at Burridge Gym a week earlier, the two teams found themselves in frequent foul trouble Wednesday.
Each side had a player foul out, with Rasheed Weekes leaving the game for the Gryphons while Sefa Otchere was similarly ejected for the Marauders. The teams combined for 48 fouls, and took a total of 59 free throws.
Emerging from the opening tipoff with purpose and their range in tow, the Marauders scored the game's first 13 points and shot 10 of 22 from the field in the first quarter, jumping to an 11-point lead through 10 minutes at 26-15.
That early success cooled dramatically in the second, as the home side hit just three of 22 shots from the field and watched as the visitors pulled their deficit to within one possession at the half, with McMaster leading 38-36.
Regaining their composure at the break, the Marauders rebuilt a 10-point lead at 48-38 after a pair of layups from Otchere inside the first two minutes of the third quarter.
The lead hovered around the double-digit mark until the late stages of the quarter, when Guelph ripped off a 9-3 run to pull within five points as the teams entered the fourth at 60-55.
McMaster seemingly had the game in hand as its lead swelled to 11 once again with just under four minutes to play, but Guelph stormed back to within a possession in the final minute, assuring one last look on offence after a Kieran Naus layup.
But the Gryphons were stalled on their way up the floor and hurried into a last-ditch move for Glanville, whose long-distance heave ricocheted harmlessly off of the top of the backboard and clear.
NEXT UP: McMaster advances to the OUA quarterfinal stage, where the Marauders meet the Laurier Golden Hawks in Waterloo on Saturday, February 23 at 4:00 p.m. The two teams split their previous meetings this season, with Mac winning a 79-67 decision in Waterloo and Laurier taking the return leg of the season series 87-73 in Hamilton. Saturday's quarterfinal can be seen live on OUA.tv.
