Griffins Dismiss GPRC in Home Series

An ugly --albeit gritty-- performance by both teams preceded a see-saw battle in the fourth quarter that yielded a Griffins victory, behind a once again dominant performance by leading scorer Alain Mony'ele. The second game saw the Griffins score a season high 106 points in an offensive showcase for the home squad. The two wins give the Griffins a four-game win streak and a sizeable chance at a playoff berth.

Mony'ele the focal point of the Griffins offense. Photo by Dat Bui

Although to get to the theatrics, the Griffins offense was plagued by momentum killing turnovers and a lack of execution in the shooting department. Turnovers were likely due to the inconsistency of the point guard position seeing Denhammer, Kroetsch and Thomas Jereniuk running the offense at one point.

This resulted in a second quarter where MacEwan would score just 15 points. By halftime the Griffins were down 38-36, the score not fully portraying the struggle. The Griffins are looking to buck the trend of being outscored in the second quarter, opponents are +18 against the Griffins in the second frame

After recess MacEwan would grind out a third quarter that would turn out to be the prequel of a gutsy finish in the fourth, led by none other than Alain Mony'ele. The lead changed hands eight times in the fourth quarter alone with no team gaining a lead more than five points. Mony'ele scored 13 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter alone and drew hushed remarks about another talented basketball player that dons the number 24.

First-year forward Gerdes continues to own the paint. Photo by Dat Bui 

The Griffins defence also quieted Jordan Teo in the fourth quarter, allowing him to score just five points in the final frame. A clutch lay-in and the subsequent free throw by Keith Gerdes would put the Griffs up by one, 75-74. On the ensuing Wolves possession Giovanni Shettler would grab a key steal and Mony'ele would score thereafter putting MacEwan in the lead. That bucket turned out to be the game winner despite a couple successful Grande Prairie free throws.

MacEwan would have much more offensive punch in the second half of the double-header, passing the century mark in scoring for the first time this season. Thomas Jereniuk took the reins for the Griffins offence resulting in a scoring clinic for the home team.

The road would grow rocky in the third quarter where the Wolves woke from their offensive slumber, briefly. Grande Prairie's leading scorer Nicolaos Maniatis would score the bulk of his team leading 24.

Although the Wolves would succumb to surrendering 50 points in the paint to the Griffins, the painted area bred success for first-year forward Keith Gerdes, as he'd lead the team with 20 points.

MacEwan now totes a 10-9 record going into the final series of the season. The Griffins will close out the season at home on Friday night (8 p.m.) against King's University College (6-12) following the away game at King's Saturday evening.