Thunderwolves finish with 20th win

It wasn't all bad news for the visiting Guelph Gryphons.

They were spanked handily for a second straight night by the Lakehead Thunderwolves, falling 88-67, but still managed to capture the sixth and final playoff spot in the OUA West and a date with the suddenly ice-cold Laurier Golden Hawks on Wednesday.

The Gryphons finished 8-14 on the season, tied with Western, but won the tiebreaker because they scored more points in two games involving the two teams, a win for each side.

Ryan Thomson had 22 points to lead the first-place Wolves (20-2), who got a strong 19 from Matt Schmidt and 18 from Venzal Russell en route to the win, which leaves them two victories shy of a guaranteed third straight trip to nationals next month.
Daniel McCarthy had 19, topping all Gryphons scorers.

Lakehead, by way of finishing first in the OUA West, earned a first-round bye and will host a playoff game next Saturday night, the winner of which advances to the OUA final four at Waterloo.