Griffins lose top player to injury before falling 88-73 to Huskies
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
14 | 25 | 19 | 15 | 73 |
|
|
18 | 30 | 20 | 20 | 88 |
Team Stats
Saskatchewan
| Game Statistics | MacEwan University | Saskatchewan |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (26-57) | (35-65) |
| Field Goal % | 45.6% | 53.8% |
| Rebounds | 31 | 30 |
| Assists | 8 | 17 |
| Turnovers | 22 | 18 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 18 | 32 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 14 | 16 |
| Pts in the Paint | 26 | 46 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 0 | 0 |
| Bench Pts | 35 | 24 |
Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
SASKATOON, Sask. – Less than 24 hours after an exhilarating win on the opening night of the season, the basketball gods served up the complete opposite for the MacEwan Griffins.
Not only did they lose 88-73 to the Saskatchewan Huskies in Saturday's rematch, they lost star player Elisha Ampofo to a potentially serious lower-body injury.
The fifth-year veteran, who had led the Griffins with 14 points in Friday's 82-80 win, buckled while trying to juke out a defender in the opening seconds of the second quarter and had to be helped off.
"He's a key player for us," said head coach David Kapinga. "One of the biggest things will be how we can make up the offense and defense that we lost with him.
"Certain guys are going to have to step up, and we'll have to change a few of our systems to accommodate the changes. But you can't replace him. It's something that is very sad."
Without him in the lineup, that was essentially the difference in the game as the Huskies rolled to a split on the opening weekend of the 2025-26 season for both teams.
Marcus ISO Moore led the Griffins with 18 points, while Diego Presingular chipped in 17.
Diego Presingular hits one from downtown as the @MacEwanGriffins make a furious bid to get back in this one.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/8MOGMXkj75
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Basketball Team (@Griffins_MBB) October 26, 2025
Saskatchewan got 20 points from Dylan Miller, 16 from Emmanual Bonsu and 14 points and eight boards from Easton Thimm.
The Griffins had almost three quarters of adjusting on the fly after losing Ampofo, so they got a headstart on what it may be like without him for awhile.
"When an injury like that happens, people rally together," said Kapinga. "They become more of a team. There's more than 'I' when an injury like that happens. I saw that from our team. People were supporting each other and I thought that was really nice to see.
"Certain guys were able to step up and do a little bit more offensively and defensively for us. I was pleased to see that. Now we just have to try and increase those amount of possessions for those new players that are stepping up."
Presingular, Moore, Judson Weir and Hugo Alonso all topped 20 minutes in the contest for MacEwan, while Nathanael Ntumba led the team with seven rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench.
"Today, I'd give a shout out to Marcus and Nate," said Kapinga. "Nate worked his ass of defensively for us and ISO was our offensive engine when Elisha came off."
ISO open in the corner!
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Basketball Team (@Griffins_MBB) October 26, 2025
Marcus Moore drops a trey as the @MacEwanGriffins hang with @HuskieAthletics late in the first half.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/7e0QKfQzAj
Now, the Griffins will return to Edmonton for their home-opening weekend Oct. 31-Nov. 1 vs. Winnipeg.
"I think the positive is in this league, you try to take one game when you go away and then you protect home base," said Kapinga of starting the season 1-1. "We feel like we did our job here this weekend and now we've got to go and protect home base next weekend."
