GUELPH, Ontario - The Wittenberg Tigers dropped the first contest on their preseason exhibition game tour of Canada with an 80-69  loss to the University of Guelph.

Guelph stretched a four-point lead after the first quarter into a 43-34 halftime margin. The Gryphons shot a blistering 64 percent from the field in the first half while holding Wittenberg to 40 percent shooting.

The closest the Tigers could get in the second half was five points, which they did on multiple occasions. Guelph's shooting cooled off in the second half but Wittenberg was unable to muster a consistent offensive attack, in part due to 20 turnovers in the game.

Wittenberg was led by senior Sam Collins (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights) with 11 points and sophomore Brock Kiesler (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) with 10 points. Sophomore Shane Edwards (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) and freshman Jesse Phlipot (Houston, Ohio/Houston) each grabbed five rebounds for the Tigers as Wittenberg won the battle of the boards by a 32-28 margin.

"Our young men played extremely hard and competed equally as hard," said Wittenberg Head Coach Bill Brown. "Guelph had outstanding quickness, and we really struggled at times to keep them in front of us defensively. And our defensive help away from the ball was very spotty in the quest to keep Guelph from getting easy close-in looks.

"We played all 14 players on the trip. But for having such a young team this year and even when playing we are really encouraged with what we have to build upon."

The team has the day off Sunday, with a full day of sightseeing planned in and around the city of Toronto. The day starts off with the opportunity to observe a practice session of the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association.

The Tigers' next game is against York University in Toronto on Monday evening. The final game of the tour will be played against Windsor University on Tuesday afternoon.