By Todd Ash-Duah
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s basketball team defeated the McMaster Marauders 104-92 at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC) on Wednesday night to advance to the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) quarter-finals.
The Bold got off to a very sloppy start, giving the ball away to the Marauders multiple times, leading to McMaster taking control of the game in the early going.
“We weren’t playing with energy defensively,” said TMU head coach David DeAveiro.
The Marauders continued their hot start, pressuring the Bold into mistakes and capitalizing on fastbreak opportunities. However, TMU guard David Walker provided a nice jolt of energy for the home squad, finishing with seven points in the first quarter as McMaster took a 25-18 lead into the second quarter.
The Marauders picked up right where they left off as they went on a 9-4 run to grab a 34-22 lead early in the second. Walker continued his hot start, keeping the Bold in the game with a huge three-pointer. But McMaster punched right back, as guard Mike Demagus answered with a triple of his own, leading to the Bold staring down a 15-point deficit.
“We talked about how we wanted to come out aggressively to start and we didn’t do that,” said DeAveiro. “We gave up 54 points in the first half and that’s just not who we are.”
With just a little over five minutes remaining in the first half, the play of the game occurred when Walker got the ball off a McMaster turnover, drove to the hoop and finished with a nasty posterizing jam, leading to the crowd absolutely exploding at the MAC. The TMU guard led all scorers at the end of the first half, finishing with 20 points.
“Coming off the bench, I have to do more than what the starters are doing,” said Walker, who finished with a game-high 29 points. “I’m just trying to bring that energy, that scoring and that spark to the team.”
The Marauders responded with a couple of buckets to take a double-digit lead, Bold wing Aaron Rhooms swiftly re-closed the gap. He scored five points in quick succession bookended by a monster two-handed slam to cut McMaster’s lead down to four points with just a little over four minutes remaining in the first half
But every time it seemed like the Bold would take control of the game, McMaster responded. Guard Sefa Otchere hit a wide-open corner three to give the Marauders a seven-point lead. They wouldn’t relinquish the lead that quarter as McMaster led TMU going into the third quarter, 54-51.
With a smidge over six minutes left in the third quarter, Rhooms delivered once again, getting the ball off a Marauders miss and charging to the rim with a powerful slam to cut McMaster lead down to one point.
“We locked up on defence,” said Rhooms. “We were kind of sloppy with our rotations in the first half, but in the second half, we were able to get it done collectively as a team.”
Halfway through the third, TMU guard Lamar Everd drove to the rim and finished with a slick reverse layup, giving TMU a 63-62 lead, their first of the game since the early part of the first quarter.
Walker made another highlight-reel play at the 3:55 mark in the third quarter, driving to the cup and slamming on a Marauders defender for yet another poster dunk. The crowd at the MAC went bonkers as the Bold now led 74-67 and were on a 20-8 run.
Not to be outdone by his teammate, TMU forward Lincoln Rosebush was dominant in the third. Rosebush finished with 15 points in 10 minutes of action in the quarter, which included a triple to give the Bold an 83-70 lead heading into the final frame.
With their season on the line, McMaster went on a 13-3 run to open the fourth quarter as Demagus made a nice fall away jumper to cut the Bold’s lead down to just three points. The Marauders were not going to go down lightly.
But, as they’ve done so many times during the season, the Bold responded and they responded with a bang. Guard Ankit Choudhary hit a three-pointer and Walker capitalized off a McMaster miss with a layup in transition, holding on to control of the game as TMU led 94-83 with just over six minutes remaining in the game.
The Bold’s defence was stout to end the game, as they held the Marauders to just nine points in the final six minutes.
“The message at halftime to our guys was that we had to be better defensively or else we’re not gonna have a chance to win,” said DeAveiro. “So our guys really locked in defensively and came with energy in that second half.”
UP NEXT: The Bold travel to the nation’s capital to take on the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees on Feb. 25. Tip-off of the OUA quarter-final matchup is set for 8 p.m.
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