By Todd Ash-Duah
In their first exhibition game of the year, the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s basketball team fell short to the Towson Tigers 80-67 on Friday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC).
Towson University is a National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division I school based in Towson, Maryland amid a Canadian tour to face a string of U Sports teams. Before taking on TMU, their first pit stop came in Toronto on Thursday night as they took on the University of Toronto Varsity Blues (U of T). The Tigers led wire-to-wire in that one and emerged victorious by a score of 90-58.
“The number one thing that we wanted to see out of our players tonight was just playing with a sense of energy and urgency,” said lead assistant coach Jeremie Kayeye, who led the Bold behind the bench throughout the night. “If you’re going to make a mistake, make a mistake playing aggressively and be fearless out there.”
In the matchup, Towson came out with an aggressive mentality, forcing the Bold into multiple turnovers as they went up 6-0 in the early going. TMU responded with a 10-2 run before a three-pointer by Tigers swingman Tyler Tejada gave the visitors an 11-10 lead with 3:01 remaining left in the first quarter. From there, both teams traded baskets while also playing intense defence as Towson took an 18-16 lead into the second.
It appeared that the first quarter was more of a feeling-out period as both teams looked a lot more comfortable offensively to begin the second quarter. After TMU guard David Walker converted a difficult layup in traffic to knot the game up at 25, the Tigers responded with a dominant 21-2 run. The visitors found room in the paint repeatedly and punished the Bold.
Through 20 minutes, Towson held the Bold to just 35.7 per cent shooting from the field and 25 per cent shooting from three-point range. TMU had compiled just six assists to 14 turnovers and faced a huge deficit as the Tigers took a convincing 46-27 lead at the half.
“The ball was stagnant,” said Kayeye. “We were taking either no dribble or one pass shots and we weren’t really moving the ball.”
The third quarter began much like the second ended; with Towson in control. The Tigers continued to impose their will on the Bold, showcasing impressive ball movement and finishing at the rim. In particular, Towson forward Charles Thompson consistently made plays, including a powerful two-handed jam to give his team a 58-40 lead.
The Bold decided to take a page out of the Tigers’ playbook by ferociously attacking the paint, which led to eight free throw attempts and a slick euro-step move by swingman Julian Walker. Despite this and holding Towson to just 35 per cent shooting from the field during the period, TMU couldn’t put a huge dent into the Tigers’ lead, as the visitors led by 16 entering the fourth quarter.
The Bold came out on fire to start the final period of action. Newcomer Michael Kayembe drilled a triple to cut the Tigers’ lead to 13. Then, after a layup by TMU guard Aaron Rhooms, Kayembe knocked down a tough step-back three to bring the Bold within single digits for the first time since early in the second quarter. The score was 64-56 in favour of Towson, but after Kayembe’s second three-pointer, the momentum began to shift at the MAC.
“Today, Kayembe was three and D”, said Kayeye. “He provided length and guarded everybody one through five.”
However, that would be as close as the Bold would get, as the Tigers closed out the victory led by their lockdown defence and relentless paint attack in the final minutes.
“In the second half, we did a great job of fixing [the turnovers] and making it a game”, said Kayeye.
UP NEXT: The Bold will take on the Indiana University of Pennsylvania on Sept. 3. Tip-off at the MAC is set for 1 p.m.
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