By Harsh Kumar
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s basketball team won their third pre-season game in a row as they secured a dominant 99-81 win over the Dalhousie Tigers Friday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC).
TMU faced an out-of-conference team in the Tigers as fourth-year guard David Walker put on a show. The Toronto product finished with 26 points, five steals and two assists.
The Bold got off to a hot start taking a 9-1 lead in the first few of minutes of the opening quarter. They maintained their lead throughout, but the Tigers kept it close, bringing the score to within one point around the four minute mark.
The Tigers kept the game close due to the foul mistakes by the Bold as the Dalhousie made 12 of 14 free throws in the game. Yet, the Bold were able to stay ahead due to their offense shooting 58 per cent from the field.
“I think we gotta work on our competitive level [and] a little bit of toughness on defense,” said Bold head coach David DeAviero.
The Tigers and Bold exchanged a pair of threes to start the second quarter, bringing the score to 26-23 for TMU. Three pointers were the story of the quarter as both teams went back and forth exchanging buckets behind the arc.
The Bold offense stole the show as they were able to extend their lead to 10 with just over seven minutes left. The Tigers struggled getting to the rim due to The Bold’s defense.
Dalhousie third-year guard Malcolm Christie had a strong first half finishing with 17 points, but it was the Bold who dominated on both sides of the court leading 58 to 39 at halftime. Turnovers and strong offense in the paint allowed the Bold to run away with the game as they led points in paint 28-to-six and led points off turnovers 23-to-three.
Dalhousie found their stride once again to start the third quarter as both teams went back and forth. The Bold had 10 points and the Tigers had nine points with just under five minutes left in the quarter. While it was a much more balanced quarter, the Bold’s already big lead plus a strong ending meant that they were able to extend the margin 81-55.
While the Tigers came out hot to start the fourth quarter it was not enough to cover the already massive deficit.
“I didn’t like the way we closed at the end, but we beat a good team [and] scored 99 points,” said DeAveiro.
UP NEXT: The Bold head to Waterloo, Ont. to play against Concordia on Oct. 12 in the Naismith Classic. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.
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