By Victoria Cha
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s basketball team demolished the University of Waterloo Warriors in an 83-35 victory at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC) on Saturday night.
The game marks the Bold’s sixth consecutive win, adding yet another triumph to the team’s outstanding 8-1 overall record and 5-0 home record.
The Bold return to their home court after an exhausting battle against the Wilfred Laurier Golden Hawks the night prior, which ended in a narrow 85-78 victory.
“We had all the excuses in the world not to play well today. My hat goes off to these guys. They came out, and every time I have a concern, they just [say] ‘Don’t worry. We got it,’” said head coach David DeAveiro. “It’s nice to coach the team that tells you that, and then goes out and does it.”
Fourth-year forward Aidan Wilson’s win at the tip-off set the tone for a lopsided game. Although third-year Waterloo guard Cristian Craciun scored the first point of the game on a free throw, the Bold rejected all ideas of the Warriors persevering.
Shots from first-year guard Maxime Louis-Jean and graduate student Jahcobi Neath secured the first few points for the Bold, giving them the higher ground early in the first quarter with a score of 6-1.
TMU continued to rack up points as Waterloo’s mistakes made for easy opportunities to widen the gap between the teams.
After fourth-year point guard Rafael Llorin found the hoop from the three-point line, a stream of missed passes and failed shooting attempts kept the Warriors basket empty and fruitless.
A long run of Bold points from the hands of Wilson, second-year guard Gabriel Gutsmore and fourth-year guard Aaron Rhooms helped bring the score to 22-4 at the end of the quarter.
“[Waterloo is] a good team. We held a good team to four points. That’s hard to do at this level. I know they missed some shots, but a lot of that was because of our energy,” said DeAveiro. “Not many teams have done that or can do that, so that’s something that our guys can hang their hats on.”
The second frame opened up with Neath initiating a Waterloo turnover, interrupting a pass by second-year Warriors point guard Isaiah McRae and sending the ball to Gutsmore, who rushed to the basket to keep the Bold rolling.
McRae got up from that mishap with a bad taste in his mouth, however, and quickly made a three-point play to bring the score to 26-7.
The Warriors executed a tighter performance in the second quarter than what they offered in the first. A series of points highlighted by a three-pointer by second-year guard Mac Steenburgh and a long offensive battle ending with a tip-in by Craciun pushed Waterloo’s score up.
Despite this, the Bold became an unrelenting force that the Warriors just couldn’t combat. With Wilson’s strong defensive plays, the Bold dominated all parts of the court. Waterloo rebounds quickly became TMU possessions, while Rhooms’ constant offensive power bolstered the Bold lead to 44-16.
“Defence creates offence. If we can get easy points off our defence and get easy buckets, we’re going to keep doing that and keep talking about that. When we do that, we have a good chance of winning most games,” said DeAveiro.
The second half was a display of incredible efforts by Wilson and third-year guard Javier Gilgeous-Glasgow.
Gilgeous-Glasgow ambitiously manoeuvred himself into open space to ensure every three-pointer attempt he made was successful. If his shots did fly off the rim, Wilson would swing in and secure the rebound.
“Our slogan is ‘Stay solid’, so we never watch the scoreboard. We go into halftime thinking we’re down and we have to have the better half than the other team. And that’s what we did tonight,” said Gilgeous-Glasgow.
As the third frame sped to its conclusion, second-year forward Galand Okeugo brought it to an exhilarating end. With two seconds left, a steal and pass by Gutsmore put the ball in the grasp of Okeugo who dunked it straight into the basket.
With the Bold leading 68-25, the Warriors had nothing left to hope for except a closer gap between them and their destructive opponents.
The final quarter bled on and unwavering strength from TMU persisted as Waterloo plays began coming up faulty. A slew of blocked shots and failed passes made the prospect of a string of points impossible.
The sub-ins of first-year guard Greg Angelakos and first-year forward Andrejs Silconoks only guaranteed more dominance for the Bold.
Angelakos opened up scoring for the Bold with a spin move into a two-point bucket and Silconoks only built off that power by scoring his own set of two-pointers, partnered with blocks throughout.
Angelakos and Silconoks are just two of the multifaceted players on the Bold bench. The talent of his team is so immense that DeAveiro often has trouble figuring out which ones to play.
“Our expectations don’t change regarding who’s in the lineup, who’s not in the lineup. This is our DNA, this is our culture,” said DeAveiro. “If you get a uniform, you’re lucky to get a uniform, but you’ve earned that, and so you don’t want to give that uniform up.”
Thanks to TMU’s suffocating defence, the Warriors had few opportunities to keep their offence alive and their reliance on luck hit an all-time high—most of the team’s points in the final frame came from free throws.
In the game’s closing minutes, both the Bold and the Warriors found enough footing to score their final points. Silconoks and first-year Waterloo point guard Andre Rudy traded similar manoeuvres in which they wove their way through the key and scored two points each for their team.
After a showcase of immense offence and even fiercer defence, the Bold sent the Warriors packing with almost a 50-point margin of victory.
“We have a really deep squad. Some [players] don’t even get to suit up some nights, and that’s a testament to how good our bench…and how good our supporting cast is,” said Gilgeous-Glasgow. “In practice, they go hard every day, so they deserve to do what they did and they showed out today. We’re proud of them.”
UP NEXT: The Bold will take on the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees—the third-ranked team in U Sports as of Nov. 18—on Nov. 30 at the MAC. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.
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