By Tristan Forde
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s basketball team lost 74-66 to the Brock Badgers on Sunday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
Before the game, the Bold introduced Toronto Raptors power forward Chris Boucher as part of a presentation of the SlimmDuck scholarship, an award he sponsors in partnership with TMU. The scholarship is directed toward students of Caribbean descent enrolled in the “Spanning the Gaps-access to post-secondary education” program in the Chang School of Continuing Education.
With an NBA champion in the building, the two teams came out looking to impress.
“We came into this game knowing it would be a highly competitive game…Our games against Brock have always been highly competitive games,” said head coach David DeAveiro.
The two powerhouse teams entered the game with a big win in the rearview mirror. The Bold defeated the Carleton Ravens 85-72 on Saturday, while the Badgers beat the York Lions 71-37 on Jan. 8. In the end, the Bold’s fatigue from a tough battle the night before and a standout performance from fourth-year Badgers forward Michael Matas were the difference.
The Badgers started the game strong, getting a headstart as third-year wing Michael Okeke scored the first point of the game. Bold struggled to break through the Badgers defence in the early minutes of the game, however, second-year forward Galand Okeugo scored the first point for the Bold with a lay-up to even things up. Okeugo finished the game with 12 points, tied for a team-high with fourth-year guard Aaron Rhooms.
“I like to play off the ball…I’m mostly trying to find gaps and open spots where my teammates can find me, and doing the little things to help my team win,” said Okeugo.
The two teams battled back and forth, with the Bold swayed by the Badgers defence and score, including a gutsy effort by first-year guard Maxime Louis-Jean to pull a foul and score two free throws, giving the Bold a seven-point run for a 7-2 lead.
A short time later, third-year guard Javier Gilgeous-Glasgow picked up a rebound and started a drive down the court but was very quickly shut down with a large block from fourth-year forward Michael Matas.
The London, Ont. produce would go on to be the top scorer of the game with 28 points—including 10 from a perfect performance at the free throw line—and pivotal focus in the Badgers game plan, as most of their offence would work through him blitzing the Bold defence.
The Bold’s work ethic and teamwork helped them stall out the Badgers going into the second period. With the support of the crowd, the Bold kept the lead and momentum with a 19-10 lead.
At the start of the second quarter, the Badgers heavily leaned upon their strong defence, working possession away from the Bold. After numerous failed attempts, the visitors eventually broke through TMU’s barriers and scored.
All throughout the game, DeAveiro could be heard echoing throughout the gym shouting at the players on his team to keep moving their feet and remain defensive, while sticking to their team-first identity on offence.
“Our key guys struggled today because they didn’t move the ball, they were trying to do too much on their own and win it on their own,” said DeAveiro.
With TMU’s lead diminishing, Matas took over. With an impressive pump fake to send fourth-year Bold forward Aidan Wilson flying, he freed up the paint for another point to bring Brock within three. Matas continued to draw fouls from the Bold, earning the next four points to complete a 14-2 run for the Badgers to steal the lead at 24-23. Matas scored 12 of those 14 points, including eight from the free-throw line.
“That’s where we struggled: that leadership that’s on the floor when things aren’t going our way. And that’s something we’ll continue to build on”
After fourth-year wing Jalen Edwards sunk a lay-up, Rhooms shot an impressive three-pointer to end the Badgers’ run and tie the game up at 26-26. After a timeout, Rhooms shot another three-pointer to keep his success from distance going but second-year Badgers guard Nemanja Sarkanovic would retaliate with another three-pointer. This sent the teams into halftime with the score at 29-29.
Though tied, the second quarter was a sample of things to come for the Bold, as they lost a step thanks to fouls and inconsistent offence.
“We could have been better at just moving the ball, getting a few more paint touches, and understanding the [scouting report] a little bit better,” said DeAveiro.
Fresh out of halftime, the Badgers’ defence pushed the Bold back enough to make them run the shot clock down all the way to a turnover. A layup from Okeke and a three-pointer from second-year guard Anthony Heyes would finally push the Badgers to surpass the Bold.
Badgers continually outplayed the Bold and cemented their lead as the third quarter went on. About halfway through the frame, DeAveiro called a timeout for the Bold to recollect.
“We talked about five minutes ago being down five, cutting that lead from ten to five, just the little increments,” said DeAveiro.
Despite having the home turf advantage Brock dominated the momentum of the game, the Bold would slowly start chipping away at the gap between them and Brock. DeAveiro started making mass substitutions to change up the pace of the game, but it would prove fruitless as the Badgers continued to extend the gap between the two teams.
Every time the Bold would score a point to close the gap, the Badgers would pull away even further. The teams entered the fourth quarter with the score sitting at 55-44.
Both teams put everything on the line to make one final push for victory in the fourth quarter. A huge steal from third-year Badgers guard Xavier Fearon allowed him an open net to score on but a foul from first-year Kevin Toth landed him at the free-throw line, where he made one of his two shots.
Next, Okeugo would again find a way around the Badgers and score a three-pointer for the Bold. Once again, little by little, after working as a team the Bold would continue to chip away at the gap the Badgers had created.
Brock made a mass substitution to bring most of their starters back onto the court. The powerful presence of Matas secured their lead, ensuring that the Badgers always had a strong option on offence and defence.
Towards the end of the game, second-year guard Michael Kayembe was subbed in and hit the ground running. He drilled his first three shots, all three-pointers, as part of an 11-6 run for the Bold to close the gap to eight. Kayembe played more than 10 for just the second time this season in the game while earning a season-high nine points.
Nevertheless, it would prove not enough as the clock hit zero and Matas and the Badgers emerged victorious.
“One of the things with young guys is they think they’re gonna turn it on and win this game by themselves and they can’t do that. It doesn’t work like that,” said DeAveiro. “That’s where we struggled: that leadership that’s on the floor when things aren’t going our way. And that’s something we’ll continue to build on.”
UP NEXT: The Bold will travel to Thunder Bay, Ont. to take on the Lakehead Thunderwolves on Jan. 17 at the C.J. Sanders Fieldhouse. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m.
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