By Eli Silverstone
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s basketball team defeated the York Lions 81-65 on Seniors Night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC) on Saturday evening.
The Bold arrived comfortable to the matchup, as the Lions held a 4-16 record. York proved to be a dangerous team in the first half but a complete comeback in the second half allowed the Bold to say farewell to their seniors with a win.
The Bold celebrated graduate guard Jahcobi Neath and fourth-year forwards Elijah Roye, Aidan Wilson for their careers as a Bold athlete.
“A lot of growth, a lot of new family, I loved my time out here” said Roye when speaking about the past four years he spent on the squad.
While celebrating the seniors of the squad was the theme of the night, the Bold struggled to keep up with the Lions at bay. On the court, it was a long search for their stride.
“We had to change our defence. We had to create some energy. We didn’t have any in the first half,” said Bold head coach David DeAveiro.
The game kicked off in fairly unwatchable fashion. Both teams started out a combined 1-for-10 shooting from the field but despite the missed shots, it was clear the Lions came into the game with more energy.
“Their coach had them ready to play, they knew what we were doing and we didn’t match the intensity that they were playing with,” said DeAveiro.
Fourth-year York centre Liam Retschinn—who finished the game with 22 points and 14 rebounds—was taking whatever he wanted in the paint, while on the other side, the Bold struggled to create any halfcourt offense.
The first half ended with first-year guard Kevin Toth releasing a sprawling shot while trying to draw a foul that caught nothing but air, a fitting end to a 38-24 half where the Bold shot 0-for-10 from three. The offence that has averaged 80 points per game this season, was stifled by York’s defensive intensity.
Then they exploded. It started with a 23-10 run to start the third quarter and cut the lead to one. Then came TMU’s first lead of the game, 53-50, on a smooth-and-one layup by Toth. Momentum kept snowballing—with a few travels by York to boot, the Bold started hitting their three-point attempts, fourth-year forward Aaron Rhooms was getting to the basket and before you knew it, the Bold had outscored their opponents 37-15 in the third quarter.
“Coach said it was on us, and we took it on us and got through it…really proud of all the guys,” said Roye.
Rhooms finished with a game-high 26 points, a few days after dropping 43 against the Brock Badgers and a week after eclipsing the 1,500 point mark.
While Rhooms is a fourth-year student, DeAveiro mentioned that he has not finished his education at TMU yet and that is why he was not mentioned in the pre-game senior night ceremonies. He could play with the Bold for another year.
“I don’t know if we’ve seen a guy like him here [at TMU] ever,” said DeAveiro.
The Bold’s brutal offensive performance in the first half was long forgotten as first-year guard Maxime Louis-Jean knocked down five three-pointers in the second half. A “Booooooom” echoed around the MAC after the fourth shot from beyond the arc dropped.
“We put a freshman in our starting lineup in the toughest division of basketball in this country, and he’s responded,” said DeAveiro.
What had once looked like a nice underdog win for the Lions had turned into a Bold blowout, as a few late buckets for the Lions couldn’t get them back within striking distance.
UP NEXT: The Bold and Lions run it back on Feb. 8 at the Tait McKenzie Centre. Tip-off is set at 8 p.m.
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