By Daniel Carrero
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s basketball team won 89-63 over the Guelph Gryphons in the first round of the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) playoffs at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC) on Wednesday night.
With the victory, the Bold advance to the Wilson Cup quarterfinals, where they will face the top seed of the OUA West division, the Western Mustangs.
The Bold finished second in the OUA Central division with a 15-7 regular-season record, which proved enough to secure a spot in the playoffs but not a first-round bye. TMU then had to face the Gryphons, who finished the season with a 9-13 record, clinching the 12th and last spot in this year’s playoffs.
The Bold faced an opponent they are comfortable with, having won all of their last seven games against the Gryphons, including an 80-50 victory earlier this season. With all the odds favouring the Bold, the game went their way to secure a first win in their search for the Wilson Cup.
“It’s playoffs. Anything can happen in the playoffs, right? You can’t let our guys get complacent,” said head coach David DeAveiro. “When you’re favoured to win, it’s harder. I’d rather be in their shoes than be in our shoes because you have nothing to lose.”
The Bold set the tone early in the first quarter with a dunk and a layup from fourth-year forward Aidan Wilson, followed by a three-point driller by first-year guard Maxime Louis-Jean. The Gryphons had no choice but to call for a timeout and rethink their approach for the start of the game.
But the timeout was not going to dampen the Bold’s intensity. With dunks from Wilson and third-year guard Javier Gilgeous-Glasgow, the Bold exploded for 15 points before the Gryphons appeared on the scoreboard.
TMU grasped that lead and didn’t look back for the rest of the game.
To close out the first quarter, Gilgeous-Glasgow sunk a buzzer-beater with a three-point circus shot that catapulted the Bold into the second quarter with a 29-16 lead.
The Bold were on fire, even too much for Guelph head coach Chris O’Rourke, who got a technical foul at the end of the first quarter after disagreeing with the referee’s call.
O’Rourke’s anger inspired his players to become more active. Following five uncontested points for Guelph to begin the second quarter, DeAveiro called for a timeout at the 33-21 mark.
Proven successful, the timeout brought the Bold back to their calm, cool and collective game. Three-pointers from Gilgeous-Glasgow, fourth-year guard Aaron Rhooms and second-year guard Gabriel Gutsmore extended the point difference to 49-30. TMU went on to shoot 33.3 per cent from beyond the arc in the game—with a game-high of four threes completed on seven attempts during the second quarter.
Despite the Bold having the advantage, the Gryphons become more composed on offence. The visitors scored eight unanswered points to close the first half, shortening the point differential from 21 to 13.
“We let a good-shooting quarter get away from us. We should be up 25 [points], we should be disappointed,” said DeAveiro. “The last time we played this team, we held them to 40. We gave up 40 in the first half. Some of that was them, but a lot of that was us. And we need to know that.”
DeAveiro wasn’t happy with the team’s defensive performance to maintain the point difference, as well as their shot selection. After the buzzer called the end of the first half at 53-40, he stormed to the dressing room to correct things.
“[When] you take a bad shot, they come down and they score. That upsets me. It doesn’t look like we know what we’re doing on the floor,” said DeAveiro. “We’re better than that. I hold our guys to a high standard, and sometimes they don’t hold themselves to that.”
The third quarter featured a slow start for both teams, as it took two minutes for third-year Gryphons guard Shaathon Walker to open up the scoring with a quick layup.
Nevertheless, the Bold’s plan was clear. What worked in the first quarter was the way to tackle the Gryphons: Wilson’s work in the paint. With 10 of his 14 points coming from dunks, Wilson drew attention to himself and regained the 20-point difference at the 64-44 mark.
“[DeAveiro told me] stop going up soft, pretty much. Go up strong. You can jump higher than everybody. So just go up and put the ball in the rim,” said Wilson.
Wilson’s efforts didn’t come alone. Gilgeous-Galsgow, Rhooms and graduate guard Jahcobi Neath were slowly rising as the score leaders in the team. With the help of Rhooms with an under-and-up layup, and two three-pointers from Neath, the Bold closed the quarter at 72-47.
Neath and Gilgeous-Glasgow finished the game with 12 points. Meanwhile, Rhooms—who finished the regular season leading the OUA in points per game with 22, points with 463 and field goals with 170—scored a humble 21 points.
“I recognize that a lot of these teams are gonna game plan against me with my impact,” said Rhooms. “It’s just about finding everybody, and I try my best to do so. My guys were able to knock down some good shots and do their things.”
While DeAveiro was happy with his team’s offensive efforts, he was even happier that the Bold held the Gryphons to only seven points in the third quarter, compared to the 24 points they scored in the second quarter. DeAveiro wants to grasp onto that defensive prowess down the line in the playoffs.
“When you move on, teams get a little bit better, right? Like if we do that on Saturday, we’re losing,” said DeAveiro. “With a veteran team like Western and on the road, we can’t do that. You’re gonna end up losing.”
The Bold took complete control of the game going into the fourth quarter, catapulting their advantage to 27 points. Nevertheless, their defensive efforts became messy. With more than five minutes left on the clock, TMU had already registered five fouls, giving Guelph the chance to catch up via foul shots.
The efforts of first-year Gryphons guard Amare Hamilton, who scored a team-high 20 points, was the sole offensive threat posed to the Bold. But momentum belonged to TMU and with successful rotation and time management, TMU secured the victory at 89-63.
The Bold can finally say they dealt successfully with the ghosts in their rearview mirror, following their early first-round exit from the Wilson Cup to the hands of the McMaster Marauders last year.
“It feels great …Yes, we had an early exit [last year], but coming into this year, definitely motivated to get as far as we can,” said Rhooms. “The group we have this year is inspired to do the same thing. And I feel like we can make a really good push.”
TMU will now face the Western Mustangs, who secured fourth place in the general standings and the last first-round bye. Having won 91-83 on Nov. 13, the Bold will look to repeat their regular season success in the playoffs.
DeAveiro remains critical of his team and is already thinking about what to adapt for the next round of the playoffs.
“Rhooms only played 26 minutes, so we might have to go full forward,” said DeAveiro. “We know we’re facing the best team in the West [division] on Saturday at their place, and they play a lot of zone [defence], so we need to carry some of that hot shooting.”
UP NEXT: The Bold will visit London, Ont. to face the Western Mustangs on Feb. 22. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
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