By Francesco Cautillo

The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s basketball team began their preseason in successful fashion with a 92-71 win against the Central Michigan Chippewas on Wednesday evening at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC).

This game marked the first of two friendly games against teams from the top division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), as the Bold are set to host the Oakland University Golden Grizzlies on Saturday Aug. 22.

The Bold are coming off a historic Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championship winning season led by team captain and MVP guard Aaron Rhooms, where they finished fourth in the national rankings.

“Anytime we get these opportunities, it’s a good one, especially if our guys are looking forward to playing these games,” said head coach David DeAviero on his team’s eagerness to start the season.

This marks the first Bold victory against an NCAA school in over a decade, as TMU suffered an array of preseason losses to top American universities such as Duke, Oregon and Southern Methodist.

With Rhooms now graduated, questions beckon for this young and skilled TMU roster. However, this matchup proved as an opportunity for the Bold to prove themselves as a collective unit, in addition to hardworking players fighting to make the cut on the program’s limited squad depth.

DeAviero alluded to this sense of responsibility for the veteran players on the team, shouting out young players like second-year guards Greg Dorsey and Kevin Toth, stating that “those guys are going to have to take on some of those responsibilities.”

Coming off a collegiate championship with the Humber College Hawks, freshman guard Nathaniel Savage was one of those players looking to etch their name in the starting roster.

“Having this type of team encouraging me and pushing me to be better is a great experience,” said Savage.

With tip-off passed, the game started very evenly as the teams exchanged simple baskets and looked to warm up after a long summer off.

Unshaken by any off-season rust, graduate guard Javier Gilgeous-Glasgow found himself with an incredible 15 points early in the game. Gilgeous-Glasgow heads to Alabama’s Troy University this semester, hoping to make a name for himself in the NCAA.

TMU found themselves ahead to enter the second quarter, knowing a large feat awaited them if they wished to match their early intensity. Rather than copy the pacing of the Chippewas, DeAviero and the team used cultivated passing to out-man their opponents.

This stretch carried throughout the quarter, eventually closing it off in a 20 point Bold lead and marking the score at 50 to 30 in favor of the Bold.

Down but not out, Central Michigan slowly gnawed their way back into the game, finding their stride with third-year guards Phat Phat Brooks and Keenan Garner marking themselves in double digit game points.

The Bold persisted though, hoping to hit that milestone of an NCAA victory. With cool heads, the blue and gold kept their possession-based play rolling, opting for more clean points inside the arc.

Deaviero believes that this consistency comes from the difficulty of the OUA and the tough competition to test them.

“We’re doing a lot more teaching and we got out new guys,” mentioned DeAviero, who added that this consistency stays with the goal of a national championship.

The fourth quarter began and despite Gilgeous-Glasgow did cool down from his hot streak, his teammates took the opportunity to step up. Players like fourth-year guard Deandre Goulbourne, who picked up twelve points and plenty of action battling deep in the opposing paint.

TMU were able to close out Central Michigan in a — win, beating the American side and kicking off their pre-season in tremendous form.

UP NEXT: The Bold will battle the Oakland University Golden Bears on Aug. 22 at the MAC. Tip-off is at 6 p.m.