TORONTO - The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men's basketball team is heading to the OUA quarter-final after defeating the McMaster Marauders 104-92 on Wednesday night in the opening round of the playoffs.

David Walker's massive one-handed jam in the second-quarter electrocuted the Bold. With the team trailing by 13, Walker went up and postered a Marauder defender. 

"Yeah, he jumped too late. His fault," said Walker.

"I didn't know it was coming. When he loads up and takes off, I don't know what's going to happen, but we needed it and we fed off that for the rest of the game," said Bold guard Aaron Rhooms.
 

The dunk shifted the momentum of the evening, as TMU was able to work themselves back in the final 4:58 to trim the deficit to three at recess.

"For us to survive the first half — because we didn't have a lot of energy to start. I'm sure Dave dunk got us going a little bit. But surviving that first half and only being down three was really important for us," said Bold head coach David DeAveiro.

"It was a huge energy boost," Rhooms, when asked about the Walker dunk.

In the third, TMU doubled up the Marauders, scoring 32 points to just 16 by the visitors to give the Bold a comfortable lead which they ultimately converted into a victory.

"We locked up on defence. We were a little sloppy on rotations and what not in the first half, but we were able to get it done collectively and that was the result," said Rhooms.

Walker led the way with 29 points, while Lincoln Rosebush and Rhooms and Lamar Everd, all hit double-digits on the night with 19, 18 and 17 points, respectively.

Walker was a walking highlight reel on the night, finishing with multiple jams, while connecting on two of his three attempts from beyond-the-arc.

"It's fun to watch, right? It just shows us what we're capable of doing. This is David Walker's first year with us," said DeAveiro.
 

he's just different man pic.twitter.com/wXZEyWpvMt

— TMU Bold Men's Basketball (@tmuboldmbb) February 23, 2023

Next up for TMU is a trip to Ottawa to take on the Gee-Gees, who are the No. 2 seed in the OUA.

The Gee-Gees got the best of the Bold in January, picking up a 86-72 win at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.

"I'm already in prep mode. Building off this win, building off this win against Brock — I think we're ready. In our head, it's just about executing and being very disciplined in our system. I think our chances are pretty good if we do those things," said Rhooms.

Quarter-final action is set for Saturday in the nation's capital.