TORONTO – The No. 5 ranked Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men's basketball squad followed up their memorable win over the No. 6 Carleton Ravens with a frustrating 74-66 home defeat to the Brock Badgers on Saturday.
Brock's Michael Matas was instrumental in the visitors' upset win over the Bold and led the Badgers with a career-best 28 point showing that included a perfect 10-10 record from the free-throw line.
Aaron Rhooms topped TMU's offensive output in the loss and finished just two rebounds shy of posting his fourth double-double of the campaign, a mute feat as the Bold struggled to carry over their high-flying offense that outdueled the Ravens less than 24 hours prior to Saturday's tipoff.
Head coach of the Bold, David DeAviero, was discontent with splitting the weekend in his side's return from the holiday break, chalking up the loss to a difference in shot making that the Badgers possessed in bulk.
"We struggled early to make shots," said DeAveiro. "I thought today we struggled following the plan a little bit and moving the ball."
"I thought we were a little more selfish today."
The Bold began the night in full control over their opposition, jumping out to a 7-2 lead and suffocating Brock's attack beyond the arc. The visitors struggled to get their three-point attempts to land all throughout the initial frame, with the final play of the quarter, a three-point attempt from Brock's Nemanja Sarkanovic, clanking off the rim to punctuate an 0-6 showing that left the Badgers trailing 19-10.
TMU's lead failed to last however, and proved to be no match for the unprecedented hot streak of Matas throughout the second quarter. The senior dominated the Bold in all areas of the paint and became the frontrunner to Brock's 16-4 run to start the frame.
His 12 points helped flip the game on its head and power the Badgers to a 26-23 lead that despite shooting a game-worst 19 percent from the field, the Bold were able to pull even with thanks to a pair of late three's from Rhooms.
The break did little to disrupt Brock's comeback bid, with the visitors latching onto a seven-point lead less than two minutes into the third quarter.
The Bold offered glimpses of their own comeback bid with a pair of 5-0 runs to claw their way back into the contest but watched ironically as the Badgers turned their biggest struggle of the night (three-point conversion) into the defining strength (66.7 3pt %) to help foil TMU's fighting spirit.
Brock's Jalen Edwards closed out the third quarter with a buzzer beating three to grow their lead over the Bold to 11, a difference the home side could not make a serious enough dent into to avoid dropping their second contest of the season.
The Bold will look to rebound from their frustrating loss when they take on the Lakehead Thunderwolves next Friday. Tipoff from Thunder Bay is set for 8 p.m.
