TORONTO — The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men's basketball team cruised to a 99-80 win against the Lakehead Thunderwolves in a Halloween matchup on Friday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.

The No. 3 nationally ranked Bold entered the matchup after a close loss to Brock, while the No. 8 Thunderwolves came in as one of only four 2-0 teams in the OUA.

Third-year guard Gabriel Gutsmore caught fire for the Bold immediately after tip-off. He attacked the rim and scored two straight layups, then made the defence pay from beyond the arc by knocking down two threes. The hot start gave TMU an early 12-5 lead over the Thunderwolves.

Lakehead didn't bow down without a fight, though, and thanks to some solid three-point shooting managed to retake the lead at 17-16.

Later in the first, new Bold recruit Darnaz Mabanza entered the game for his first real minutes of the season (he played one minute earlier in the season against the McMaster Marauders) and made an immediate impact with a flashy and-one at the basket. 

The fourth-year guard transferred from Nipissing University over the summer, and will be a nice addition to bolster TMU's backcourt this season.

Mabanza's highlight gave the Bold some momentum, and as the quarter came to a close they led the Thunderwolves 26-20.

TMU kept that momentum going as the second frame started, growing their lead to 32-23.

Their fifth-year star forward Aaron Rhooms began to find his rhythm in that time, scoring four straight points. The run was highlighted by a beautiful spinning fadeaway that left his defender in the dust. 

Rhooms, the reigning OUA Men's Basketball MVP, has scored 18 or more points in each of the Bold's three matchups this season, finishing with 23 in the game. His ability to score at all three levels acts as TMU's offensive engine, providing the gravity that opens up opportunities for his teammates such as Gutsmore. 

As the second quarter progressed, TMU held strong with their lead hovering around ten. Every Thunderwolves basket was countered by the Bold's rapid ball movement and aggressive attacks to the rim.

With just under two minutes to go in the half, Lakehead gave TMU a Halloween scare with back-to-back steals and scores at the rim. Bold Head Coach David DeAveiro was forced to call a timeout to stop the bleeding with his lead down to just seven.

A Rhooms jumpshot helped calm the team down, and TMU led 47-38 as the halftime buzzer sounded.

Another major key to the first half for the Bold was second-year big Andrejs Silconoks. Despite not seeing the floor much in his first year, he's made his mark on the floor this season – especially against the Thunderwolves.

Silconoks logged eight points, four rebounds, and two blocks in the first half, and finished with 11, eight, and two.

The second half started with yet another Gutsmore scoring streak, as he notched a putback layup and an and-one within the first minute-and-a-half of quarter three.

His run helped TMU extend their lead to 16, 60-44.

In a desperate attempt to stay in the game, the Thunderwolves switched to a zone defence with five minutes to go in the third. 

The Bold have seen that type of defence before, though: in their previous game, the Badgers ran a zone for nearly all 40 minutes, and it forced TMU into some tough shots.

It was clear that DeAveiro and his squad had been working in practice on fixing those mistakes, though.

The efforts paid off, and TMU was able to maintain a ten-point lead through the end of the quarter despite the Thunderwolves' defensive switch. As the game reached its final frame, the Bold led 76-66.

Gutsmore played particularly well against the zone, finding success at the rim. He finished the game with a career-high 33 points, along with six rebounds.

"Gabriel has gotten better every year," praised DeAveiro, "I thought it was a tough matchup for [the Thunderwolves] with Gabriel, and he exploited it really well."

"I just let the game come to me," explained Gutsmore after the match, "I feel like I was just in the flow of the game: not rushing anything, not moving too fast… I was moving without the ball and finding open spots. My teammates found me when I was open."

The fourth quarter started off with a bang, as third-year forward Deandre Goulbourne skied for a highlight slam on the Thunderwolves defence. The play erupted the crowd and helped the Bold gain the momentum they needed to hold their lead and win the match.

As the quarter continued, TMU continued to grow their lead. Driven by multiple baskets from both Gutsmore and Rhooms, the Bold led by nearly twenty by game's end.

The final score was 99-80 for the Bold, putting the team back in the winning column and improving their record to 2-1 on the season.

The Bold see the court again on Sunday, November 2 against their cross-city rivals, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues. 

"We've got to play hard," said Gutsmore about the matchup, "we need to stick to our fundamentals, stick with what we're good at… stay focused and locked in, and we'll see what happens from that."

Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. at the Goldring Centre, and fans can tune into the game on OUA.tv.