TORONTO — The No. 4 nationally ranked Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) men's basketball team took down the York Lions on Saturday evening at the Mattamy Athletic Centre, 87-61.

The Bold entered the matchup coming off a 76-82 loss against the Brock Badgers–they've only lost two games in the 2025-26 season, both to Brock.

"I thought we played well enough to win against Brock," said Bold Head Coach David DeAveiro, "Down the stretch we needed to be a little bit better, so we just focused on film…and talked about how we can be better at the end of games."

Against the Lions, DeAveiro's squad made it clear early that they wouldn't need to worry about the end of the game anyways: a quick 16-7 lead was headlined by an emphatic slam by forward Aidan Wilson.

TMU fed off of points in the paint during the matchup, finishing with 46–nearly twice as many as the Lions' 26. Wilson's presence around the rim as a lob threat helped his team net easy baskets around the rim.

A highlight of the first quarter was Nipissing University transfer Darnaz Mabanza scoring a TMU career high of eight points in the period. Players like Mabanza being hidden deep on the Bold's bench prove that Coach DeAveiro boasts one of the deepest teams in the OUA: even when the starters are off the floor, they still find success.

The first quarter ended with the Bold leading 25-9.

To start the second, the Lions ran a full-court press in an attempt to force some turnovers out of TMU. The strategy worked at first, as York was able to generate steals and points at the rim on three straight possessions. The score gap quickly shrunk to less than 10.

DeAveiro and his team adjusted, though, and TMU began to expand their lead again.

The Bold's fourth-ranked defence pressured the Lions into difficult shots by focusing on rim protection. With Wilson and the rest of the squad covering the paint, York settled for contested floaters at the rim–a few of which ended up as airballs.

The Bold also felt comfortable letting the bottom-ranked three-point shooting Lions fire from beyond the arc. The strategy worked in their favour, as York shot a measly 4 for 32 from three in the game: just 12.5%.

"We know that they attack the rim really well," explained DeAveiro, "so our strategy was to make them shoot a lot of contested threes, and then rebound the ball. I think we did that well in the first half."

Third-year guard Gabriel Gutsmore logged five steals in the first two quarters alone, which already tied his OUA career high. He finished the game with seven, and currently leads the province in steals per game.

"I'm always happy with Gabriel's perimeter defence," praised DeAveiro, "he can turn a game around just by being solid on defence. He guarded [the Lions'] best guy, and it was difficult for him to score: that's what Gabriel does."

The player DeAveiro referenced was York's leading scorer Jerimiah Kwarteng, who shot just 35% from the field in the matchup: a tribute to Gutsmore's defensive ability.

By halftime, the Bold's lead had sprung back up to 20, at 49-29.

During the third quarter, it was TMU's offence that came alive. Reigning OUA men's basketball MVP Aaron Rhooms did what he does best and created easy baskets for himself. He scored seven or more in all four of the game's quarters, finishing with 31 points and 10 rebounds.

"When you need a bucket, Aaron finds a bucket," praised DeAveiro, "it's nice to have a guy that can find his own shot."

Rhooms is tied for first in the OUA in points per game this season (23.1), and 10th in rebounds (7.9).

Despite an attempt from the Lions to make things close midway through the third, the Bold held strong and maintained a 20-point lead for the remainder of the game. 

As the final buzzer sounded, TMU led 87-61. The win improved the team's record to 5-2, good for third in the OUA's Eastern Conference. 

DeAveiro's squad now have a week to rest before seeing the floor again. They play on Saturday, November 22 against the Algoma Thunderbirds in Sault Ste. Marie: tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m., and fans can stream the game live on OUA.TV.