TORONTO — The No. 4 nationally ranked Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men's basketball team took down the Nipissing Lakers on Saturday evening, 95-59.

The matchup, the second of a weekend back-to-back against the Lakers and Laurentian Voyageurs, gave the Bold their fourth straight win. Their record is now boosted to an impressive 8-2 on the season, good for second place in the OUA's central division. 

TMU was led in scoring by third-year guard/forward Deandre Goulbourne, who logged 23 points on 9-for-13 shooting from the field to go along with six rebounds, four steals, and three assists. The OCAA transfer joined the Bold this season with experience at both Mohawk College and Centennial College, and has made an immediate impact with his two-way ability. 

Goulbourne made his presence felt early in the match, scoring seven points in the first to help his team remain competitive. 

The Lakers were on fire during the period, though, using their physical strength to score easy baskets inside. TMU found themselves down at the end of the first, 20-17.

DeAveiro and his club managed to turn things around in a major way during the second. A full team effort on offence found four different players scoring five or more in the period, as the Bold outscored their opponents 32-10.

Second-year guard Maxime Louis-Jean erupted for 10 points in the frame–nearly breaking his season high of 11 in just one quarter. He knocked down three shots from distance, feeding off of his teammates drawing help in the paint. Guard Kevin Toth logged five assists in the quarter, three of which were to Louis-Jean.

Louis-Jean ended up breaking his season high later in the game, finishing with 15 points and six rebounds in the win. After starting in all of the Bold's games last year, he's moved to a bench role to allow Goulbourne to start and has struggled in his limited minutes. The strong performance against the Lakers is hopefully a sign of more to come for Louis-Jean in the future.

"I think he needed a game like today to get his confidence back a little bit," explained DeAveiro, "he's been struggling with his shot and that's a big part of his game. Going from the starting role to the bench role is not easy…I think Maxime has adjusted to it really, really, well. He's accepted his role."

Louis-Jean's strong second quarter helped the Bold pull away in the score, but DeAveiro credits the success to his team's defensive efforts more than their offence:

"Our offence fed off of our defence…we extended our defence, picked up full court, played with more energy, and then we got in transition and made some threes."

TMU forced 15 Lakers turnovers, and led in points off turnovers, 26-7. 

After the strong defensive outing in the second, the Bold led 49-30 at halftime.

The third quarter was more evenly-matched: TMU continued to move the ball and play team basketball, but the Lakers were able to hold their own. The score gap had only increased by two in favour of the Bold by the end of the period.

It was during the fourth that DeAveiro's squad really found their groove and turned the game into a massive blowout. They relentlessly attacked the paint, finding easy scores inside. A beautiful spin move from Toth in transition led him into open layup–a prime example of how easily TMU was scoring on the break.

DeAveiro noted ball movement as the key in the Bold growing their lead:

"We pride ourselves on defense, but we also want to pride ourselves in moving the ball, sharing the ball and playing like a team."

His strategy was clearly an effective one, as the team led by 36 at the final buzzer. 

With the final game of the semester under their belts, the Bold now have over a month to rest before seeing the court again. 

"It's been a long grind: we've been going at it since September," explained DeAveiro, "The guys will take a week off, then come back and we'll do individual and small group workouts during exams. And then we'll give them eight days off for the holidays."

Their next matchup comes in the form of an exhibition game against the University of Northern British Columbia Timberwolves on Jan. 4, before their regular season resumes on Jan. 7 against the Laurier Golden Hawks. The matchup with the Timberwolves tips off at 2 p.m. at the Mattamy Athletic Centre, and students can enter the game for free with their OneCard.