OTTAWA – The No. 10 ranked Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men's basketball squad's season was brought to a screeching halt following a 89-56 defeat to the No. 2 University of Ottawa Gee-Gees in the nation's capital.
After cruising to the league semifinal with a pair of beatdowns over the Guelph Gryphons and Western Mustangs, the Bold were quickly pinned on the other end of what's become the group's identity over the last two weeks in Saturday's lopsided defeat.
Most notably, the Bold's hot start over the Gryphons to open up their postseason run was the biggest inverse the group found themselves in against the Gee-Gees, enduring a 19-0 run immediately after tipoff to allow their nationally-ranked opponent to take a stranglehold on the contest.
By halftime, the Bold trailed the Gee-Gees by a 57-22 scoreline–which despite stringing together their best shooting display of the contest in the third quarter–failed to make enough of a dent in to sweep aside their early struggles and book a place in the league final.
Instead, the frame only delayed the Gee-Gees' procession another quarter before the home side finally handed the Bold their second defeat in three years at Montpetit Hall with Justin Ndjock-Tadjor leading the charge with 18 points.
TMU's Aaron Rhooms – who suited up in potentially his final game with the blue and gold on Saturday – led the Bold with 11 points while struggling to flex his league-leading offensive prowess against the top defensive unit in the province.
Ottawa used their hit start to book their ticket to the OUA final, annihilating the Bold in every area of the court early on to extend their season another week. The group wrapped up their opening quarter leading the Bold 27-9 and most notably, having only missed out on one of their 14 shots from the field to emphasize their dominance.
The home side failed to let up in the second quarter, using their depth to carve out a sizable lead over the Bold and put the game to bed well before the final buzzer.
The Gee-Gees recovered from TMU's 5-0 run to open up the frame with a 16-2 run of their own, finishing the second quarter shooting 6-9 from beyond the arc while the visitors struggled to even generate chances from distance.
Four separate members of Ottawa's offence found success from range in the middle frame, helping the home side steamroll past the Bold and take a 57-22 lead into the halftime break.
TMU were finally able to show some signs of life in the third quarter, jumping to their best offensive run of the evening – a 12-2 run – to get within 27 points of their opponent.
Still, the difference maker in the match came from beyond the arc and the Bold continued to struggle to get into a groove even after out-scoring their opponent in the second half.
The Bold finished the contest shooting just under 18 percent from the perimeter compared to Ottawa's 56 percent from the same range, a statistic that proved vital in extending the home side's season and keeping the Bold well in the rearview mirror for most of the evening.
Ottawa's win pushes them into a battle for the Wilson Cup that will take place on Mar. 8 against the Queen's Gaels. As for the Bold, the group will begin their offseason earlier than expected after putting up their best season under head coach, David DeAveiro.
Rhooms led the league in points per game in potentially his final year as a member of the Bold and the team experienced a massive improvement on the defensive side of the ball while repping the top-five offense in the provincial rankings.
