TORONTO — The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men's basketball team demolished their inner-city rivals, the Toronto Varsity Blues, 106-70 on Wednesday night.
The matchup between the two teams, dubbed the Metro Hoops Classic, was expected to be much closer than the final score would suggest. The Bold ranked 11th in the most recent U SPORTS national rankings, and the Varsity Blues sat right behind them in 12th. Toronto was 4-0 prior to Wednesday's loss.
But after a relatively even first quarter which saw the Bold lead 25-16, TMU pulled away with their dominant defensive instincts and hot shooting from beyond the arc.
Bold Head Coach
David DeAveiro and his squad forced the Varsity Blues into 24 turnovers: six more than Toronto's second-highest total this season. Starting guard Andrew Dangelas produced seven of those himself, succumbing to the pressure of TMU's backcourt.
Leading that backcourt defensively were guard
Gabriel Gutsmore and guard/forward
Gurdeep Kalsi, who logged three and two steals respectively. Their quick hands helped poke the ball away at the point of attack, which led to countless fast-break opportunities. TMU scored 33 points off turnovers in the victory.
Even the Bold's frontcourt got in on the action: big man
Ares Culley-Bremner, who traditionally makes the bulk of his defensive impact at the rim, logged a team-high four steals. As a team, the Bold notched 17 steals, their largest total of the season.
"It was great," praised DeAveiro when asked about the team's intensity on defence. "I mean, the first half sent it home, right? [Toronto] turned it over [14] times in the first half. And the beginning of the third was a quarter that we thought was the most important. We didn't want to give them any sign of life, and our guys did a really good job with that."
Offensively, the Bold were unstoppable from three-point range. The squad knocked down 16 of their 31 shots from distance, good for 51.6 per cent.
The largest contributor to that total was guard
Javier Gilgeous-Glasgow. The fourth-year went unconscious in the second quarter, scoring 22 points on six-for-seven shooting from three. He consistently found open space from the top of the key, taking advantage of Toronto guards sneaking under screens.
While the Bold defeated the Varsity Blues in similar fashion in their matchup at the Goldring Centre last season, Gilgeous-Glasgow wasn't on the team at the time, as he was redshirting at the NCAA Division I school Troy University. The guard last played for TMU the season prior in 2024–25. That year, the Bold lost to the Varsity Blues 84-67 – and Gilgeous-Glasgow hadn't forgotten.
"It was a big game," he said. "Last time I was in this building two years ago with TMU, [Toronto] actually beat us by 20, and it was embarrassing. I didn't want to feel that same guilt."
"I just caught fire," he added. "It was just my night…you stop thinking about the game, stop thinking about the result. Make or miss, just shoot it – they went in today."
By the time the second quarter had reached its halfway mark, Gilgeous-Glasgow already had 13 points – and was only getting started. DeAveiro made the wise decision to not run any plays, but instead let the guard create his offence for himself.
"Just trusting him," DeAveiro said. "I've known Javier for a long time; when he's got it going like that, you've got to let him go."
Gilgeous-Glasgow provided all that production in just 14 minutes off the bench. The sixth-man role is something he's accepted with dignity.
"I'm just doing my role, you know? Everyone has their role on the team. Mine this year is to come off the bench and be a spark plug. Today, I just hit a lot of shots, but there's a lot of guys that come off the bench and help us in great ways," he said.
"In our conversations in the summer with Javier, he knew that [coming off the bench] might be a role that he might have to play," said DeAveiro. "And he's accepted it really, really well. And I'm proud of him."
Gilgeous-Glasgow wasn't the only Bold player to get hot on offence, though: Kalsi knocked down five threes of his own en route to 19 points, and guard
Fernando De Los Santos added 16 points on seven-for-ten shooting. De Los Santos has led TMU in points per game so far this season, with 14.3.
Culley-Bremner also chipped in 10 points and nine rebounds, and guard
Tobe Ezeokafor added eight points and three steals off the bench.
"We shot the ball exceptionally well today," said DeAveiro. "But, you know, we'll take it, and it helped us get off to a really good start, and then the game just kind of played out. I think our guys were focused, locked in, and ready to play. They knew the scout, and really applied the scout."
With the victory, the Bold have now won three games in a row and improved their record to 3-1. They sit only behind the Varsity Blues in the OUA Central Division standings, but have gained ground on the previously undefeated squad with the win.
On Friday, TMU will take on the Windsor Lancers in its home opener, where a special pregame ceremony will celebrate the team's 2025–26 OUA Wilson Cup championship.
DeAveiro had to take a beat before speaking about the roster that made up that championship run:
"You know what? It's…that group of guys, you know, they were such a great group of guys to coach. It's unfortunate that they're not going to be there on Friday to see it and celebrate it."
Aaron Rhooms, the leading scorer from 2025–26, is currently playing overseas in Ireland. Fellow starter
Aidan Wilson currently works as an assistant video coordinator with the Toronto Raptors, who play a game in Milwaukee on Friday night.
"So, I'm happy that we're celebrating the banner," DeAveiro explained. "But I'm a little sad that those guys aren't gonna be there."
Tip-off for the matchup against the Lancers is set for 8 p.m. at the Mattamy Athletic Centre and TMU students can enter for free with their OneCards.
