TORONTO — The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men's basketball team defeated the Windsor Lancers 77-68 on Friday evening during the team's home opener and banner unveiling night.
Prior to the match's start, fans at the Mattamy Athletic Centre turned their attention to Bold Head Coach
David DeAveiro, who made a heartfelt speech about the team's 2025–26 OUA Wilson Cup win.
DeAveiro praised the key players from that 2025–26 roster,
Aaron Rhooms and
Aidan Wilson, who have since graduated and couldn't attend the game on Friday night.
"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," he said after the team's win against the Toronto Varsity Blues on Wednesday night.
The honour of unveiling the banner itself fell to guard Gregory Angelakos and forward
Roland Okeugo, who have been with the team since the 2023–24 season yet only played in a combined 23 games over four seasons. DeAveiro selected the players as a thank you for their dedication to the program.
"That's how you win," DeAveiro said. "That's how you're successful. That's how programs are built, with people like Greg and Roland and [Okeugo's twin brother Galand], who've been in the program for four or five years, and come to practice every day, support their teammates, hoping for a chance to play. If they get it, great. If they don't, they're still the best teammates on the team."
With their spirits high from the championship celebration, TMU managed to hold a small lead for all but two minutes of the game. The Bold kept the Lancers on their toes with their two calling cards: three-point shooting and defensive intensity.
Against the Lancers, six different Bold players logged at least one three-point make. As a team, TMU made 10 of their 32 shots from distance. The Bold's ability to space the court has been essential to their success this season: they rank third in the province in three-point makes per game.
Midway through the second, the Lancers tried out a zone defence; anyone who has watched a
David DeAveiro-coached Bold team knows that idea is a bad one.
The Bold's quick ball movement around the perimeter allowed them to penetrate the middle of the zone, which resulted in open looks from deep.
"We have a game plan for zone," explained guard
Gabriel Gutsmore. "I feel like [the Lancers] were trying to find an answer to stop us. They were going from zone to man, and when man wasn't working, they went to zone…when I see a zone, it's always, 'Try to get middle', because once the ball is in the middle, they have to guard the middle, and if they guard the middle, the guys on the perimeter are open."
Gutsmore finished with 12 points, five assists, and four rebounds in the win.
On the defensive end, the Bold did what they do best: pressure the ball. DeAveiro's squad forced the Lancers into 20 turnovers, double TMU's count of 10. The Bold scored 19 points off of those miscues.
Guard/forward
Gurdeep Kalsi, guard
Fernando De Los Santos, and bench unit contributor
Tobe Ezeokafor logged three steals each, and guard Nathanial Savage snagged two steals of his own.
De Los Santos led the Bold in scoring for the second straight game, with 16 points.
Defence is DeAveiro's top priority as a coach:
"Our goal is to be top five defensively in the country if we want to be considered as a serious team," he said. "If we want to go to the places that we want to go – like the nationals and win OUAs, or be in the position to compete for an OUA championship, we know that our defence needs to be top five."
"It's not there yet," admitted DeAveiro – the Bold rank sixth in the country in points allowed per game after the win, at 68.2. "But we've been holding teams under 70 points…that's one of our goals."
Despite the Bold's elite ball movement and defensive pressure, though, the Lancers – who entered the match with an 0-3 record – managed to keep things close throughout the first three quarters with their interior scoring. They shot 14 of 18 from the free throw line, compared to TMU's seven of 10. Big man Luke Grace, who was named an OUA third-team all-star last season, finished the match with 30 points on nine of 12 from the field.
Midway through the third, a seven-to-zero Lancers run brought the score to within one. The Bold, for the first time in the game, had their lead threatened.
At the start of the fourth, though, TMU turned things back in their favour. Savage came off the bench and provided some much-needed help by knocking down a timely three-pointer, then snagging a steal the next possession which led to a layup by De Los Santos. A few minutes later, Savage forced another Lancers turnover by drawing a charge.
The second-year scored all of his eight points in the fourth, eventually helping the Bold regain a comfortable lead that they maintained for the remainder of the game. With his 2025–26 championship roster still front of mind from the banner unveiling, DeAveiro couldn't help but be reminded of a specific player from that team when he saw Savage's spark of energy off the bench.
"Landon [Wright]," DeAveiro said when describing who he associates Savage's playstyle with. "We can bring him in, and he can just change the complexion of a game with his defence and his offence. And so, he's kind of embraced that 'Landon' role so far. He's done a really good job with it, and he had it going today, and some other guys didn't, and so it's a luxury to have a guy like Savage, who could pick up some teammates that are struggling a little bit."
The Bold have now won four games in a row since dropping their regular-season opener to the Laurier Golden Hawks. Their record of 4-1 is good for first in the OUA Central Division, having overtaken the Varsity Blues with Friday's victory.
DeAveiro's squad can now enjoy some much-needed rest before taking the court next for a pair of home games at the Mattamy Athletic Centre on November 13 and 14. They'll match up against the Ottawa Gee-Gees and Western Mustangs, respectively.
Tip-off against the Gee-Gees on the 13 is set for 8:00 p.m., and TMU students can enter the game for free with their OneCards.
