TORONTO — There are levels to greatness and the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men's basketball team is testing their limits with one challenge at a time. 

Winning an OUA championship grants access to a pantheon of champions exclusively meant for the province's best, but not all crowns are forged the same. 

Looking back on the journey that this particular team has taken, it's natural to pinpoint the blemish that the Brock Badgers left on TMU's resume. Despite the Bold securing the number one seed in the playoffs, they went 0-2 against the Badgers during the regular-season.

Consequently, basketball fate interfered and forced the two teams to collide again, this time with a trip to the finals on the line.

The Bold took advantage of their last chance for redemption by defeating the Badgers 77-64 on Wednesday. 

With the win, the Bold return to the Wilson Cup for the first time since 2019. 

"I don't know how many opportunities you get to play for a Wilson Cup," said Bold Head Coach David DeAveiro. "But from the beginning, I said this group had a chance to do it because they came to work every day and because of their bond." 

For the second consecutive playoff game, the Bold were put on their heels in their own gym. Harnessing the energy from a travelling contingency that covered one corner of the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC) with Badger Red, Brock started the game on a 6-0 run.

But that's when a TMU home crowd, painted in blue and armed with their own chants, fought back and raised the noise levels inside the MAC to unprecedented decibels. 

"This is amazing...this is why players want to come here to TMU," said DeAveiro of the Bold fans. "If we have crowds like this, we won't lose at home." 

The electric atmosphere set the stage for a legendary performance for Bold forward Aaron Rhooms, who finished with 27 points, two shy of his playoff-career high against the Laurentian Voyageurs on Mar. 16 during the 2021-22 season. 

"I tried to find my spots, that's all it really was," said Rhooms. "My teammates trust me and they got me the ball." 

Getting to his preferred areas on the court started when Rhooms backed his defender down before hitting a turnaround mid-range jump shot. In the following possessions, Rhooms would hit a three-pointer from both corners. Before the Badgers — and those in attendance — realized they were watching an offensive masterclass, Rhooms had already scored 17 of the next 22 points, including a stretch of 15 straight. 

"That's what makes him special," said DeAveiro. "He's not afraid of the moment." 

With the Bold earning their spot in the finals, Rhooms will play in the Wilson Cup for the first time in his five-year career with the Bold. 

"After all the years...the coaching staff and the players that have gone through this program," said Rhooms. "They built the bricks, we're just standing on what was made."

"It means the world to have this opportunity," added Rhooms. "We're going to do our best to seize it." 

While Rhooms warped the defence to his will, his teammate Andrejs Silconoks focused on stamping out the spark the Badgers' offence had worked on cultivating into a flame. When the six-foot-11 centre entered the game at the 6:32 mark of the opening quarter, the Bold went on a 10-3 run. During this stretch, the Bold forced two turnovers. 

Silconoks finished with four blocks, building on his dominant six-block performance in the quarterfinals against the Guelph Gryphons. 

The road to the Wilson Cup often requires a complete team effort at its various pit stops. Beyond Rhooms' excellence, the team's auxiliary pieces authored enough game-breaking moments to edit a complete highlight reel. 

After a missed three, Maxime Louis-Jean corralled the offensive rebound. In one motion, Louis-Jean handed it off to Landon Wright, who then drilled a triple from the left corner. Louis-Jean finished with a team-high five assists.

"We have a deep team," said DeAveiro. "We had some major contributions coming from our bench." 

Moments later, with the Badgers loading up to stop Rhooms, the latter swung the ball to Louis-Jean, who then found teammate Deandre Goulbourne. With seconds winding down on the shot clock, Goulbourne hit a baseline jump shot. 

Goulbourne also made his presence felt late in the game to help seal the victory. The six-foot-six hybrid guard and forward stole the ball at halfcourt before finishing at the basket to put TMU up by 14 with less than two minutes left. Goulbourne's thunderous dunk near the end of the contest sent the crowd into a frenzy as pandemonium spread through the building like wildfire. 

"This was the reason why we brought Deandre here," said DeAveiro. 

"I'm really proud of the guys, they produce when it matters most," said Rhooms. 

Goulbourne finished with 17 points and six rebounds. 

TMU's Kevin Toth also had a bounce-back performance, finishing with 12 points, five rebounds and four assists.

"My last performance...it was unacceptable and I knew my team needed me to step up," said Toth. "I came in here with the mindset of letting the game come to me and do whatever it takes to win."

The guard was a big part of the team's regular-season success. After a performance in the previous round that didn't meet his own expectations, Toth seized the next moment to reassert himself. 

"We thought he would have a bounce-back game," said DeAveiro. "He came through, delivered and made this his best game."

The Bold play the Carleton Ravens in the finals on Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. Carleton defeated TMU in the 2019 and 2018 Wilson Cup Championship. The Bold also fell to the Ravens in the second round of the OUA playoffs in 2021-22. 

Students and supporters can watch the game live at the MAC. TMU students can attend for free.