CALGARY — The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men's basketball team fell 85-81 to the University of Victoria Vikes in the bronze medal game of the U SPORTS Championship on Sunday.

A third-place matchup doesn't often feature the top two seeds in the tournament, but it was ultimately an 18-11 fourth quarter for the No. 1 ranked Vikes that pushed the Bold just outside the reach of their first national medal since 2019. 

Gabriel Gutsmore finished with a team-high 20 points on 75 per cent shooting. After finishing with just five points in the semi-final, Gutsmore's bounce-back performance in the season finale earned him Bold Player of the Game honours. 

TMU forward Aidan Wilson appeared in limited minutes for the third straight contest. CBC reported Wilson was dealing with an illness during the semi-final broadcast. Regardless, Wilson made the most of his nine minutes on the floor, finishing with five points and three rebounds. Wilson scored all five of his points within the first two minutes of the game. 

Second-year guard Kevin Toth also helped spark the Bold to a quick start. Toth scored eight consecutive points to push TMU's lead to 15-7. He finished the game with 11 points, three assists and two steals while shooting 60 per cent from the perimeter. 

Throughout the season, the Bold had typically met adversity with proficient problem-solving. Even when doubt crept in for a fleeting moment, a quick timeout by Bold Head Coach David DeAveiro would often put the players back in a position to fight back. 

While the eventual outcome didn't go the Bold's way, the players responded during tense moments in the only way they knew how, with pride. In this matchup, two mini-comebacks were spearheaded by Gutsmore and Deandre Goulbourne. 

When the Vikes used a 12-2 run early in the second quarter to take a 38-30 lead, the Bold called a timeout to regroup. TMU immediately reduced the deficit to one because Gutsmore and Goulbourne combined for 11 of the team's next 13 points. 

When the University of Victoria pushed the lead back to eight (53-45) in the third quarter, a quick huddle set the stage for a pivotal 16-9 TMU run. During this stretch, Gutsmore scored seven points while Goulbourne added six of his own. The momentum-building series of plays was capped with an electric block by Goulbourne. 

Guard Landon Wright was also in the game during both of these key runs. Wright led the Bold in bench scoring with six points. 

TMU scored a game-high 27 points during the third quarter. Twelve of those points came when Rhooms took a breather on the bench for over three minutes. The U SPORTS National Player of the Year had often carried TMU during the regular-season. With defences zoned in on Rhooms, it was only fitting that his teammates continued to answer the call in their final game together. 

With the Bold trailing 83-79 late in the fourth quarter, Rhooms bullied his way into the paint for the final two points of his OUA career. Rhooms finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and one block.