When the Bold needed him most — Aaron Rhooms delivered — and Kevin Toth finished the job.
Comebacks have been the story of Final 8 so far, as the second-seeded Toronto Metropolitan Bold erased a 20-point first-half deficit to defeat the No. 7 UBC Thunderbirds 97-91 in the opening quarterfinal on Friday afternoon at Jack Simpson Gym.
UBC looked poised to complete the tournament’s first upset in the early going. The Thunderbirds jumped out to a 28-15 lead after the opening quarter and pushed the margin to 20 midway through the second. Behind efficient scoring efforts from Nikola Guzina, Nylan Roberts and Raj Dhadda, UBC carried a 55-37 advantage into halftime.
After the break, TMU gradually chipped away.
The Bold locked in for a 26-11 run in the third quarter, propelled by ball movement and perimeter shooting. Maxime Louis-Jean sparked the push with eight points off the bench as the Bold poured it on the T-birds. By the end of the quarter, the deficit had shrunk to just three points at 66-63.
Toth began the fourth quarter scoreless and finished as a Bold legend.
The fourth-year guard erupted for 21 points in the quarter alone, drilling five three-pointers as TMU surged ahead. The Bold shot 7-for-11 from beyond the arc in the fourth and finished the game with 17 three-pointers overall, shooting 42.5 per cent from deep while dishing 26 assists as a team.
Rhooms, the newly crowned U SPORTS men’s basketball player of the year and Mike Moser Memorial Trophy recipient, led the Bold with 24 points and nine rebounds. He was named TMU’s Nike player of the game.
The back-to-back OUA player of the year credited Toth’s timely scoring burst for turning the game.
TMU shot 43.8 per cent from the field and committed just 14 turnovers, helping offset UBC’s early dominance inside. The Thunderbirds finished with a 47-40 rebounding advantage and scored 42 points in the paint, but struggled to match the Bold from long range, hitting just 7-of-27 three-point attempts.
Gabriel Gutsmore added 23 points for the Bold, while Toth finished with 21 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
UBC’s attack was balanced throughout the afternoon, but lacked a true game breaking performance. Holt Tomie and Guzina each scored 16 points, while Roberts recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Dhadda added 13 points off the bench and Tobi Akinkunmi chipped in 10.
Despite the loss, the birds’ young roster showed high offensive-upside against one of the tournament favourites. Dhadda said they simply lost momentum as Toronto’s shots began to fall.
“I think we still competed,” said the Kelowna, B.C. native. “They were hitting tough shots, so credit to them. I think our body language dropped a little bit when those shots started going in, and that gave them more momentum.”
Toronto Metropolitan outscored UBC 60-36 in the second half to complete the comeback.
With the win, the OUA champion Bold advance to the semifinal round as they continue their pursuit of the program’s first national championship. They will face-off with the Carleton Ravens in a rematch of the OUA finals.
UBC will move to the consolation bracket and return to action Saturday at noon.
With files from Maggie Hsu