The Brock men's basketball team saw their impressive season come to an end.

In an electric atmosphere at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto, the Brock faithful showed out but the No. 4 Ontario University Athletics (OUA) seed Badgers fell 77-64 to the No. 2 seed TMU Bold on Wednesday, Feb. 25.
 
"We didn't stick to the game plan, and we weren't aggressive doing what we wanted to do," said head coach Willy Manigat. "You can't win at this stage of the season if you don't, that's why you work on those things for consistency in these moments, so it becomes second nature."
 
Isaiah Bujdoso and Birch Pockar led the way for Brock with 12 points each, while Xavier Fearon earned nine of his own to go along with five rebounds.
 
After Brock started the first frame with a 6-0 lead, TMU responded by scoring 17 of the next 21 points. The Badgers were resilient, closing the quarter on a 7-2 run of their own to knot the game up at 19 after one.
 
Both teams were effective from the field as Brock shot 40 per cent in the frame, while TMU delivered 41.2 per cent. Six Badgers earned points in the first, while Aaron Rhooms accounted for 15 of the Bold's 19 first-quarter points.
 
"Outside of the first three minutes, we were never really in control of that game or what we wanted to do in terms of executing our game plan," Manigat said. "So, all the credit to them — they're a good team. They're well coached, they were prepared for the fight, and they fought harder than us. Sometimes that's all it boils down to."
 
After TMU opened the second on a 21-8 run to lead 40-27, Anthony Heyes scored five quick points to bring the deficit back to eight. An identical 40 per cent field goal percentage in the quarter for Brock was outranked by TMU's 52.6 per cent as they took a 42-32 lead into the half.
 
Ball security was a key factor in the frame with TMU grabbing five steals to Brock's zero, while scoring eight points off turnovers.
 
TMU opened the third outscoring Brock 7-3, but the visitors answered back with the next five points from Pockar and Michael Matas. Following this, the Bold hit three straight three-pointers to claim their largest lead of the night up 58-40.
 
Pockar earned a team-high six points in the quarter, but the Bold took a 62-45 lead with one frame to play despite the Badgers leading in offensive rebounds 4-1 and in second-chance points 5-0.
 
Looking to make a comeback, the Badgers opened the fourth on a 6-2 run with buckets from Pockar, Fearon and Okeke, but Kevin Toth of the Bold answered back with four straight points of his own to bring the lead back to 17.
 
Bujdoso scored five of his seven fourth-quarter points to cut the deficit to 12, but in the end, TMU used their early lead by strategically playing with long possessions and won the game 77-64.
 
Shooting was a key statistic in the outcome as the Badgers shot 37.3 per cent from the field, going 25-for-67, while the Bold shot 50.8 per cent, scoring on 32 of their 63 attempts. Brock held the edge in points off the bench, notching 25 in comparison to 21 for TMU.
 
The Badgers finished off a strong season with an 18-6 overall record, reaching the OUA playoffs once again to extend their streak which began in 2015-16.
 
Manigat reflected on the impact of three seniors on the program in Bujdoso, Matas and Michael Okeke.
 
"My mind is more on the three seniors who don't get to ever wear the Badger uniform again and who are ending one game short of their goal," he said. "I appreciate those three and everything they've done for us. We feel for them, and that's my focus is for the guys who are coming back, we'll figure out. Like every year, we'll figure out how to get better, how to have a positive offseason and how to be ready for the next opportunity."