The Sudbury Five were back home in the Nickel Wednesday on Saturday night, hoping to continue their winning ways. In this contest they hosted the L’Academie D’Alma of The Basketball League.
Sudbury did not disappoint their 1,923 loud and passionate fans in this one.
Right from the first tipoff Sudbury was firing on all cylinders, particularly on offense, with big performances from the likes of Montell McRae, who finished the game with 28 points, Braylon Rayson, who scored 26 points, and AJ Mosby, who also had a night, contributing 21 points for Sudbury. The Five were hitting well from behind the three point line and held a ten point lead at the end of the first quarter, with the score being 30-20 for the home squad.
In the second quarter the L’Academie D’alma matched Sudbury’s intensity and baskets, with solid efforts from players such as Sergy Haranga Dabangdata and Marc-Andre Fortin, who got 28 and 22 points respectively on this night. The first half ended with a close score of 58-53 for the Sudbury Five.
The tides changed for both teams coming out of the halftime break. Sudbury got their offense flowing at just the right time with help from Braylon Rayson, Jeremy Harris, and Dexter Williams Jr., who all played key roles in this one. The Five won the third quarter by a score of 43-27 and ended the quarter leading the D’Alma by a score of 101-80 with one quarter left to play.
Sudbury continued their dominating play in the fourth quarter and came away with the 135-101 victory.
When asked if the Five prepare differently against an unfamiliar team like the D’Alma, Montell McRae said, “No different preparation, we just play our game.”
When asked what the difference was in the second half that allowed Sudbury to gain a big lead, McRae said, “We sped the game up and rebounded more.” Coach Logan Stutz remarked, “Third quarters have been good to us all year. We wanted to win the third quarter by 10.”
With the victory, the Sudbury Five hold a record of 20 wins and 5 losses and remain in first place in the National Basketball League of Canada.
Sudbury has a rematch against the L’Academie D’Alma at the Sudbury Community Arena on the afternoon of Sunday, April 16th, with a scheduled start time of 2 PM before taking the court at home for two back to back games against the Jamestown Jackals of The Basketball League on Saturday, April 22nd and Sunday, April 23rd.
