Sudbury Five fans were treated to some bonus basketball Wednesday night as it took double overtime to settle the game between the Five and St. John's Edge.
The teams battled back and forth the entire night, with St. John's eventually edging the Five 122-120.
St. John's jumped out to a 28-20 lead in the first quarter before Sudbury battled back to close the gap to just three points, heading into halftime with the score favouring the Edge 52-49.
The two teams traded baskets in the third, with the Edge opening up their lead, but only slightly, to take a 74-69 lead into the fourth quarter.
Sudbury showed fight in the fourth and managed to pull the game level at 98-98, forcing extra time.
The first period of overtime solved nothing as the teams drew level, scoring 13 points apiece to make the score 111-111.
St. John's managed to outlast the Five, outscoring the home team by two points in the second overtime stanza to walk out of the Sudbury Arena with a 122-120 victory.
Scoring was spread around by both teams Wednesday night as 10 players hit double digits on the score sheet. The Five's Braylon Rayson led all scorers on the night, dropping 27 points, while chipping in five assists and nine rebounds.
Jaylen Bland and JR Holder each scored 24 points for the Five, while Brady Skeens chipped in 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. The Five's newest member, Cornelius Hudson, was effective off the bench for the home team, posting the same stat line as Skeens, with 18 points and 13 boards.
For the Edge, it was Tyrone Watson leading the way in terms of scoring, dropping 21 points while cleaning up a game-high 17 rebounds. The St. John's bench was solid on the night, with Coron Williams scoring 19 points and Montay Brandon netting 18 of his own while pulling down 16 rebounds.
With the loss the Five's record moves to 10-7, good enough for second in the Central Division. St. John's is firmly planted in second place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 9-6.
The Five are now off for a week as they'll head out east next week to take on the Moncton Magic on Friday, Feb. 28, the Island Storm on Sunday, March 1 and will wrap up their three-game road trip with a tilt against the Halifax Hurricanes on March 5.
The boys will return to their home court at the Sudbury Arena on Saturday, March 7 to take on the Central Division-leading London Lightning.
Tickets and more information can be found at thefive.ca.
