The Sudbury Five suffered their second loss of a three-game road trip Saturday, at the hands of defending champs the London Lightning.
Missing from the court was sharpshooter Jaylen Bland, who was placed on the injured reserve Friday following a lower body injury sustained in Wednesday's match against Windsor. Picking up the slack was Cory Dixon, making his return to the game following a wrist injury that had sidelined him for the past two matches.
The Lightning sent sparks flying in the first, shooting 64.3 per cent from the field to score 44 points in the first; 12 of which were delivered by newcomer AJ Gaines Jr.
The Five suffered seven turnovers in the period, struggling to generate any offence in response to the heavy and aggressive Lightning defence. The Five were down 23 points heading into second.
London continued to dominate in the second quarter, shooting 55.3 per cent from the field. Dexter Williams Jr. led the Five's offence with five points in second, but could not keep the team from hitting a game-low of 18 points in the period. London had extended their lead to 35 by the end of the period, with a score of 74-39.
The Five hit the court in third with a clear mission to dissolve the lead developed in the first half. Sudbury local Georges Serresse led the Five with 9 points on three, three pointers in just six minutes of work.
Relieving Braylon Rayson of some pressure, Joey Puddister took to the court in third, contributing five points and two assists to the team's most profitable period. The Five outscored the Lightning 33-29 in the period.
The bench came alive for the Five in the final frame, scoring 22 of the team's 35 point game high. The Five shot over 50 per cent from the field in fourth, but it wasn't enough to keep the team from ultimately losing the match 124-107.
The Five finish off their three-game road trip Monday, with a match against the KW Titans at 2 p.m.
