In their final regular season game against the Windsor Express, the Sudbury Five fell in a close game 119-112, despite having a 3-0 record against the Express this season.
Jaylen Bland turned in a season-high 47-point performance, but the Windsor Express replied by putting three players over the 20-point plateau to take the ‘W’ at the WFCU Centre in Windsor.
Though it was not the outcome they’d hoped for, Five fans got the chance to see a familiar face in the line up, that of NBLC’s reigning Player of the Year, Braylon Rayson, who rejoined the Five for the April 20 game.
Guard Josiah Moore has been placed on the inactive reserve and has returned home due to personal reasons.
Rayson scored 26 points in his return, making his presence known from early in the first quarter. Scoring by Tanner Stuckman, Billy White and Marcus Anderson, who made a three-point shot late in the first, was then followed by two successful free throws from Quinnel Brown.
Jeremy Harris earned 15 points for Sudbury while Jachai Taylor scored 38, Billy White, 29, and Quinnel Brown, 21, for the Express.
Sudbury trailed by just a single point after the first quarter, with Windsor pulling ahead 67-59 by halftime and holding the lead into the fourth quarter. Windsor made 61.5 per cent of its shots compared to 47.6 per cent for Sudbury.
With Zena Edosomwan also out of the Five lineup, Windsor had a decisive advantage under the glass, with 45 rebounds to Sudbury’s 24, as well as second-chance points, 15-6.
The Five will be eager for the win on the road in Kitchener on Thursday, with tipoff set for 7 p.m., before returning home to once again face Windsor on Sunday in Sudbury at 2 p.m.
