The Sudbury Five looked to get back in the win column on Saturday when they faced off against the KW Titans, but unfortunately, the stars didn’t align for them.
Sudbury was coming off of a tough 111-110 loss at the hands of the Windsor Express just one night prior, so the win would have been a much-needed psychological boost as the team prepares for its final regular season game on Tuesday.
Just over two minutes into the opening quarter of the game, league MVP candidate Jeremy Harris converted a layup for the Five off of a pass from AJ Mosby, and then connected on the ensuing free throw to give the Five an early 3-2 lead. Three minutes later, AJ Mosby hit a three-pointer from the corner to put Sudbury on top by a score of 8-6.
Sudbury’s slim lead wouldn’t last though, and by the dying minutes of the first quarter, KW was in command. With just over two and a half minutes to go in the opener, Jeremy Harris spun away from the Titans defense and slammed the ball through the basket to bring the score to 21-12 for Kitchener-Waterloo.
With the clock winding down in the first quarter, Harris hit yet another jump shot to make the score 29-18 for the Titans. Kitchener-Waterloo held a 31-18 lead after the first 12 minutes of play.
Dexter Williams Jr. drained a three ball in the early going of the second quarter to pull Sudbury within 13 points of the Titans, with a score of 34-21. With 8:44 remaining in the second quarter, Mosby nailed a three-point jumper to keep Sudbury within striking distance, with a score of 37-24 for Kitchener-Waterloo.
Late in the second quarter, Evan Harris got the friendly roll to fall through the hoop to make the score 50-32 for the Titans. With just under three minutes to go in the first half Mark Vital slammed the ball through the basket to make the score 52-34 for the Titans.
KW held a commanding 60-37 lead over the Kings of the Underground heading into the halftime intermission.
Almost four minutes into the third quarter, Mosby connected on a slam dunk to close the gap between the Titans and the Five, but KW still had a commanding 70-43 lead. Just shy of the halfway mark in the quarter, Duane Notice converted on a tough layup attempt to make the score 72-49 for the KW Titans. Montell McRae showed off his skills with four minutes remaining in the quarter by dunking the ball and making the score 76-51 for the Titans.
Headed into the final 12 minutes, the Kitchener-Waterloo Titans had a 80-51 lead.
Mosby grabbed a rebound early in the fourth and put up a short jump shot to cut the Titans lead to 87-57. He would do it again halfway through the quarter, converting on a layup to give Sudbury two more points, for a score of 87-64 for Kitchener-Waterloo.
With less than five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, McRae slammed home a dunk to chip away at the Titans’ lead, making it 89-66 for KW.
In the last couple of minutes in the quarter, Harris put down a layup for Sudbury to make the score 93-70 for Kitchener-Waterloo.
The game ended with the Kitchener-Waterloo Titans handing the Five their second consecutive loss, by a score of 100-78.
With the loss, the Sudbury Five hold a record of 22 wins and 8 losses, which puts the team in second place in the National Basketball League of Canada with one game remaining in the regular season.
That game will be held on May 2 at 7 p.m. against first place team and reigning National Basketball League of Canada champions, the London Lightning.
Super fan Robert McCarthy covers games of the Sudbury Wolves and Sudbury Five for Sudbury.com. Got a question for Robert? Email it to [email protected].
