Sudbury Five drop Game 1 of BSL championship final in Kitchener

The Sudbury Five dropped Game 1 of 2026 Basketball Super League championship final 113-104 to top-seeded KW Titans in Kitchener on April 16, 2026. Duane Notice, shown here, added 18 points and a team-high seven assists while pulling down seven rebounds in Sudbury's ultimately losing effort. (KW Titans/Facebook)

The Sudbury Five’s defence of their Basketball Super League championship got off to a rocky start Thursday night, as the visiting Five fell 113-104 to the KW Titans in Game 1 of the BSL final series.

The Titans, who entered the playoffs as the first-place seed, took control early and never relinquished the lead at The Aud in front of about 532 spectators.

Sudbury entered the series as the defending league champions after finishing the regular season in second place. Both teams advanced to the final by winning their respective semifinal series in four games, with KW dispatching the Windsor Express and Sudbury eliminating the Montreal Toundra.

The Sudbury Five have used the signature hashtag #DefendTheThrone all season; with Thursday being no different.

“Final Score. 133-104 #DefendTheThrone,” the team wrote on social media following the loss.

Slow start proves costly

The Five trailed 30-24 after the first quarter and faced a 58-46 deficit at halftime. While Sudbury outscored the Titans 28-27 in the third quarter and 30-28 in the fourth, the early hole proved too deep to climb out of.

Charlie Marquardt led all scorers with 31 points, shooting 11-for-18 from the field and grabbing three rebounds in 44 minutes of action. Duane Notice added 18 points and a team-high seven assists while pulling down seven rebounds. Emmanuel Akot contributed 12 points and nine rebounds, and Devante Jamison came off the bench for 12 points.

Alex Kotov finished with 13 points and six rebounds, while Allen Billinger added nine points.

Sudbury shot 50 per cent from the field overall but struggled from beyond the arc, connecting on just six of 26 three-point attempts for 23.1 per cent. From the free-throw line, the Five converted 20 of 34 attempts for 58.8 per cent.

The Five scored 62 points in the paint and recorded 17 assists as a team. Sudbury committed only eight turnovers while forcing 14 from the Titans. Defensively, the Five collected eight steals but did not record a blocked shot.

Titans’ balanced attack

KW was paced by Tyshon Pickett, who recorded 27 points on 13-for-15 shooting. Pickett also grabbed five rebounds, all on the offensive glass, and added two assists.

Jaylen Bland added 16 points, connecting on four of eight three-point attempts, and pulled down seven rebounds. Tarkus Ferguson chipped in 14 points off the bench, along with six rebounds and three assists.

James Towns finished with 17 points and five assists while grabbing eight rebounds. Ty Groce recorded a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.

The Titans held advantages in bench scoring (35-21) and second-chance points (17-11). KW converted 19 of 25 free-throw attempts for 76 per cent, while shooting 49.4 per cent from the field and 31.3 per cent from three-point range.

KW scored 56 points in the paint and recorded 23 assists as a team. The Titans collected six steals and two blocked shots.

Looking ahead

The Five will look to even the series when they return to action Sunday at 3 p.m. in Kitchener for Game 2. Game 3 is scheduled for Tuesday, April 21, at the Sudbury Community Arena.

“First one down, two more to go,” the Titans posted on Facebook after the game.

“See you all on Sunday!”