Sudbury Five drop regular-season finale, settle for second place

The Sudbury Five shift focus to the playoffs after a 100-98 loss to the KW Titans dashed their hopes for first place in the BSL regular season.

The Sudbury Five entered Sunday’s regular-season finale needing a decisive win to capture first place in the Basketball Super League standings. The Five entered the game having defeated Montreal on Thursday and Saturday but could not complete their end-of-season trifecta against the league-leading KW Titans.

The defending BSL champs fell 100-98 to the Titans before more than 2,700 fans at Sudbury Community Arena, settling for second place with a 17-9 record.

“Thank you for the support Five fans,” the team posted on social media following the game.

Kitchener-Waterloo finishes atop the standings at 19-7.

Titans strike early

The visitors seized control from the opening tip, outscoring Sudbury 32-18 in the first quarter. Antoine Mason set the tone for KW, converting a layup just 12 seconds into the game to open the scoring.

Sudbury struggled to find offensive rhythm in the opening frame, connecting on only 42.9 per cent of its field-goal attempts while missing all four of its three-point tries.

The Titans pushed their lead to 14 points late in the first quarter when Tarkus Ferguson’s layup made it 32-18 with less than a second remaining.

Sudbury battles back before halftime

The Five showed signs of life in the second quarter, trimming the deficit to 11 points by halftime.

Sudbury outscored KW 25-22 in the period, with Duane Notice and Charlie Marquardt providing much of the offensive spark. Notice connected on a pair of three-pointers in the quarter, while Marquardt added five points.

A 9-2 run midway through the second brought Sudbury within nine points at 43-34 following Notice’s second triple of the frame.

The Titans answered with a three-pointer from Jaylen Bland to push the lead back to 12, but Marquardt’s three-pointer in the final minute of the half cuting KW’s advantage to 54-43 at the break.

KW extends lead in third quarter

Sudbury’s defensive struggles continued after halftime as the Titans stretched their lead to as many as 19 points in the third period.

KW opened the second half with a 7-2 run, highlighted by back-to-back baskets from Mason and a three-pointer from James Towns that made it 60-48 with 9:14 left in the frame.

The Titans’ lead reached its apex at 81-63 with 2:40 remaining in the third after Romani Hansen converted a pair of free throws.

Marquardt hit a three-pointer and Nervens Demosthene added a layup in the final minute of the quarter to cut Sudbury’s deficit to 85-70 heading into the fourth.

Fourth-quarter rally falls short

The Five mounted a furious comeback attempt in the final frame, outscoring the Titans 28-15 over the last 10 minutes.

Devante Jamison sparked the rally, scoring 12 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter. His three-pointer with 9:31 remaining pulled Sudbury within 10, and after a KW basket, Jamison struck again from long range to make it 91-82.

Sudbury continued to chip away. Emmanuel Akot’s three-pointer with two minutes remaining cut the Titans’ lead to 96-95, capping a 9-2 run that brought the home side within a single point.

The Titans answered with free throws from Jaylen Bland and Tyshon Pickett in the final 90 seconds to stretch the lead back to 100-96.

Akot made a layup as time expired to bring Sudbury within two, but the Five could not complete the rally.

More numbers

Charlie Marquardt led Sudbury with 21 points, including three three-pointers. Jamison added 19 points off the bench, while Akot finished with 16 points and six rebounds. Notice contributed 15 points and six rebounds.

Antoine Mason paced KW with 27 points on 9-for-18 shooting. Ty Groce added 14 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out late.

The Titans shot 44.2 per cent from the field, while Sudbury connected on 40.6 per cent. The Five attempted 47 free throws, converting 34, while KW went 24-for-28 from the line.

Playoff picture set

The result locks Sudbury into the second seed for the upcoming playoffs – beginning their best-of-five first-round series against the Montreal Toundra at home on April 3 with tipoff set for 7 p.m., with the Five seeking to defend their Basketball Super League championship title.

“See you Friday,” the team posted on social media following the game.

The Five finished the post with their signature hashtag of the season – #DefendTheThrone.

KW finishes as the top seed and will face the Windsor Express in the first round.