The Sudbury Five were already without their best player in 2023 as the tip-off to their best of five first round series with the Windsor Express neared on Friday, Jeremy Harris still nursing a hand injury.
Despite a slow start, the Five had still managed to pull ahead 59-53 in the third quarter when A.J. Mosby, their most productive player to that pooint in the contest with 23 points, was knocked out of the gate after Windsor guard Nick Garth landed directly (and quite accidentally) on his ankle.
Despite all of the adversity, the Five still managed to grab the series lead courtesy of a 108-99 win, one in which all nine of the Sudbury men who saw 16 minutes or more of playing time were key contributors to the victory, at some point in time or another.
Veteran Bralon Rayson showed the way with a 28-point effort that included a few of his customary three-point baskets at critical junctures of the game, with J.D. Miller (19) and Duane Notice (13) also hitting double digits.
Still, one cannot discount the assistance provided off the bench by the likes of Curtis Hollis (9) and Mark Vital (7), especially down the stretch.
In trouble early and limited to just a pair of buckets in the opening 24 minutes of play, Billy White was front and center in the comeback for the Express, with Windsor trailing by ten at the half (46-36) before White went off for 18 points in the final two quarters, his team closing the gap to just a single point on three different occasions in the fourth quarter.
In fact, the Express trailed by a score or less more than a dozen times in the second half, but never pulled even or took the lead, a definite reflection of the ability of the Five to counter with quick scores when threatened.
Justin Moss added 21 points for the visitors, with Ja'Myrin Jackson sinking 11 and the trio of Latin Davis, Jason Calliste and Tanner Stuckman all chipping in with ten each.
Before the game, Sudbury sparkplus Dexter Williams Jr was named as the NBLC Defensive Player of the Year, with teammate A.J. Mosby celebrated as NBLC Newcomer of the Year earlier today.
Game two in the series goes Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. at Sudbury Arena, with the teams making their way to Windsor for games three and four next Wednesday and Friday.
