Edge Drop Game 4 to Titans, Finish Game with Just Six Players
St. John’s, NL — The St. John’s Edge were looking to take a commanding lead in the Central Division Finals in Kitchener, ON on Sunday afternoon as they faced the Titans in Game 4 of their best 4 of 7 series. Ultimately it would be the Titans who would come out on top by a score of 97-86 to even the series at 2 games apiece.
St. John’s would be in tough from the get-go in this one as hours prior to the tip-off, the league announced that Glen Davis would be suspended for this game for conduct detrimental to the league.
In the first quarter of this one, there was a lot of misses from both sides as it seemed neither team could find a rhythm. Olu Ashaolu got the scoring started for the Edge when he hammered down a dunk to put the Edge up early. Following some back an forth play, the Titans would surge ahead holding a lead for the majority of the quarter.
Down the stretch, the Edge would reduce the deficit and take the lead when Isaiah Tate II would hit the layup to put the Edge up 21-20. Following an exchange of baskets, Tate II would hit a mid-range jumper with less than 10 seconds left in the quarter to give the Edge the 25-23 advantage going into the second.
Into the second quarter, the Edge would find themselves in some foul trouble. St. John’s would also begin to find their shooting touch as they grabbed a 7-point lead after Murphy Burnatowski hit one of his four triples on the night.
At the 4:39 mark of the quarter, Carl English hit the turnaround jumper to give the Edge a 3-point advantage. Down on the other end, the Titans would get a big three from Damon Lynn to tie this one at 36. The teams would exchange the lead three more times in the second, sending this one into the break tied at 45.
Out of the half-time break, Akeem Ellis of the Titans would put them ahead by two possessions after he hit a deep three. The Edge would take another hit when Jarryn Skeete picked up his second technical foul of the night, meaning his night was over and the Edge were now down to 8 players. However, the Edge would battle back, they would get a Jared Nickens triple from the corner to bring them within 2 points, then Dez Lee would hit two free throws to tie this one at 67.
Olu Ashaolu would score 6 straight points in the last minute and a half to give the Edge the 75-68 advantage going into the fourth quarter.
St. John’s looked to lock this one up in the fourth, but they would begin by missing their first few attempts from the field and it would open the door for the Titans to make a run to get right back into this one. Then at the 9:41 mark of the quarter, Olu Ashaolu would suffer a thumb injury forcing him from the game. Following a timeout by the Edge they would retake the lead after a Burnatowski reverse layup gave them the 81-78 advantage. On the very next play, Murphy would commit his 6th foul and his day would also be done, meaning with the Ashaolu injury and the Skeete Technicals, the Edge were down to just 6 players.
The Titans would take full advantage of the short bench of their opponents, they picked up the pace and converted on several looks to push ahead by 5 points with about 1:30 left in the game. This would be as close as the Edge would get, as the Titans took this one by a score of 97-86.
After suffering the injury to his thumb Olu Ashaolu was brought to a nearby hospital, no more information has become available at this time.
On the afternoon, as a team, the Edge struggled from the field and beyond the arc, as well as, only shooting 66% from the charity stripe. Offensively, the Edge were led by Olu Ashaolu who dropped 20 points, followed by Murphy Burnatowski who had 19 points of his own. On the glass, Dez Lee pulled down 14 rebounds to go along with 6 points.
The Titans were led by Damon Lynn and Justin Strings with both players scoring 19 points apiece in the win.
The Edge now look to regroup and get ready for Game 5 on Tuesday night in Kitchener. The series is tied at 2, meaning that Game 6 will be played at Mile One Centre on Friday, May 3rd at 7:00 PM. Tickets for Game 6 are available at the Mile One Box Office, by calling 576-7657, or online at www.mileonecentre.com.