Edge Force Fifth and Deciding Game, Team Effort Overcomes Late Surge by Sudbury
St. John’s, NL — The St. John’s Edge were fighting for their season on Friday night in Sudbury, with their backs against the wall and a short bench, the Edge pulled off the Game 4 victory by a score of 107-104 and now force a fifth and deciding game in St. John’s on Sunday afternoon.
Following Game 3 the Edge were hit with some heavy news as they would discover that Shaquille Keith would be sidelined for the remainder of the 2019 Playoffs with a broken bone in his foot. With Keith out and Dez Lee battling a lower-body injury, the Edge would have to play this one with a very short bench.
This game would start like Game 3 as the Edge would get off to a quick start with Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis capping off the 6-0 run to begin the game. Then, just as they did in the previous game, Sudbury started to connect on their long-range shots to get themselves back into this one and go ahead by a single possession after Dexter Williams Jr. hit a triple at the halfway point in the quarter.
After Isaiah Tate II converted a layup opportunity underneath the basket, the Five would answer with a Jaylen Bland three-pointer to pull within two with under a minute to go. The Edge would get a Junior Cadougan layup in transition to put them ahead 30-26 at the end of the first.
Into the second quarter, the teams would be unable to convert any of their attempts for almost two full minutes, then Braylon Rayson would change that with a deep three from the top of the circle. The next few minutes would go back and forth, with the Edge holding the slight advantage throughout.
The final few minutes would see Sudbury once again pull within one point, but Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis would grab one of his 16 rebounds on the night to put the Edge up 53-50 going into the half-time break.
Out of the break, the Edge would dig deep and find their groove with every player on the floor scoring at least one point to extend the Edge lead to as many as 16 with 7:18 left in the third quarter.
Junior Cadougan would continue to wreak havoc on the Sudbury defence as he dropped 8 points in the quarter. The Edge would also get solid production from their bench as Jarryn Skeete would come off the bench and hit two triples. Skeete’s second three-pointer would cap off the scoring for the Edge in the quarter as they went into the final frame up by a score of 88-74.
With their backs against the wall, the Edge would have to keep their foot on the gas pedal to pull out the win. Sudbury would take advantage of some visible fatigue by the Edge and cut the lead to just 6 points capped off by a Cory Dixon dunk.
Head Coach Steve Marcus would get creative and keep the floor time short for his team with multiple substitutions in the final few minutes to keep the legs fresh. He would also be dealing with foul trouble as four of his five starters would be at 4 fouls down the stretch.
Sudbury would tie the game up at 101 with 2:13 remaining on the clock. After Murphy Burnatowski converted two free-throw attempts, the Five would turn the ball over on the very next possession and feed the ball into the post where Glen Davis would be fouled and sent to the line with a chance to put the Edge up by two possessions. He would make good on both and force the Five to make a quick dash down the floor where Maurice Jones Sr. was fouled. Jones Sr. would miss his first but make his second and bring the score to 105-102 for the Edge.
On their next trip down the floor, the Edge would be stopped at the rim and the Five would move the ball in transition where Cory Dixon had a shot from beyond the arc to tie it, but he would miss and the Edge would take possession and force the Five to foul sending Isaiah Tate II to the line, where he converted both attempts to solidify the win for the Edge by a score of 107-104.
On this night it was a total team effort from the Edge, they had 5 players in double figures. With Glen Davis leading the way with 22 points and 16 rebounds, 10 of which were offensive rebounds. Junior Cadougan and Isaiah Tate II would finish with 18 points apiece, with Murphy Burnatowski dropping 15 and Jared Nickens rounding it out with 13 off the bench.
For the Five, they were led by Cory Dixon who had 26 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.
Now the stage is set for a fifth and deciding game on Sunday, April 14th at 2:00 PM at Mile One Centre. This is one you will not want to miss. Get your tickets now by calling 576-7657 or online at www.mileonecentre.com.
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