NBL Canada St. John's Edge

Edge Drop Finale of Road Trip to Sudbury Five

February 25, 2019 - National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada)
St. John's Edge News Release


St. John's, NL - The St. John's Edge dropped their fifth straight game on the road to the Sudbury Five on Monday night in Sudbury, ON.

It was a more characteristic start in this one for the Edge as they began the game shooting the ball well and working the Sudbury defence down low to grab an early lead. The X-factor for the Edge throughout the game was Olu Ashaolu who would prove difficult to defend down low and also stretch the defence, showing off his three-point touch as well. Olu would have a big dunk off a great dish by Junior Cadougan at around the 5-minute mark of the first to give the Edge a two-possession lead. After Sudbury would come back to take a two point lead in the late stages, Russell Byrd would drain an elbow jumper, followed by a Diego Kapelan triple would push the Edge ahead 33-29 as the game progressed to the second quarter of action.

Into the second quarter, the Edge would build on their lead as they continued to have the hot hand early on in the game. However, as the quarter progressed to the middle portion, Sudbury would again find their way back into this one and tie it up with around 7 minutes left to play in the half. St. John's would get back to their earlier successes and feed the ball to the big man down low, as Olu Ashaolu would finish up the first half with 19 points. The Edge would head into the break with a 56-45 lead over the expansion Sudbury Five.

Out of the break, the Edge would look to put pressure on Sudbury and build on their 11 point lead. A couple of early buckets by Desmond Lee and a three by Russell Byrd would extend the lead to 13. Just as they had done in the first half, Sudbury would not go away, they would reduce the deficit at around the 7:20 mark of the third quarter. Unlike their last couple of games, the Edge would have an answer to the Sudbury attack, with Diego Kapelan showing off his shooting stroke to get the lead back up to 11 points in the final few minutes. With the game still in the hands of the Edge, former Edge point Guard Maurice Jones Sr. would put up the final 4 points in the quarter to send this one into the final frame with the Edge leading by just 6 points, 90-84.

The final twelve minutes would prove to be a test for the Edge as they were competing with Sudbury on the floor and in the stands as the home crowd began to get louder with every shot that was falling for the Five. Following a Shaquille Keith three-pointer, the Five would put together a little run to get back to within 4 points at the 6:12 mark of the final quarter. After Shaquille Keith drained a couple of free-throws late to tie this one at 108, Sudbury would go on a 7-0 run into the final seconds of the game and not look back, completing the comeback to hand the Edge the 116-111 loss.

On this night Olu Ashaolu had his best game of this season thus far. The Toronto, ON native would drop 27 points and grab 12 boards. The Edge had 6 players finish in double digits, with Shaquille Keith dropping 22, then following him were Dez Lee and Jared Nickens with 17 apiece. St. John's were without the services of Glen Davis and Jarryn Skeete in this one, as Davis required treatment for a stomach illness, while Skeete was sidelined with a concussion.

For the Sudbury Five, they were led by Maurice Jones Sr. who dropped 23 points in this one, with 17 of those coming in the final two quarters.

The Edge have now completed their final road trip of the regular season and will head back to St. John's for an 8-game homestand in the month of the March. The homestand kicks off against the Cape Breton Highlanders on Sunday, March 3rd and Monday, March 4th at Mile One Centre.



National Basketball League of Canada Stories from February 25, 2019


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