Titans Rally past Five
February 4, 2020 - National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada)
KW Titans News Release
The KW Titans came home to host the Sudbury Five on Sunday after falling to the Lightning in London on Saturday.
The Titans were charged up for this one and were hungry for a win after a tough loss in London just the day before.
KW won the tip but struggled to score the ball early on. The Five, however, got off to a quick start as Jaylen Bland (23 points, 7-3PM) and Braylon Rayson (18 points, seven assists) proceeded to knock down back-to-back three-pointers.
This only seemed to be a sign of things to come as the Five put on a scoring display with a whole slew of dunks and triples coming from the visiting squad.
However, despite Sudbury controlling the pace of the game early on, the Titans kept themselves in striking distance and never let the score get to out of hand.
At the end of the first quarter Sudbury led KW 32-23.
The Five went on a big scoring run to open up the second quarter. The visitors showboated on the Titans' fans as they completed two impressive alley-oop sequences.
But Damon Lynn (five points, three assists) put on a show of his own before he left the game with a bloody nose shortly after, as he zig-zagged under the rim with an acrobatic layup to the home crowd's delight.
The Titans push didn't stop there, though, Akeem Ellis (32 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists) banged a three-point bomb in his defenders face and cut the lead down to five. Moments later, Jared Nickens (eight points) got fouled on a three-point attempt and was sent to the line. The sharpshooter knocked down all three of his attempts and now the Five's lead was cut down to just two points.
Sudbury tried to knock the Titans off their game but KW wouldn't go away and were down by just five points at the half as the scoreboard read 55-50 for the Five.
The third quarter was more of the same for the two clubs. Neither side was willing to give up in their quest for a win and both sides exchanged blows like prizefighters. KW battled hard and trailed by just a single point at times but Sudbury went on a quick run midway through the quarter and extended their lead to 10 points again with just three minutes to go in the period.
Despite this, the Titans would not go away and continued their push and brought their deficit down to just four points going into the fourth.
The score was 84-80 and the Titans were setting the stage for a grand finale.
The home team had their game faces on in the final twelve minutes. Akeem Scott (24 points, four assists, four steals) pulled up for a mid-range jumper on the elbow and splashed it home to tie the score up.
The Titans seemed re-energized in the fourth and the other half of "The Akeem Team" showed fans why he's so revered, as Ellis showed off with a clutch triple from deep, giving the Titans a three-point lead.
The Five, not knowing what just hit them, tried to put a stop to the run but it was too late.
"The Akeem Team" was at it again in the fourth quarter as they so often are. Scott pulled up from three this time and sent the crowd into a frenzy as he pushed the Titans advantage to seven now.
Sudbury's Bland kept the Five's hopes alive with a three of his own cutting the Titans lead down to four but KW ultimately stunned their up north rivals in a thrilling victory on Superbowl Sunday.
The Titans edged out the Five 108-104 at the end of regulation largely due to another monster showing from Akeem Ellis.
"We're getting our identity right now," Ellis said. "We're a bunch of dogs. We're a bunch of hunters but right now, what we have to do is we have to go out and hunt and get wins and that's what we plan on doing."
The Titans will now have a little break before heading out on that 401 west to take on the Lightning again in London on Thursday, Feb. 6.
Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Titans' away games are available for streaming for free at www.nblc.live.
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