Sudbury Five drop Game 2 of BSL finals as series shifts to Windsor

Playing 1 of 3

The Sudbury Five couldn’t replicate their late-game magic Saturday night, falling 104-87 to the Windsor Express in Game 2 of the Basketball Super League (BSL) finals at Sudbury Community Arena.

Stephen Hurt Sudbury Five No. 25, Stephen Hurt, finds the basket against multiple Windsor Express defenders at the Sudbury Community Arena during the first quarter of Game 2 of the Basketball Super League finals. April 19, 2025 (The Sudbury Five/X)

The best-of-five series is now tied 1-1.

Five struggled late

After a back-and-forth battle through three quarters, the Five struggled in the fourth, shooting just 5-for-19 from the field and missing all seven three-point attempts. JD Miller led Sudbury with 25 points, while Jelani Simmons added 21.

Duane Notice Duane Notice attempts to find the basket against a Windsor Express defender at the Sudbury Community Arena during the fourth quarter of the Sudbury Five’s Game 2 loss in the Basketball Super League finals. April 19, 2025 (The Sudbury Five/X)

Windsor, playing without injured ‘big man’ Vincent Boumann, spread the offence effectively, with six players scoring in double digits – including Mike Bruce with 20 points and Latin Davis with 19.

“They made some very strong adjustments, I’ll give them a lot of credit,” said Sudbury assistant coach Denis Gauthier, who spoke in place of head coach Logan Stutz in the post-game press conference.

“With Boumann missing, [Lydell] Elmore did a really good job protecting the rim, and they just had a lot more energy than we did.”

The Five, who won Game 1 in overtime (103-100) on Thursday, were outshot in every category in Game 2 – field goals (47.6% to 41.3%), three-pointers (44.4% to 27.8%), and free throws (73.7% to 68.8%).

Jermaine Haley Jermaine Haley attempts a free throw at the Sudbury Community Arena during the third quarter of the Sudbury Five’s Game 2 loss in the Basketball Super League finals. April 19, 2025 (The Sudbury Five/X)

Sudbury coaching staff still optimistic

Despite the loss, Gauthier remained optimistic.

“We’ll come back,” he said.

“We had a really great shootaround this morning, but we came out a little flat. Our guys are strong. I know we’re resilient. We’ll figure this one out.”

Sudbury guard Ja’Myrin Jackson, formerly a player for Windor’s squad, saw increased minutes off the bench, finishing with nine points in his 21 minutes on Saturday.

Ja’Myrin Jackson Ja’Myrin Jackson looks to the sidelines at halftime as the Sudbury Five trailed the Windsor Express by five points in Game 2 of the Basketball Super League finals. April 19, 2025 (The Sudbury Five/X)

‘Our guys love going to Windsor’

The Five will look for a stronger performance as the series shifts to Windsor for Games 3 and 4 at Windsor Family Credit Union Centre on Wednesday and Friday, both tipping off at 7 p.m.

“Our guys love going to Windsor, we love going to that arena, and we were just talking about that today,” Gauthier said.

“We need to steal one there, obviously.”

If necessary, Game 5 will return to Sudbury on April 29 at 7:05 p.m.