From the Nicholson Seats, January 4, 2026

Five Victorious over Toundra in Foul Filled Contest

By Hoops T

Note to readers: due to time constraints, this blog will be truncated.

The Sudbury five continued their season-opening homestand Saturday night with a visit from the Montréal Toundra.

A less than stellar crowd of 1,473 attended the contest.

Sudbury got off to a quick start, winning the opening quarter 31-25.

Both teams did not shoot the basketball well, clicking at a 40% or less clip.

The teams engaged in a low-scoring second quarter, won by Montréal 21-20.

The second quarter moved along rapidly, as there were only four free throws attempted by both teams.

Paced by 15 points by Keyshawn Bryant, the Five led 51-46 at halftime.

The tempo of the game changed abruptly at halftime, as Tony Turnbull, Chris Delaney and David Maxim became the stars of the contest.

Unfortunately for the fans, none of those three gentlemen play for the Five or the Toundra. They were the game officials assigned by the BSL for Saturday night's contest.

Montréal was in the bonus with over eight minutes left in the quarter, and the Five were in the bonus shortly thereafter.

The referees whistled both teams for 23 fouls, resulting in 32 free throws for both teams

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The result was that the scoreboard at the Sudbury Arena lit up like a pinball machine, as the Five won the quarter by a margin of 39-38.

The fans, players and coaches grew extremely frustrated with the extremely tight whistle of the referees.

Sudbury let the game 90-84 after 36 minutes of play.

The procession to the foul lines continued unabated in the fourth quarter.

Montreal was in the bonus with nine minutes left in the game, and the Five quickly followed.

The game became slow, ragged and almost unwatchable.

It was the classic 5PM stop-and-go traffic on the Kingsway brought to the Elgin Street barn.

Both of the teams shot under 30% in the fourth quarter.

The teams combined for 11 made baskets in the fourth quarter, five by Montréal and six by Sudbury.

The referees called 19 fouls, resulting in an incredible 37 free throws between the teams.

Sudbury won the free throw contest down the stretch 18-15. Both teams were proficient from the line, with Montréal hitting 15-18 free throws and Sudbury connecting on 18-19 free throws.

Sudbury extended their lead throughout the fourth quarter, but Montréal kept coming back. The Toundra cut the Five lead to 109-105 with 3:08 remaining.

Sudbury put the game away with a 6-0 run in the next 80 seconds of play.

The second half took an incredible 80 minutes to play.

The Five defeated the Toundra 121-110.

All of the Sudbury starters scored in double figures, led by Keyshawn Bryant with 31 points.

Montréal had four players that scored in double figures.

Both teams shot 41% from the field. The Five shot 39% from three and Montréal shot 27% from three. Montréal shot 33-39 from the free-throw line and the Five went 37-48 from the strike.

Sudbury returns to action on January 10, 2026, and a finals rematch against the Windsor Express at the Elgin Street barn.