The Basketball Super League 2025-2026 season is officially underway and the Sudbury Five took to the court for the first time since winning the Basketball Super League championship last season.
The squad was keen to defend their crown on home court against the Lake Erie Jackals.
It also marked fans first chance to see new head coach and GM Joey Puddister behind the bench for the first time.
The Sudbury Five got off to a strong start, opening up the game with a 14-0 run, ending the first quarter holding a 37-30 lead with Keyshawn Bryant leading the charge for Sudbury with 12 points in the quarter.
The second quarter was closer than the first with Sudbury outscoring Lake Erie 29-27 in the quarter, and holding a 65-57 lead going into the halftime break, with newcomer Alex Kotov leading Sudbury in the quarter with seven points.
Lake Erie came back in the third quarter to win their first quarter of the game, outscoring Sudbury 31-30, with D’Andre Johnson scoring 10 points in the quarter, but Sudbury still held a 95-88 lead heading into the final quarter of play.
The Five finished the game with a 30-26 showing in the fourth quarter, capping off a successful opening night, sending 2,125 Sudbury Five fans hope happy with a 126-114 victory over the Lake Erie Jackals.
In post game comments, Sudbury Five Guard Charlie Marquardt said, “The earlier you hit adversity, ‘cause every team hits adversity, you start building the trust amongst the players and cohesion, that chemistry, is better off. Coach has really done a great job creating that edge to us where when we hit some of that positivity. When something goes wrong, get right back on track.”
In post-game comments, new Head Coach Joey Puddister said, “We have a really returning core, Allen, Charlie, Duane, and Nerve, all returners, all very important leaders on the team. So it’s really tough to single one guy out in terms of who kept things together. Everybody made a big play at some point during the game.”
The Sudbury Five return to the court at the Sudbury Community Arena on Jan. 3, 2026, with a game against the Montreal Tundra with tip off set for 7 p.m.
Super fan Robert McCarthy covers Sudbury Wolves and Sudbury Five games for Sudbury.com. Got a question for Robert? Email it to [email protected].