The KW Titans kicked off their 2018-19 season on Sunday with an early matinee game against the Sudbury Five at The Aud.
The home team brought a ton of energy for a revved-up crowd of just under 1,000 fans, with a game full of ups and downs that unfortunately saw the Titans lose their first game of the season in a heartbreaking close one at home.
The Titans got off to a great start in the first quarter, getting hot from three-point land while playing some hardened defence on the other side of the court.
At halftime, the two teams had been battling hard and had given each other more than enough reason to respect their opponents. With a score of 56-55, KW maintained the lead, but it was clear that nothing was going to come easy against a fired-up Sudbury team.
The second half saw more of the same, with fierce competition on both ends of the floor.
KW Titans’ standout, Flenard Whitfield, played with some incredible intensity and performed some highlight plays, including a earth-shaking dunk coming off a crowd-pleasing alley-oop pass.
Emotions ran high in the fourth quarter, when KW Titans guard Ed Horton hit the floor hard after a questionable foul by Sudbury Five guard Dexter Williams Jr., which resulted in the two players, along with both teams, being given fouls for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Although the Titans had a good opportunity to tie in the closing moments of the game, Titans’ guard/forward Akeem Ellis came up short on an equalizing three-point shot attempt.
The Sudbury Five managed to take the Titans’ first opportunity of the season to get a win, ending the game with a 115-112 victory.
“These guys go hard, they fight hard, and just cleaning up some small principles on the defensive end of the floor — I think that should do us better,” said Titans head coach Cavell Johnson.
The Titans will have an opportunity to equalize their record on Thursday as they host the Windsor Express at the Aud for a 7 p.m. tipoff.
