905 lose pivotal game to Skyhawks as frustration mounts
It was always going to be an uphill battle for the Raptors 905 against the College Park Skyhawks on Friday night.
Undermanned, down on their luck and with their playoff hopes wavering, the 905 needed to steal one to snap their seven-game losing streak – tied longest in the G – and revive their post-season chances.
Charlie Brown jr. got the memo, and stole the ball four times in the opening quarter. In fact, Brown jr. and Eugene Omoruyi combined for four steals in the first four minutes as the 905 carried over the high-urgency play that fueled a near-comeback in the previous day’s game against the same Skyhawks. The squad’s energy and activity both on defence and in transition fueled an early lead. Omoruyi feasted on easy buckets, finishing putbacks, uncontested layups, and runouts. For each one of Brown jr.’s first quarter steals, Omoruyi had a fast break finish, going 4-for-4. He led the team with 18 points at the half and finished with a career-high 39 on 17-of-26 shooting, along with six rebounds and eight assists.
“He’s a warrior, that’s who he (Omoruyi) is. I don’t expect anything less,” said coach Drew Jones after the game. “And when I do see it, I call it out. And you know what he responds, that’s what pros do.”
Yet the 905’s purposeful play wasn’t enough. Former 905er Kevon Harris matched with a career-high on the other end, putting up 35 without a made 3. He hit a couple nice turnaround jumpers in the lane while also scoring nearly half of his points at the free throw line. Harris’s Skyhawks ultimately took the heated slugfest 134-127.
The volatile nature of the G League has once again dealt the 905 a blow. The Toronto Raptors’ trades, injuries, and straight up questionable lineup choices have opened up opportunities for 905ers and two-ways at the NBA level – which is great, and well deserved. But it has once more thrust the Mississauga squad into a talent deficit and instability. They’ve also just been straight up short players with only eight available in Monday’s game against the Wisconsin Herd, and nine in each of their two games against the Skyhawks. The loss – their eighth straight amidst a 2-10 stretch since the start of February – now has the 905 2.5 games out of a playoff spot with eight games remaining.
Omoruyi also led the 905 in first half scoring against the Skyhawks on Thursday night, going 3-for-3 in the paint. Yet he didn’t set foot on the court in the fourth quarter.
Shooting 54.7 percent on the season, and 62.6 percent from inside the arc, he has been the team’s most potent paint-scoring presence this season.
“Just spacing. I think when our spacing is good, we give the ball room to breathe and then we can find him,” said Jones before the game when I asked him about how the team puts Omoruyi in advantageous positions. “I think at times we kind of get on top of each other. Whenever we don’t allow the ball to breathe, it has no energy. So, for us, keep the spacing good, keep the ball having energy, and when we do, we find him. And when we don’t, we make it a lot harder on ourselves offensively.”
The 905 went all out. They were outshot by College Park in the first half, but made up for it with sheer hustle. Brown jr. sprinted down the floor after a Skyhawks make and got in behind the defence where Evan Gilyard threaded a perfect pass for an easy layup. In addition to his disruptive defence, Brown jr. scored 26 and added six rebounds and eight assists.
Omoruyi ran a keeper with Gilyard and went straight down the lane for an uncontested layup. Next possession he got out ahead in transition and outwaited the trailing defender for another easy finish at the rim.
Their defence was connected and its overwhelming activity stifled College Park’s attack. The Skyhawks stayed in the game mostly thanks to late-clock 3s and some athletic transition layups by Jordan Bowden.
The 905 played the right way in the halfcourt, sharing the ball to carry advantages. It pinged around above the break; Tylor Perry entered to Omoruyi, who then threw a bullet skip pass from the block to the far wing. Gilyard swung it to Brown jr. In the corner and he drove the baseline close out for the finish. Great ball movement and decision-making all-around.
Both teams – separated by 1.5 games in the standings – desperately battled for their playoff lives. The players were visibly on edge. There were mistakes, errant passes were thrown, players hung out in the key too long, but the effort was never lacking. The score reflected that; it remained within a couple possessions for the majority of the first half.
To start the third quarter, it appeared that the game was starting to slip from the 905s grasp. A lack of rebounding on their part and hot shooting from the Skyhawks resulted in a 15-4 run as things threatened to get out of hand. But the 905 stayed in it.
Perry faked a zoom action and continued to curl into a back cut as Omoruyi found him for the open lay. Gilyard stuck a finesse floater in the lane then went back the other way and took a charge. The vociferous paint scoring from Omoruyi continued with a spinning jump hook in transition and a pump, drive, and finish in a crowded lane. Brown jr. got a pass from Omoruyi on a baseline cut and yammed.
Their lack of size hurt them, as the Skyhawks skyed for seven offensive rebounds against a clearly fatigued frontcourt that punched above its weight for the majority of the first half. College Park ultimately outrebounded the home side 17-7 in the third. Omoruyi – tasked with playing small-ball five for most of the night – took his fifth foul midway through the third and somehow played 14 of the final 16 minutes without fouling out.
But Brown jr. picked Nikola Durišić for his fifth steal and shovelled to Geno as the duo connected for yet another transition bucket – this time a hard two-handed dunk. They each finished with eight assists, both career-highs. And half of their 16 total assists were to each other.
“Just us hanging out off the court and it just translates on the court, just us knowing each other’s game,” said Omoruyi of him and Brown jr.’s connection post-game. “…We’re the two kind of vets on the team, since Frank’s not here no more, we’re kind of two vets on the team that just understand the game and just understand the reads really.”
The 905 showed tremendous resolve all game against a larger opponent, with Omoruyi and Quincy Guerrier taking the majority of the lumps banging and bashing down low. Brown jr. And Key also deserve mentions here, the former for using his athleticism to snatch up boards and the later for just straight up laying it on the line on both ends.
Eugene Omoruyi continued to will the 905 forward, hitting a triple and plowing his way to rim. Brown jr. continued to be his Robin as he 45 cut to the basket while Omoruyi dimed him for the lay. Omoruyi stuck another transition triple.
Despite the herculean effort from the pair and the team as a whole, they trailed by seven going into the final couple minutes.
Perry made a remarkable strip on a Jarkel Joiner break (he made a similar play late in the previous game) and proceeded to make a couple big free throws on the other end, keeping the 905’s hopes alive. Omoruyi stumbled backing down on the keeper play, nearly falling out of bounds under the hoop, but Perry picked him up drilling a tough, off-balance, step-back 3. The 5-foot-11 guard was massive down the stretch. Then Omoruyi hit another 3, and then another driving layup. The 905 trailed by two with 24 seconds remaining.
The foul game ensued, with each leading scorer – Omoruyi and Harris – making both. After College Park hit a couple more free throws and extended the lead to four, Guerrier was called for a soft over-the-back foul on a rebound and coach Jones took exception. The tense game had reached its breaking point. On the following play Jones was T’d up and then ejected after unleashing a tirade at the ref from the sideline that culminated in expletives.
“My frustration comes from us executing down the stretch, and us feeling like it was taken from us,” said Jones after a long pause. “We rumbled, we fought, we played hard down the stretch. I thought we played four quarters together for the most part. But we’ve got to finish, we’ve got to finish. And as much as the game and the way it’s called at times is frustrating, we’ve got to dig in. Myself included, first and foremost. My frustration level stems from my care for our players. You guys don’t see what they do every day. And they put it all on the line and today I felt like we earned that one. But we’ve got to finish.”
Note:
The 905 wore some women’s empowerment Jerseys for international women’s night and the game broadcast featured an all women crew of Ashley Docking, Tamika Nurse, and Lindsay Dunn. Kia Nurse was also in the building and both joined the broadcast and led a ceremony at halftime celebrating impactful women in the community. Great stuff!
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