The 905 reached the halfway mark of their 32-game regular season on Super Bowl Sunday. They escaped with a 124-123 victory over the Westchester Knicks. It was a close game, with 14 lead changes and eight ties throughout the game. Either team never led by more than eight points.
The Knicks had a 10-0 run in the second quarter, and after Reggie Perry’s three tied the game late in the third quarter, the Knicks went on a 6-0 run to close out that quarter. The 905 showed a lot of fight in the final frame, and were up six points with five minutes left in the fourth quarter. Dowtin’s late-game heroics and Christian Koloko’s help-side blocks helped the 905 cling onto their lead in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Player notes
Christian Koloko played 25 minutes. He dunked a beautiful alley-oop pass by Darryl Morsell in the second quarter, but his two biggest plays were two help-side blocks in the fourth quarter, which helped the 905 maintain a four-point lead.
Samson Folk said Koloko’s “instincts as a help defender have been elite,” and he showed that in the League. And as Louis Zatzman stated, if the future of its parent team is about patience, then Koloko will need to use these reps to improve offensively. All of Koloko’s points came in the paint minus one mid-range, and he also attempted one three. His sole non-paint two came off a roll, but his shot form didn’t seem natural. He’ll need to be more assertive and aggressive calling for the ball as a roll man if the Raptors intend on keeping him for the long(er)-term. For Koloko to have impact in the Association, he’ll need to be head and shoulders above bigs like Garrison Brooks and Dmytro Skapintsev, with all due respect to them.
The two-ways were impressive in the fourth quarter. Ron Harper hit two threes in to inch within five points and one with 2:04 left in the game. Harper finished the game with a team-high 23 points. Meanwhile, Jeff Dowtin had nine points in the final six minutes. Dowtin shot a perfect 4-for-4 in the fourth quarter, making two paint-twos, a mid-range, and a three-pointer where he dribbled to the corner using a screen, and found himself open from the left corner.
Reggie Perry was the snubbed from the G League Next Up Game, but was the only player to rack up a double-double (13 points and 10 rebounds) in 23 minutes. He only had one assist, but it was a beautiful pass to a cutting Ryan Hawkins. There might not be a place for Perry on this Raptors squad, but hopefully, he’ll find a place in The League soon.
Gabe Brown‘s shots screamed “I can shoot like Wiesy too.” Brown shot 5-for-11 from behind the arc en route to a 20-point performance with a game-high 12 plus/minus.
The 905 face the Knicks again tomorrow at 7 pm. Stream it here.
