Raptors 905 regain defensive edge, hold off Skyhawks

The Raptors 905 entered Thursday’s game against the College Park Skyhawks still holding the G League’s best defensive rating through all competition at 105.8, nearly two points above the second-placed team.

But lately it’s been slipping.

The 905 allowed an average of 133 points over the first five games of their road trip, a significant contrast to the 106.9 they’ve given up per game on the season – also a league-best mark. This included back-to-back contests where they allowed season highs. The 905 won both those games, but the Mississauga-based squad is built to suffocate opposing offences and feast in transition, not for high-powered halfcourt slugfests.

There were lapses, but all-in-all the 905 were quick with their feet and took steps in the right direction with a 116-111 win over the Skyhawks to end their six-game trip with an even record.

The 905 walled off the paint early, as a combination of stout point-of-attack defence and timely help prevented College Park from getting downhill. The Skyhawks took more 3s than 2s in the first quarter and were sustained by RayJ Dennis and Dwight Murray Jr. banging pull-up triples off pick n’ rolls and deadeye shooting from Caleb Houstan – the Mississauga Ont. native started 3-of-3 and College Park was 9-of-18 from deep in the first half. Meanwhile they shot 9-of-29 (38.3 percent) from inside the arc.

Dennis finished with 31 points and nine assists but did take 24 shots. Houstan scored 20 and shot 6-of-10 from 3. (Houstan also had his two-way deal converted to a standard NBA contract with the Atlanta Hawks last week.)

It wasn’t perfect, the 905 missed the odd rotation, allowed the occasional blowby or backcut, but for the most part their defensive shell stayed intact. When it didn’t Julian Reese and Olivier Sarr steadily made College Park’s attempts at the rim difficult.

Tyreke Key, who curiously started over Alijah Martin, fired back for the 905, drilling a pair of catch-and-shoot 3s and going 6-of-7 overall in the opening frame to lead all scorers with 14 points. He had half of the 905’s points as the score sat tied at 28. The affiliate Raptors also ran clean delay, with Martin driving off a zoom action and making a laydown pass to Reese for an open layup.

Martin did well accessing the middle of the floor and making reads to teammates, twice finding AJ Lawson for open corner 3s – one miss and one make.

Key scored 20 on 8-of-11 shooting. Martin had 17 points, shot 6-of-8 and added six assists.

The 905 were winning and they were chasing. They ran chase actions (passing, running and immediately getting a handoff back) with AJ Hoggard first finding Tyson Degenhart creeping to the dunker spot where he went up and finished strong. Jarkel Joiner also ran a chase and drew free throws. Hoggard finished with 16 points and six assists and Degenhart was efficient as always scoring 14 on 6-of-9 shooting.

Martin got way up twice, first throwing down a poster layup (?) and later getting some completion with a poster dunk as the 905 hung onto a two-point lead at half.

The game was mostly defined by difficult shot making and finishing. Hoggard and Joiner each maneuvered to the rim for tough and-1s. Murray Jr. and Dennis each canned step-back triples from the corners.

Still, Dennis did start getting to the rim as the 905 defence softened. Skyhawks big man Basheer Jihad caught a lob undisturbed. Houston got downhill off a closeout and dumped to Jihad with little resistance from Reese or Jonathan Mogbo. Then the 905 went small and Jihad posterized Degenhart right after. College Park scored 33 in the third, won the quarter by seven and took a five-point lead into the final 12 minutes.

It set up a tense finish, as a quick seven points from Sarr – who’d started 0-for-6 – brought the score even at 93. The French big threw down a lob and hit two catch-and-shoot triples. After a lacklustre start he ultimately finished with 17 points and 11 boards. Alternatively, College Park kept making spectacular step-backs.

The 905 cranked up the defensive activity, swarming the Skyhawks and forcing tough looks. College Park made only one basket over a four-minute span. Sarr canned another 3 and Martin finished a crafty, winding, drive with a miraculous layup that just beat the shot clock.

College Park appeared to foul Hoggard intentionally directly off an inbound with 2:05 left and the 905 in the bonus. It was an interesting gamble to get the ball back as in the G League shooting fouls outside of the final two minutes result in one free throw for two points. Hoggard – a 63.3 percent free throw shooter on the season coming into the game – made them pay.  

The game looked over but the 905 lost the rope late and nearly bungled it. They gave up a wide-open layup. Martin bowled over his defender for an offensive foul trying to fight through being top locked. The 905 gave up a putback and immediately fumbled the ball back to College Park off the inbound for four quick points.

But Hoggard went a perfect 5-of-5 from the line down the stretch – for six points – to seal the win. The 905 moved to 16-8 and remained fourth in the Eastern Conference, but are only 1.5 games back of the No. 1 seeded Greensboro Swarm, who they’ll host for a back-to-back to open a five-game homestand starting Saturday.