The second quarter begins, but the Roarers don't take the lead as expected.
The reason was simple—Ryan was on the bench catching his breath.
The Roarers' starting five is fairly solid on both ends—they can hold their own on offense and defense.
But their Achilles' heel is a razor-thin bench.
All season, they've leaned on a punishing seven-man rotation, barely enough to keep the engine running.
Ryan's arrival stretched it to eight, a small lifeline, but with Darius sidelined by a suspension today, they're back to scraping by with seven.
The Mistfoxes' breakneck pace is a relentless meat grinder, chewing through stamina like it's nothing. Even Malik, the team's ironclad warhorse, is starting to fray—his steps heavy, his eyes betraying exhaustion.
Coach Crawford, jaw tight, has no choice but to throw Omar into the fire—just hoping he can eat up a few minutes and give Malik a fleeting chance to recover.
