Not only did the Sudbury Five win the second of back-to-back games for the first time this season, but they bounced back nicely from a disappointing loss one night earlier.

And no one had more bounce in his step after Friday’s contest than rookie forward Brady Skeens, who scored a season-high 23 points and pulled down 18 rebounds to help the Five defeat the Halifax Hurricanes 113-107 at Sudbury Community Arena on Friday night.

“The game plan was to get a win, get back on track, come out here and play hard and get back to who we know we are,” Skeens said. “We have been up in the last couple of games and we knew we needed to keep our lead and extend it. We tried to do that this game and we struggled a little bit toward the end, but we still came out with a win.”

Braylon Rayson and JR Holder scored 18 points each for Sudbury. Marlon Johnson scored 15 points, Jaylen Bland 13 and Jarryn Skeete 11 for the Five, who improved to 8-6 this National Basketball League of Canada regular season.

Often an efficient shooter, Skeens was certainly that on Friday, going 10 for 11 from the field and hitting all three of his free throws.

“I have to credit my teammates, because they get me a lot of drop-offs, a lot of easy buckets,” Skeens said. “Jaylen and Braylon, our guards, they attract so much attention, I just get a bunch of easy shots, so I have to give them the credit for that.”

Antoine Mason, with 27 points, and Marvell Waithe, with 24, were the offensive leaders for the Hurricanes, who saw their modest two-game win streak come to an end and their record slip to 4-10.

The Hurricanes scored first and led by a 7-4 margin early, but Bland hit a pull-up jumper, then a three-pointer — part of his eight-point performance in the first quarter — to give the locals a 12-10 lead, which grew to 36-32 by the end of the frame. And while the teams continued to exchange baskets throughout the opening 24 minutes, the hosts did just enough to stay on top at halftime, 61-56.

Skeens led his team at the break with 12 points, while Bland had 11 and Rayson and Holder seven each.

Waithe, by far his team’s most dangerous shooter in the first half, headed to the locker room with 17 points, while Mason added 13 for the Hurricanes.

Having suffered a quick collapse early in the third quarter on Thursday, on the way to a 125-119 loss to the Windsor Express, Skeens and his teammates were determined to keep their energy level up on Friday night, even without injured forward Dexter Williams Jr.

“That was one big thing that coach mentioned, especially in the fourth quarter, that we need someone to bring that energy that Dexter usually has,” Skeens said. “We were just trying to make sure we were communicating on defence and running our offence right, and we ended up coming out with it.”

A recent graduate of Washburn University, the same school attended by Five head coach Logan Stutz, Skeens has reached double digits on offence in three straight games, and eight of 14 overall — a sign of the 24-year-old Kansas City, Mo. native’s growing confidence.

“I’m a lot more comfortable now,” Skeens said. “I’m kind of adapting to playing in this league and playing professionally. At first, it was difficult to get used to the physicality and the speed we play at, but I’m starting to feel a bit better doing both of those.”

He’ll do it again on Feb. 13, when the Five visit the division-leading London Lightning (11-3) in a 7 p.m. start.

bleeson@postmedia.com

Twitter: @ben_leeson