Despite arriving to the game just 30 minutes before tip-off thanks to travel issues, Raptors Uprising GC kept their playoff hopes alive for at least another week, beating Grizz Gaming 72-69.

It certainly looked like Toronto wasn’t completely set to begin the contest, as AuthenticAfrican and company surged ahead in the first quarter, registering a near double-digit lead within the first three minutes. Raptors Uprising GC (7-6) answered back almost immediately, going on a 14-2 run to end the first quarter which set the stage for a six-point lead to end the first half. Kenny and KingQuai614 led Raptors Uprising GC in scoring through the first 12 minutes, but it was their play in the fourth quarter that was the real difference in the contest.

Grizz Gaming (5-8) not surprisingly relied on AuthenticAfrican to get back in the game as the scorer tallied 23 points during the second half to keep Memphis close. Kenny and Quai would answer Double A punch-for-punch, however, as the game quickly developed into a “who’s-who” of low post buckets. Trailing by three points with 17.2 seconds left, it looked as if Grizz Gaming’s hopes at winning were all but lost, but a fortuitous bump on a Raptors GC inbounds pass near the baseline gifted Memphis a massive break. AuthenticAfrican quickly slashed through the top of the key to slam home the final two of his 33 points to put Grizz Gaming down just one with 14 seconds left to play. This time, Toronto managed to inbound the ball to center KingQuai who smoothly knocked down the ensuing two free throws despite the additional difficulty brought on by his big man archetype.

Grizz Gaming would get two final chances to tie the game up as a missed three pointer with 3.5 seconds left was rebounded by Ddouble2K, but the pre-planned three point shot off of the ensuing timeout would fail to launch as ayeTHREAT surprisingly opted to pass up a wide open opportunity.

The loss means Memphis has officially been knocked out of the playoffs, but Raptors Uprising GC still face an uphill battle for one of the final spots. They’ll look to do their part by winning against another playoff hopeful – Heat Check Gaming – to begin Saturday’s slate of Week 12 games.