Winnipeg Sea Bears snap Vancouver Bandits win streak with a 93-84 win
Teddy Allen’s 28 points led the Winnipeg Sea Bears (6-3) back into first place in the Western Conference as his squad got a 93-84 win over the Vancouver Bandits (4-5) on Wednesday night.
Allen finished the game with a stat-line of 28 points, five rebounds, and seven assists – and doing so while knocking down seven threes on 53 per cent from deep. Tonight’s performance makes it seven straight games where the guard has eclipsed the 20-point mark.
He was helped by E.J. Anosike who scored 17 points on an efficient 70 per cent shooting and Glen Yang who dropped 14 points, four rebounds, and seven assists. Yang was the definition of clutch on the night as he scored nine of those points in the fourth quarter or Target Score Time to help the Sea Bears to victory.
“We’re really proud to see him have a moment like that,” said Winnipeg head coach Michael Taylor. “So much attention is brought to Teddy [Allen], so there’s opportunities for other guys to step up.”
“The heart, the effort, and the will to impact the game, especially in Target Score Time. I couldn’t be prouder…he’s the kind of guy you root for.”
On the other side it was M.J. Walker who led the way for the Bandits as he finished the game with 21 points and five rebounds on an impressive 77 per cent from the field. Giorgi Bezhanishvili despite battling through what appeared to be a hand injury also contributed via his 12 points and 13 rebounds, marking his sixth double-double of the season.
To no one’s surprise, the first quarter of this game went as a back-and-forth affair, keeping consistent with the previous two matchups between Vancouver and Winnipeg this season. Neither team was able to build a significant lead early – going shot for shot – finding an answer to each basket made.
It was clear that these ball clubs were going to play to their strengths offensively. The Bandits came into the contest ranked top-five in terms of two-point efficiency (51.1 per cent) and demonstrated that ability as all but one of their nine baskets in the frame came from inside the arch.
The Sea Bears in contrast did a majority of their damage from distance, as they shot 62 per cent from three. As a top-five three-point shooting team in the league, knocking down five triples in the first quarter was par for the course.
Winnipeg’s star guard Teddy Allen – not even a full week after tying the CEBL’s single-game three-point record –led the way as he knocked down three of his six attempts from beyond the arch in the frame. His 10 points in the period were part of a 10-4 run by Winnipeg that earned them a 28-21 lead heading into the second.
In the second, the Sea Bears looked to capitalize on a double-digit lead they built in the beginning of the quarter, but the Bandits stopped that idea right in its tracks.
The team rattled off a 12-4 run – capped off by a Manigat three – that tied the ballgame back up at 35 a piece. He wasn’t done just yet as the guard hit another three treys as he helped his team take back the lead for the first time since the 8:54 mark of the first quarter. Manigat, after going scoreless in the first quarter, ended the half with 12 points on a stellar 4-5 shooting from distance.
None of which were more impactful than the three he drained in the final seconds of the half that gave his team a 50-43 lead at the break.
Allen was doing his part for Winnipeg as they were trying not to lose back-to-back games for the first time this season. He scored six points in the frame as his team tried to cut down the Bandits lead. His efforts were rewarded as the Sea Bears bench woke up to support their leader.
Specifically, it was Watson-Gayle – one of the front-runners for Sixth Man of the Year – who stepped up. After scoring just four points in the first half, the bench guard dropped eight in the third, punctuated by back-to-back triples that tied the game at 64-64 at the 2:08 mark of the quarter.
It sounds cliché but basketball really is a game of runs. That point was no more evident than when the Bandits went on a 6-0 run in the final 1:31 of the frame to get their squad back up seven, 71-64 going into the fourth quarter.
Again, it was Allen who took this game over for his team as he drilled three triples –seven total to that point – as Winnipeg went on a massive 19-4 run to go up 84-77 as Target Score Time remained.
“Teddy buckets is all you have to say,” said Yang on Allen’s clutch play. “Some of the shots he hit, I’ve never seen in my life…some of those threes touched the ceiling.”
“I see the work he puts into it, so it definitely helps having a guy like that.”
The Sea Bears have struggled in the final frame this entire season, being outscored at the end of games more often than not. This contest, however, did not go that way as Yang – the surprise hero – put Winnipeg on his back as he led them to their sixth win of the season.
“I hold myself to a standard,” Yang said after setting his season-high scoring mark. “Like we all do…in the first half I didn’t feel like I was being aggressive…I was being aggressive in the second half…good things started to happen.”
The guard scored seven of his team’s nine points in Target Score Time, making the last two baskets that gave the Sea Bears a 93-84 victory.
Despite Vancouver’s three game win streak being snapped, head coach Kyle Julius did see the room for upside as his squad was getting set to head back home to regroup.
“We need a lot of work, time, and energy,” Julius said. “We haven’t had any real opportunity to practice…we’ve only been together a couple weeks and have had two eight-day road trips. We’re going to try and get back home, get some work in and then we can evaluate how good we can be after that.”
The Sea Bears will look to start a win streak of their own after putting an end to Vancouver’s as they return to action Friday night where they’ll host the Saskatchewan Rattlers. The Bandits will get an extended rest as they go home to the Langley Events Centre to take on the Calgary Surge on Sunday.
All games are available on TSN+ and CEBL+ Powered by BetVictor.
