Red-hot Edmonton Stingers host top-ranked Winnipeg Sea Bears in western standoff

The Edmonton Stingers (-129) will look to extend their winning streak to three games in a matchup with the Western Conference-leading Winnipeg Sea Bears (-105) on Saturday at Edmonton Expo Centre at 6 p.m. MT.

The game will be available for streaming on TSN+, CEBL+ powered by BetVictor and on the CEBL Mobile app available on iOS and Android devices.

The Stingers have won-back-back games ahead of Saturday’s contest, kicking off a four-game homestand with a 92-78 win over Vancouver and following it up with a 91-83 win over Calgary. Edmonton sits third in the Western Conference at 7-7, behind second-place Calgary due to a tiebreaker and first-place Winnipeg by 1.5 games. 

The Sea Bears come into their final stop of a three-game road trip at 8-5 after losing two consecutive games. The CEBL’s newest franchise fell 99-86 to Ottawa on Sunday before a narrow 89-85 loss to Montreal on Monday. 

In the previous meeting between the western squads, the Stingers dealt the Sea Bears their largest loss of the season, 97-68 at Canada Life Centre. Edmonton’s defence was spectacular in the June matchup, holding Winnipeg to under 70 points on 38 per cent from the field, 20 per cent from three and 63 per cent from the free throw line, despite 27 points from Teddy Allen. The Stingers also forced 20 turnovers, leading to 23 points. 

Edmonton’s offence executed as well as their defence in the last meeting with Winnipeg. The Stingers shot 53 per cent from the floor and 40 per cent from long range on their way to almost 100 points and 14 triples. They dished out 26 assists on their 37 makes and all but one player scored. Brody Clarke and Isiah Osbourne led the way for the Stingers in the victory with 21 points each.

Clarke has been a steadying force in the paint for Edmonton this season as the team’s most consistent scorer. The former Alberta Golden Bear is coming off a double-double against Calgary after he flirted with a triple-double in the win over Vancouver. Clarke is averaging 14.4 points per game in 14 starts this season while ranking in the league’s top 10 in rebounds per game with 7.7. 

The Stingers boast a balanced attack and a team-oriented brand of basketball. Edmonton places top-five in the CEBL in points per game, field goal percentage, three-point percentage, offensive rebounds and assists. 

Aher Uguak, Nick Hornsby and Osbourne all average over 10 points per game, with an array of other contributors such as Geoffrey James and Martynas Varnas falling short of that number. Uguak had the hot hand in the last two games, scoring 19 points against both Calgary and Vancouver. 

However, the Stingers will likely be without point guard Elijah Miller, who was placed on the club’s injured list on Friday (July 7) with a lower-body injury. Miller had a breakout performance in Vancouver last weekend with 21 points, six rebounds and seven assists. 

On the other side, the Sea Bears will look to their trio of deadly scorers to get themselves back in the win column. Allen is having a historic season for Winnipeg in the franchise’s inaugural campaign. He’s averaging 26.3 points per game on 42 per cent shooting from the floor, 35 per cent from three and 81 per cent at the line. Allen leads the CEBL in points and trails only Saskatchewan’s Justin Wright-Foreman in the league’s per-game scoring race. Wright-Foreman and Allen are on pace to become the first players in CEBL history to average over 25 points in a regular season. Allen also leads the league in minutes and ranks in the top five in rebounds per game with 8.8. 

Meanwhile, Winnipeg’s EJ Anosike has also balled out this summer with 18.2 points per game – seventh in the league. Winnipeg is the only team in the CEBL with two active players among the league’s top 10 scorers. Anosike is coming off of a huge double-double against the Alliance where he scored 24 points and snagged 14 rebounds. 

The Sea Bears also feature a leading candidate for the Sixth Man of the Year award. Jelani Watson-Gayle has shot the lights out off the bench for Winnipeg, often in clutch situations. The British sharpshooter is averaging 13.2 points per game on 47 per cent shooting from the field and 48.5 per cent from three on 32 makes – the latter two numbers are both top 10 in the league. 

Winnipeg’s offence is one of the best in the league as well. They’re top five in points per game, three-point percentage, field goal attempts and offensive rebounds while turning the ball over less than any other team. 

The two high-powered offences go head-to-head on Saturday before they duel again in Winnipeg on July 29 in the regular season finale. 

All games are available for streaming on TSN+, CEBL+ powered by BetVictor and on the CEBL Mobile app available on iOS and Android devices.

A league created by Canadians for Canadians with a mission to develop Canadian players, coaches, sports executives, and referees, the CEBL boasts the highest percentage of Canadian players of any pro league in the country with 71 per cent of its 2022 rosters being Canadian. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international pro leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. Nine players have moved from the CEBL into the NBA following a CEBL season, and 28 CEBL players attended NBA G League training camps during October. The CEBL season runs from May through August.  More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.