Sea Bears erase 27-point deficit to stun Rattlers 103-101
The Winnipeg Sea Bears (5-5) fought their way back from down 27 points to pull out a 103-101 win over the Saskatchewan Rattlers (5-5) on Saturday night.
The Rattlers were up for most of the game and took a 93-83 lead into Target Score Time. However, the Sea Bears turned up the dial, caping off a 15-2 run to take their first lead of the game at 96-95.
From there it was like the 12th round of a heavyweight fight, with both teams exchanging buckets and lead changes. Guard Justin Wright-Foreman continued to show off why he is one of the most clutch players in the CEBL, hitting timely shots, trash talking, and pacing the Sea Bears’ offence with 30 points and six assists on the night.
“When you start talking to me, I just tap into a whole different person,” Wright-Foreman said when asked about the trash talk during the game. “So, I would advise people to stop doing that.”
With the game tied at 101-101, and the Target Score set at 102, it was the heroics of Emmanuel Akot who fought for the offensive board and put it back up for the game-winning layup.
Wright-Foreman and Akot led the charge for Winnipeg’s comeback, combining for 53 points. Akot’s 23 points was accompanied by five rebounds and five assists.
“Emmanuel is a really talented player, very versatile, he can guard any position on the floor,” Winnipeg head coach Mike Taylor said when asked about Akot. “He can guard centre, he can guard a wing, he can guard a point guard. His defensive versatility is a big plus for our team, we started to really focus on that and take advantage of that in recent games.”
It seemed that the Rattlers were running away with the game early, dominating Winnipeg in the first quarter to a score of 30-13. Then carrying that momentum straight into the second, scoring 27 points in the quarter to lead 57-36 at the half.
“What makes them really good is they’re great individual one-on-one players,” Taylor said when asked about what makes the Rattlers so tough to defend. “You saw they got it going that first half, they got rhythm, they got too comfortable, and now that they got Bryson Williams they got guys who can score in the post."
Winnipeg had a monumental task ahead of them at halftime.
“Coach always tells us what we need to do, what we need to fix,” Wright-Foreman said about what head coach Mike Taylor told the team at halftime. “Great credit to him because he finds a way and knows how to press the button.”
The Sea Bears came out of the locker room a different team after halftime, outscoring the Rattlers 31-17 in the third before completing the comeback in the fourth quarter and Target Score Time.
“I ain’t want to lose, Imma be honest,” Wright-Foreman said about helping the team make the comeback. “I did not want to lose, they were sitting there and talking all game, and I'm going back and forth with them.”
“You know just hearing little chirping, but this is something when you grow up you think about,” he said.
What’s next for both teams?
The next game for both teams is against the same opponent, the Niagara River Lions. The Sea Bears look to carry this momentum against the River Lions on Thursday, while the Rattlers look to rebound against Niagara next Saturday.
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About the CEBL
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 75% of its rosters being Canadian and a record 10 players with NBA experience in 2024. Players also bring experience from the NBA G League, top international pro leagues, the Canadian National team program, NCAA programs, as well as U SPORTS and CCAA. Fourteen players have signed NBA contracts following a CEBL season, and numerous CEBL players attend NBA G League training camps every year. The CEBL season runs from May through August with games broadcast live on CEBL+ powered by BetVictor, TSN, TSN+, RDS, Game+, Next Level Sports & Entertainment and Courtside1891. More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.
