Sea Bears Snap Losing Streak with 99-95 Win Over Stingers

The Winnipeg Sea Bears’ bench scored 50 points to lead the team to a 99-95 victory over the Edmonton Stingers on Saturday at Edmonton Expo Centre. 

The victory was Winnipeg’s first on a three-game road trip that included defeats to Ottawa and Montreal. It also avenges a 97-68 loss to the Stingers earlier in the season. 

Jelani Watson-Gayle and Simon Hildebrandt came off the pine to lead the Sea Bears. Watson-Gayle scored a game-high 22 points on 8-13 shooting from the floor and 5-7 from long range, while dishing five assists. Hildebrandt, the first overall pick in the 2023  U Sports Draft, was also ultra-efficient. He scored 19 points on 7-12 shooting from the floor and 5-8 from three to give the Sea Bears a much-needed spark. 

“Jelani has been great all season for us off the bench – he's a great candidate for Sixth Man of the Year – his playmaking, his penetrating and organization of the offence was excellent,” Winnipeg head coach Mike Taylor said.

“We've been waiting for a big game from Simon like this. He's doing so well as a U Sports player  … he's got a great role in our team. He's been very important, but we knew there was lots of offensive production possible there.” 

The bench took the pressure off of Winnipeg’s leading scorer, Teddy Allen, who was held below his CEBL second-best 26 points per game.  Allen scored 17 points, including the game-winner, on 7-18 shooting from the floor and 1-6 from three. 

EJ Anosike had another solid game for Winnipeg with 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Meanwhile, Shane Osayande also contributed 11 points and seven rebounds for the Sea Bears in under 20 minutes of action. 

“Our defence in the second quarter – we strung a lot of stuff together and it just fueled our offence,” Watson-Gayle said. “We were able to go in transition, get a few easy ones and that's what really fueled us.”

On the other side, five Edmonton players reached double-digits and the squad notched 47 bench points of their own in the absence of leading scorer Brody Clarke and point guard Elijah Miller. Carlton Bragg Jr. led all Stingers with 16 points off the bench, while Geoffrey James and Martynas Varnas also reached double figures off the bench with 12 points and 11 points respectively.

In the starting lineup, former Cape Breton University Caper Meshack Lufule chipped in 15 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.  Forward Nick Hornsby also showed off his well-rounded game once again, with 14 points, six rebounds, seven assists, two steals and one block. However, the Edmonton captain also tallied eight turnovers in the loss. 

“Everyone is expected to contribute when they step on the floor. So, not having a couple of key guys is no excuse. And, you know, a handful of them aren't coming back anytime soon. So we’ve got to learn to fill into some new roles here,” Edmonton head coach Jordan Baker said. 

As a team, Edmonton suffered seven more turnovers than Winnipeg. The Sea Bears also owned the offensive glass, with 25 second-chance points. Both teams shot well from the field, but Winnipeg’s 14 threes made a difference as well. 

“We're pretty good when we hold teams to one shot. We're pretty good when we get back in transition defence,” Baker said. “When we don't do those things, then it becomes a bit of a challenge for us.”

Edmonton was on fire to start the game. In the first quarter, the Stingers shot 71 per cent from the field and assisted on seven of their 10 field goals. Horsnby stepped up as a facilitator in the opening frame, dishing three assists while scoring seven points. The Stingers carried a 29-19 lead into the second quarter. 

To begin the half, Bragg finished a pair of putbacks and new acquisition Munis Tutu scored in transition to give Edmonton their largest lead of the night at 38-24. However, the Sea Bears responded with a 16-2 run powered by their star trio of Allen, Anosike and Watson-Gayle to tie the game at 40. The two teams traded blows for the remainder of the half, entering the locker room deadlocked at 49. Both teams shot over 50 per cent from the field in the opening 20 minutes.

The third quarter started as a defensive battle. The Stingers didn’t score a field goal until midway through the frame when a Hornsby and-one gave them the lead. However, the Sea Bears regained the advantage with an 11-2 run to close the quarter and took a 75-70 lead into the fourth. 

Winnipeg continued to roll to start the final frame with another three from Hildebrandt. Osayande finished an and-one and a reverse layup, Watson-Gayle continued to cook and a Tyler Sagl three gave the Sea Bears their largest lead of the night at 11 points. However, Lufile finished inside to cut the deficit to 90-81 heading into target score time. 

The Stingers went on a run to start target time with buckets from Honsby, Bragg and Aher Uguak. But the Sea Bears inched closer to victory with a three from Hildebrandt and a putback jam from Anosike that left them a bucket away. Geoffrey James made it a one-possession game with a triple and forced a Taylor timeout. However, Allen closed the game on a quiet night by his standards with a driving layup. 

The Sea Bears stretch their lead in the Western Conference by improving to 9-5, while the Stingers fall to 7-8. 

Up next for Edmonton is the last game of their homestand against the Saskatchewan Rattlers on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. while the Sea Bears will play host to the Rattlers first on Tuesday. 

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.