Stingers Bounce Back to Beat Sea Bears

With team royalty in the building, the Edmonton Stingers showed championship-level resolve.

The Stingers weathered a first-quarter storm to beat the Winnipeg Sea Bears 98-85 on Sunday at Edmonton Expo Centre.

Prior to the game, longtime Stinger Brody Clarke — who retired after last season — was inducted to the team’s Ring of Honour.

Former teammate Xavier Moon, a two-time champion and three-time MVP with the Stingers, was also in attendance for the celebration.

And Edmonton’s response to an early deficit might have made them proud.

“Resilience is one of our core values and us being able to figure things out when things don’t go our way is part of battling adversity,” Stingers forward Nick Hornsby said.

Edmonton was punched in the mouth during the opening 10 minutes as the streaking Sea Bears raced to a 27-19 lead. But the Stingers got off the mat, regained the lead early in the second and never looked back from there.

By the time the clocks turned off for Target Score Time, the Stingers led 89-75.

While the Sea Bears showed some fight, the deficit ultimately proved too much to overcome. Nick Horsnby ended the proceedings after drawing a shooting foul, making his first free throw to clinch the game.

The Stingers moved to 6-6 win the win, while the Sea Bears fell to 5-6 as their four-game winning streak was snapped.

Edmonton has now won four of its past five games.

“The vibes are high but we’re not satisfied. We’re always longing for that next game and ready to play and get that next win,” Hornsby said.

Head coach Jordan Baker added that he was happy with his team’s response after its slow start.

“We’re not gonna get too high getting up 10 or 15 and we’re not gonna get too low, so understanding that we’re gonna stick to our stuff,” he said.

“I might have to scream at them in a timeout, but they responded very well tonight.”

Hornsby, who is in his third year with the Stingers, recorded 17 points, six assists and five rebounds in the win.

Sean East II led the Stingers with 27 points while also adding eight rebounds and seven assists. Forward Keon Ambrose-Hylton neared a double-double with 19 points and eight rebounds.

But it’s Hornsby who has taken the torch as a Stingers leader in the absence of the likes of Clarke and Moon.

The 30-year-old from Irvine, Calif., has quickly made Edmonton his CEBL home.

“Too comfortable. I love it here. I enjoy talking to the fans in the off-season and almost a second home, really. It’s great coming back,” he said.

The sentiment is still shared by Moon to this day.

“It was a huge stepping stone for me getting to the NBA,” he told the broadcast after the game. “Great fanbase here, band of brothers that I’ll have for a lifetime, and the city — I can’t even put it into words.”

Luck may have been on Edmonton’s side in its latest win as the Stingers twice beat the buzzer with three-point heaves.

Hornsby launched one from halfcourt ahead of the shot clock expiring during a second-quarter possession, and Isiah Osborne added a triple of his own from the wing at the third-quarter horn.

Edmonton’s Aaron Rhooms was away from the team as he competes for Canada at the 3x3 World Cup in Mongolia.

Meanwhile, Winnipeg’s strong run of play was halted seemingly as soon as the first quarter turned into the second.

Head coach Mike Taylor pointed to “readiness” as one of the reasons for the team’s winning streak coming to an end.

“You could see us be a little casual with the ball offensively. … We gave up too many points off of those turnovers, we didn’t get very much bench production,” Taylor said. “Our team’s been on a great streak, I’m really proud of the guys, but we’ve gotta work for consistency.”

Canada’s Simi Shittu led the Sea Bears with a game-high 30 points and 12 rebounds, while Jalen Harris contributed 22 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Harris said his team may just have been tired at the end of a road trip that also included a win over Vancouver on Friday.

“We just gotta refocus on ourselves. We got a few days in between the next game and that’s kind of our mindset each game, focusing on ourselves — how can we be better? — and doing that moving forward,” he said.

Taylor added that the Stingers out-hustled his squad — especially in the middle two quarters.

“They beat us to all the loose balls and they did the little things, the physical things that give you an advantage,” he said.

The Stingers’ win capped a wild Sunday across the CEBL, which saw all 10 teams play on the same day for just the second time ever.