Winnipeg Sea Bears fall 99-86 to Ottawa BlackJacks on the road

Deng Adel’s game-high 25 points led the Ottawa BlackJacks (8-5) to their fourth consecutive win, with a 99-86 victory over the league-leading Winnipeg Sea Bears (8-4) on Sunday afternoon at TD Place in the nation's capital.

The former Cleveland Cavalier finished the contest with 25 points, five rebounds, and three assists while shooting over 60 per cent from the field and 80 per cent from distance.

“In my opinion it [Adel’s recent play] puts him in the MVP category,” said Ottawa head coach James Derouin on the play of the big man. “He scores, he rebounds, and passes…it’s really special to watch.”

One of those teammates that found Adel often was Kadre Gray who put up a near double-double via 19 points and nine dimes, bumping his league-best assists average from 6.4 to 6.7 a game. Jackson Rowe and Thomas Scrubb also scored in double figures, putting up 16 and 14 points respectively.

On the other side Teddy Allen led the way with a 26-point, 10-rebound double-double, but also gave some of that back with his game-high seven turnovers. Chad Posthumus notched a double-double of his own in his return to Ottawa. Posthumus's first game back on the court where he spent the previous two CEBL seasons saw him carve out 16 points and 11 rebounds.

The BlackJacks came into the contest leading the league in three-point percentage (38.3) and throughout the first quarter they proved why that’s the case by putting on a clinic from beyond the arch. Ottawa finished the frame drilling eight triples to give themselves a 35-18 lead heading into the second.

Going 80 per cent from three – their best quarter from distance this season – wasn’t just a product of hot shooting, as the BlackJacks also moved the ball a ton in order to create quality looks. Every single one of their threes in the frame came off a pass as they finished a +8 on assists.

During their four-game win streak the team has made ball movement a clear emphasis as they’ve averaged nearly 20 dishes a game, assisting on over 60 per cent of their makes.

“I think we’re one of the best offences,” Adel said post-game. “Just having a lot of versatility, shooting, great play from the bigs…I think we can get a great look every time down the floor.”

The league’s second leading scorer Allen (26.5 PPG) tried his best to get Winnipeg back into the contest as he scored his team’s first eight points to start the second, cutting the lead down to 13 points. The team seemed to follow their star’s effort, as they went on a 12-4 run that brought the deficit to just nine points with less than three minutes until the break.

However, that was when Adel put on a takeover performance of his own, going on an individual 9-2 run to help his team build back their comfortable margin. The forward finished the half with a game-high 20 points, going a perfect 4-4 from three, sparking the BlackJacks to a commanding 60-42 advantage as the teams went into their locker rooms.

Ottawa’s lead only grew larger throughout the third as Winnipeg’s uncharacteristic play did themselves no favours. Usually the league’s most disciplined team, averaging just 11.2 turnovers a game, the Sea Bears had 11 before the game had reached the fourth quarter.

The team’s myriad of live-ball turnovers allowed the BlackJacks to push the ball in the other direction and get easy baskets at the hoop. Ottawa held a +17 advantage on transition baskets through three frames and finished the day with that same margin.

If that wasn’t enough to show how much things seemed in favour of Ottawa, Jackson Rowe splashed a triple at the buzzer to give his team an 84-63 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Although things seemed bleak for Winnipeg the team had experience fighting back from large deficits. Winnipeg entered the contest on the heels of a 17-point comeback against the Niagara River Lions where despite being outshot like they were today, they found success by creating second chances off the glass. That formula for Winnipeg looked to be there in this game as well as the Sea Bears dominated the rebounding battle, finishing the contest +14 on the glass, a 23-9 edge on offensive boards alone, and +16 on second chance baskets.

However, the BlackJacks didn’t seem to think much of that strategy as they quickly put an end to the contest. Gray scored five of Ottawa’s final nine points, ending things at the charity stripe, 99-86 the final.

With the win the BlackJacks now hold sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference, breaking a tie with the Scarborough Shooting Stars, and head west to start a four-game road trip. They’ll look to extend their four-game win streak on Wednesday where they take on the Saskatchewan Rattlers.

The Sea Bears get no time to dwell on the loss as they continue their three-game road trip tomorrow night against the Montréal Alliance. The squad is now 3-3 on the road and if you ask Winnipeg head coach Mike Taylor how they can turn around their struggles away from home, he’ll say it starts on the defensive end.

“The story starts and stops with our defence,” Taylor said. “We didn’t stop these guys all game…we have to be able to take our defence on the road and travel, and that’s our focus right now. If we want to win on the road we have to defend.”

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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 71 percent 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. Head to CEBL.ca for more information or follow @CEBLeague on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.

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