Winnipeg Sea Bears Snap Vancouver Bandits Win Streak With 93-84 Win

Teddy Allen’s 28 points led the Winnipeg Sea Bears (6-3) back into first place in the Western Conference as his squad got a 93-84 win over the Vancouver Bandits (4-5) on Wednesday night.

Allen finished the game with a stat line of 28 points, five rebounds and seven assists, doing so while knocking down seven threes on 53 per cent from deep. Tonight’s performance makes it seven straight games where the guard has eclipsed the 20-point mark.

He was helped by E.J. Anosike, who scored 17 points on an efficient 70 per cent shooting, and Glen Yang, who dropped 14 points, four rebounds and seven assists. Yang was a steady hand in the clutch, scoring nine of those points in the fourth quarter or Target Score Time.

“We’re really proud to see him have a moment like that,” said Winnipeg head coach Michael Taylor. “So much attention is brought to Teddy [Allen], so there’s opportunities for other guys to step up.”

“The heart, the effort and the will to impact the game, especially in Target Score Time. I couldn’t be prouder. He’s the kind of guy you root for.”

On the other side it was M.J. Walker who led the way for the Bandits, finishing the game with 21 points and five rebounds on an impressive 77 per cent from the field. Giorgi Bezhanishvili despite battling through what appeared to be a hand injury, also contributed 12 points and 13 rebounds, his sixth double-double of the season.

Like the previous two matchups between Vancouver and Winnipeg this season, the first quarter was a back-and-forth affair. Neither team was able to build a significant lead early.

It was clear that the two clubs were going to play to their strengths offensively. The Bandits came into the contest ranked top-five in terms of two-point efficiency (51.1 per cent) and demonstrated that ability as all but one of their nine baskets in the frame came from inside the arc.

The Sea Bears, by contrast, did a majority of their damage from distance, shooting 62 per cent from three. As a top-five three-point shooting team in the league, knocking down five triples in the first quarter was par for the course.

Winnipeg star guard Teddy Allen – less than a week removed from tying the CEBL’s single-game three-point record –led the way as he knocked down three of his six attempts from beyond the arc in the first. His 10 points in the period were part of a 10-4 run by Winnipeg that earned them a 28-21 lead heading into the second.

In the second, the Sea Bears looked to capitalize on a double-digit lead they built in the beginning of the quarter, but the Bandits stopped that idea in its tracks.

The team rattled off a 12-4 run – capped off by a Jahenns Manigat three – that tied the game at 35 apiece. The guard hit another three treys as he helped his team reclaim the lead for the first time since the 8:54 mark of the first quarter. Manigat, after going scoreless in the first quarter, ended the half with 12 points on a stellar 4-5 shooting from distance.

Allen was doing his part for Winnipeg in an effort to avoid dropping back-to-back games for the first time this season. He scored six points in the frame as his team tried to cut down the Bandits lead.

Jelani Watson-Gayle – one of the front-runners for the CEBL Sixth Man of the Year Award – stepped up. After scoring just four points in the first half, the guard dropped eight in the third, punctuated by back-to-back triples that tied the game at 64-64 at the 2:08 mark of the quarter.

The Bandits went on a 6-0 run in the final 1:31 of the frame to get their squad back up seven, 71-64 going into the fourth quarter.

Again, it was Allen who took the game over for his team as he drilled three triples –seven total to that point – as Winnipeg went on a massive 19-4 run to go up 84-77 ahead of Target Score Time.

“Teddy buckets is all you have to say,” said Yang on Allen’s clutch play. “Some of the shots he hit, I’ve never seen in my life. Some of those threes touched the ceiling.”

“I see the work he puts into it, so it definitely helps having a guy like that.”

The Sea Bears have struggled in the final frame this season, being outscored at the end of games more often than not. This contest, however, did not go that way. Yang put Winnipeg on his back as he led them to their sixth win of the season.

“I hold myself to a standard, like we all do,” Yang said after setting his season-high scoring mark. “In the first half, I didn’t feel like I was being aggressive. I was being aggressive in the second half, and good things started to happen.”

The guard scored seven of his team’s nine points in Target Score Time, making the last two baskets that gave the Sea Bears a 93-84 victory.

Despite Vancouver’s three-game win streak being snapped, head coach Kyle Julius did see room for upside as his squad now returns home.

“We need a lot of work, time and energy,” Julius said. “We haven’t had any real opportunity to practice … we’ve only been together a couple weeks and have had two eight-day road trips. We’re going to try and get back home, get some work in and then we can evaluate how good we can be after that.”

The Bandits will get an extended rest as they return home to the Langley Events Centre to take on the Calgary Surge on Sunday. The Sea Bears will look to start a win streak of their own as they return to action Friday night against their rival Saskatchewan Rattlers.

For tickets, visit seabears.ca/tickets. All games are also available on TSN+ and CEBL+ Powered by BetVictor.

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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