Sea Bears bit by Mamba late, drop back-to-back games

The Winnipeg Sea Bears are on their first slide of the summer.

The local side dropped their second straight game in a 100-98 decision against their prairie rival, Saskatoon Mamba, at SaskTel Centre on Friday night.

Sea Bears centre Jeremiah Tilmon Jr. took an inexplicable foul on the opposite end of the floor in Target Score time to send one of the best free-throw shooters in the Canadian Elite Basketball League, Tavian Dunn-Martin, to the charity stripe with the game tied. The guard made no mistake on both of his attempts to lift the Mamba to their first win of the season.

The Mamba are now 1-5, while the Sea Bears dropped to 3-3.

Tilmon Jr.’s mental lapse came after the Sea Bears scratched their way back into the game late.

Saskatoon took a 91-83 lead into Target Score time, but the Sea Bears opened the period on an 8-0 run to tie the game — an effort that was for naught.

Winnipeg came out firing, taking leads of 25-24 and 53-47 after the first and second quarters, respectively.

The visitors suffered a power outage on the offensive end for parts of the second half, however, which allowed the Mamba to hang around and eventually take the lead. The Sea Bears scored just 16 points in the third quarter, as the Mamba took a 72-69 lead into the final frame.

When the Sea Bears and Mamba met earlier this month, Dunn-Martin reminded onlookers why he is one of the most dangerous shooters in the CEBL, drilling six three-pointers in a 30-point loss.

Winnipeg knew who the man to watch was and did a good job of containing the undersized guard early on, holding him to eight first-half points.

Dunn-Martin came alive in the second half and finished with 21 points. Jamir Chaplin and Jaden Bediako supplied 18 and 17 points, respectively.

Teddy Allen, who finished with a game-high 28 points, appeared to be in vintage form from the opening tip, scoring the first eight points for the Sea Bears as a part of a 14-point opening quarter for the former MVP.

Allen was much quieter in the second half until he found his stroke again in the fourth quarter.

Emmanuel Akot, Trey McGowens and Armani Chaney off the bench each provided 14 points.

The Sea Bears won their first two games of the season, including their season-opener on the road in Edmonton, but have had some tough luck on the road since, dropping back-to-back games away from home as they continue a season-long four-game road trip.

Winnipeg will get a bit of reprieve before heading to the nation’s capital for a date with the Ottawa Blackjacks on Thursday.

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