Ref ‘dominates’ game in Sea Bears loss to Honey Badgers, says coach

Following a festive Christmas-in-July-themed Saturday afternoon inside Canada Life Centre, Winnipeg Sea Bears head coach Mike Raimbault didn’t mince words about who he thought was the Grinch in a hard-fought 88-86 loss to the visiting Brampton Honey Badgers that ended in controversy.

As the Sea Bears owned a one-point lead in Target Score Time, Brampton guard Sean East II was awarded three free throws — all of which he converted — after a questionable foul called on Teddy Allen by official Perry Stothart.

Raimbault, who has been known to bite his tongue on such topics, left nothing to the imagination about where he stood on the game-deciding judgment made in a game that had major post-season implications.

“I just felt like it was a fitting ending to the game where Perry Stothart had dominated the flow of the game from the start,” he said. “For him to call a bit of a guess foul and end the game on the foul, I felt like it’s disappointing that he can come in and dictate how the game’s going to be played and flow, and (that) continues to be a bit of an M.O. for him. So I think we’re disappointed with the fact that the league continues to let that happen.”

This had been brewing since the outset of the contest, when Stothart called matching technical fouls on Sea Bears forward Emmanuel Akot and Honey Badgers forward Matthew Moncrieffe in the first quarter.

Allen and Raimbault were given separate technical fouls in the third quarter while debating calls. Brampton’s Tevian Jones and East II were also handed technicals in the contest.

The Sea Bears’ collective displeasure with Saturday’s officiating was palpable throughout, adding to a frustrating afternoon in which both teams were charged with 23 personal fouls.

“Was I surprised (with the number of technical fouls), knowing that (Stothart) was on the call of a nationally televised game? Not really,” said Raimbault.

It’s the first time this season that the Sea Bears, who dropped to 13-9, have lost back-to-back games. Brampton improved to 10-11.

At the time of writing, the Sea Bears were a half-game back of the Vancouver Bandits — who hosted Saskatoon on Saturday night — for the top spot in the Western Conference, meaning they, at least temporarily, ceded control of their own destiny for home-court advantage in the playoffs.

“As a basketball player, that’s the worst way you want to go out,” said Jeremiah Tilmon Jr. “Even when you win like that, you don’t want to win like that, off of free throws. Like, come on, bro. But I mean, it is what it is. It was very unfortunate that they got that call at the end of the game. I don’t believe it was a foul, but hey.”

Officiating aside, it was the second game in a row that the Sea Bears offence struggled in the fourth quarter. Winnipeg, which connected on three of its 12 attempts ahead of Target Score Time, could only muster seven points ahead of the bonus period.

Fortunately, the defence held strong, conceding just 12 points to the Honey Badgers, who held a two-point lead entering Target Score Time.

Xavier Moon did his best to unlock the offence, scoring nine points in the bonus period, including a three-pointer that followed his critical block on the defensive end and gave the Sea Bears the lead.

“I definitely think it’s an easy fix,” Moon said of the fourth quarter struggles. “Obviously, going into Target Score not down, that would be an easy fix. We’ve got to have better third quarters. But overall, it’s an easy fix. So we just got to lock in going down the stretch in the fourth, and then just put teams away.”

Moon, who finished with 28 points, was the only other player outside of Allen (29 points) to have more than nine points in the contest.

Allen played just 2:13 in the third quarter after committing his third personal foul and being charged a technical foul. He was the only player with more than six points when he exited.

Tilmon Jr. also had three personal fouls and was being preserved for the fourth quarter, leaving the Sea Bears searching for someone to step up offensively.

Moon led the way during a critical stretch for the Sea Bears, who went on a 14-6 run near the end of the third quarter, contributing nine points as the hosts took a six-point lead. Brampton went on a 6-2 run to end the quarter and cut the deficit to two entering the final frame.

“I was impressed with the resilience of our group. I think that’s very indicative of the type of games that we’re going to probably have the rest of the way, and obviously, we’re gearing up towards the postseason. We know that you’re not going to probably come out there and score 110 or 115, and you’re going to be in a possession type of game,” said Raimbault.

“I thought we did a much better job of withstanding some of our scoring droughts and doubling down on the defensive end and trying to minimize the extent of their runs when we were having a tougher time scoring a few times in the game, and the activity level on the offensive glass was where we would like it to be. So, lots of positives outside of the final result.”

As for East II, he exploded for 38 points, setting a new single-game franchise record for the Honey Badgers.

The Sea Bears did an admirable job of containing the league’s reigning MVP runner-up to the tune of six points in the first half. East II had 32 in the second half, including 17 in the fourth quarter.

“He started making shots, and that’s what good players do,” said Moon. “Obviously, we just got to find a way to slow him down earlier next game, if we see them again.”

Raimbault said he wondered if his group was fatigued at times during a stretch that included six games in 14 days.

The Sea Bears will have nearly a week to rest and game plan for the final stretch of the regular season, beginning with their home finale against the Ottawa BlackJacks on July 31 before they head on the road for their regular season finale in Langley, B.C., against the Vancouver Bandits on Aug. 2.

“We’ll have our first two-day stretch with true days off, maybe the entire season,” Raimbault said.

“We have to maximize our opportunities to get better and look at the learning examples. I think we’re still trying to find our rhythm with Xavier in the lineup a little bit as well, and so when we get a few actual practice days, it will probably be good for us as well,” he added. “Every day is important for us to try to improve.”

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