Offensive rebound propels Sea Bears to second straight win

The Winnipeg Sea Bears were quick to fix their mistakes.

One week after overcoming some early-season offensive woes to eke out a victory, the Sea Bears’ offence took a much more efficient shape in a convincing 108-96 victory over the Saskatoon Mamba before 7,920 fans at Canada Life Centre on Saturday.

It’s the first time since July 23, 2024, that the club eclipsed the century mark, but more importantly, for head coach Mike Raimbault, it was that his team committed just nine turnovers after coughing up the ball 20 times in their season-opener.

“We finished the game with, I think, 20 assists and nine turnovers, so obviously we did a pretty good job of cleaning up some of our offensive decision making,” said Raimbault, whose club fired 50 per cent from the field.

“Super proud of the way the guys took the challenge to correct some of those things and bring it to fruition in the game tonight. Definitely was a big part of us having some success.”

The Sea Bears improved to 2-0 for the first time in franchise history, and continued their dominance over their prairie rivals, now owning an 8-3 record all-time.

“It means a lot,” Jeremiah Tilmon Jr. said of the consecutive victories. “We had a small training camp, and we’re just trying to ramble up everything in so many days. We got our first win on the road, and we came home and got a win. So, I feel like it’s totally given us confidence to know we can play and fight through adversity.”

It’s become clear that Tilmon Jr. is going to be a major factor for the Sea Bears this summer. The 6-10 centre from East St. Louis, Ill., has been a constant force inside the paint through two contests, and on this night, he proved he’s much more than just a rim-protector on the defensive end.

The Sea Bears took a 98-87 lead into the Target Score period, and the big man iced the game on a put-back to cap a game-high 24-point, 11-rebound double-double. He also added four blocks to his impressive night.

“He’s been tremendous, right from the start of training camp,” said Raimbault. “I think in his previous stop he was really doing dribble handoffs and rolling and rebounding, and we do believe that he’s able to help us on the offensive end, and if he gets some touches down there, we want him to be aggressive and put pressure on the defence.”

Added Sea Bears guard Teddy Allen: “I’ve always known he was really good. I remember in the summer when the coach was asking me which big man we should look at, I was like, ‘Look at Tily.’ I knew he was really good, and he’s our anchor on defence. He also had it going on offence tonight, so good to have him on the team.”

Speaking of Allen, although it wasn’t his most efficient performance (eight-for-24), the star guard poured in 22 points and brought down seven rebounds while playing a game-high 34:25.

The last time Allen played in Winnipeg, he was on the other side with the club formerly known as the Saskatchewan Rattlers, following an ugly split with the Sea Bears. He was welcomed back with a roaring ovation before the game.

“It felt good. I knew it was going to be fun,” he said. “It lived up to the hype, and I’m just glad that we got the win for the home crowd.”

Davion Warren and David Walker were sparks off the bench for the hosts on both ends of the floor, chipping in 20 and 12 points, respectively.

Walker was particularly wiry on the defensive end, making several key stops. Warren, who scored 10 points in the season-opener, has shown through two games that he will be an important piece for the Sea Bears off the bench this season.

“I thought they really set the tone coming off the bench, being really aggressive, being hard to guard, playing defence,” said Allen. “I’m proud of those guys, but I expect nothing less.”

The Sea Bears held leads of 29-25, 57-48 and 85-70 at the end of each frame. Long-range makes kept the Mamba in it during stretches where the hosts controlled the momentum.

The Mamba shot 43 per cent collectively from beyond the arc, while Tavian Dunn-Martin was a particular nuisance in a 30-point performance where he went six-for-11 from deep. The guard hit contested shots, shots in transition and shots where the Sea Bears were making a concerted effort to stop him.

“Dunn-Martin had a heck of a night, and he’s shown in this league that he’s a tough cover. He’s had a lot of big offensive nights. We would have liked to do a little bit better job,” said Raimbault.

“The one thing that we talked about is Sask came out and made some shots early and really got some confidence, and we feel like, perhaps we got the ball rolling for them a little bit with either some defensive breakdowns or just a couple of situations where they hurt us early, and, from there they felt like maybe the basket got a little bit bigger for them.

“You got to give him a lot of credit for capitalizing on basically every opportunity that came his way. I mean, he’s a heck of a player,” he added.

The Sea Bears will take the long weekend to review before they hit the road for a matinee against the Scarborough Shooting Stars in Toronto on Tuesday (10 a.m. CT).

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