Sea Bears punch ticket to playoffs with road win over Mamba

Booked. Punched. In.

The Winnipeg Sea Bears are headed back to the Canadian Elite Basketball League playoffs for the fourth year in a row.

Unlike the previous two summers when Winnipeg’s pro hoops squad backed its way into the post-season on the heels of some shaky play, this year’s iteration of the club — led by first-year head coach Mike Raimbault and his self-recruited group of U Sports coaches across the province — have left no doubt that they belong after a convincing 96-83 road victory over the Saskatoon Mamba at Merlis Belsher Place on Wednesday night.

With six games — a quarter of the regular season — remaining, it’s the earliest in Sea Bears franchise history that they’ve clinched a spot in August’s eight-team tournament .

Indeed, this iteration of Winnipeg’s pro hoops squad, which improved to 12-6 and now sits 2.5 games behind the Scarborough Shooting Stars for the best record in the 10-team circuit, has taken a huge leap into the upper class of the CEBL.

The coming weeks still present plenty to play for, for the Sea Bears. Home court advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs will be decided in the last six games, as they duel the Vancouver Bandits (11-7) twice more.

There’s no question that securing home court advantage will be critical for Winnipeg, which owns a 7-1 record inside their building compared to the 5-5 record away from it.

The Sea Bears demonstrated their short memory after Sunday’s tough loss to the Calgary Surge, rebounding on the strength of a well-rounded defensive performance.

The Mamba, which dropped to 7-9, are a boom-or-bust team due to them attempting and making the most three-pointers per game in the CEBL. The Sea Bears did their part on this night, holding the Mamba to just eight makes on 26 attempts from beyond the arc.

Equally critical was their defensive rebounding to limit second-chance opportunities to a dangerous offence. Winnipeg also took care of business in that department, allowing Saskatoon to pull down just nine offensive rebounds.

The Sea Bears held leads of 30-27, 52-44 and 72-68 after the first three quarters before taking a seven-point advantage into Target Score Time, when Teddy Allen iced the contest with a one-handed fadeaway from close range.

It was Allen’s first Target Score winner of the season, and a nice ending to an otherwise uncharacteristic night of shooting for the league’s MVP frontrunner. Allen still supplied a 17-point, 11-rebound double-double along with seven assists.

He was one of five Sea Bears to reach double digits in scoring.

Winnipeg received a big offensive boost in the way of a team-high 19 points from forward, D.J. Burns, who was an unsuspecting scoring threat at all three levels on this night. Isiah Osborne and Jeremiah Tilmon Jr. chipped in with 14 and 12 points, respectively.

Newcomer Jelani Watson-Gayle, who finished with 11 points, was another one, as the British-born guard didn’t wait long to make his season debut and presence felt with the club. Watson-Gayle, who won the CEBL’s Sixth Man of the Year award as a member of the Sea Bears in 2023, agreed to return to the club on Tuesday after it released Trevon Scott, who left to pursue an opportunity in Germany.

Watson-Gayle logged 25:14 off the bench and, as he did so many times during his first stint in Winnipeg, saved his best play for the fourth quarter. He had eight points in the final frame and was on the court in Target Score Time to help propel the team to the finish line.

The Sea Bears continue their busiest week of the season on Friday as they are back on the road for another meeting with the Calgary Surge (8:30 p.m. CT).

winnipegfreepress.com/joshuafreysam