By Zulfi Sheikh/Special to Langley Advance Times
Vancouver Bandits saw its three-game win streak snapped earlier this week, when they went up against the Sea Bears in Winnipeg, falling 93-84.
Teddy Allen finished the game with a stat line of 28 points, five rebounds and seven assists for Winnipeg. Wednesday night’s performance makes it seven straight games where the guard has eclipsed the 20-point mark.
Toughed it out tonight. 💪 🫡
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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 came through in the clutch as he scored nine of those points in the fourth quarter and target score to help the Sea Bears to victory.
“We’re really proud to see him have a moment like that,” said Winnipeg head coach Mike Taylor. “So much attention is brought to Teddy, so there’s opportunities for other guys to step up.”
On the other side it was M.J. Walker who led the way for the Bandits, as he finished the game with a team-high 21 points and five rebounds on an impressive 77 per cent from the field.
Giorgi Bezhanishvili contributed 12 points and 13 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season.
To no one’s surprise, the first quarter was a back-and-forth affair, keeping consistent with the previous two matchups between Vancouver and Winnipeg this season. Neither team was able to build a significant lead early.
Bandits guard Jahenns Manigat – after going scoreless in the first quarter – ended the half with 12 points on a stellar 4-of-5 shooting from distance. None of which were more impactful than the three he drained in the final seconds of the half that gave his team a 50-43 lead at the break.
Allen was doing his part for Winnipeg as they were trying not to lose back-to-back games for the first time this season. He scored six points in the third quarter as his team tried to cut down the Bandits lead.
His efforts were rewarded as the Sea Bears bench woke up to support their leader.
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Specifically, it was Watson-Gayle – one of the front-runners for CEBL sixth man of the year – who stepped up. After scoring just four points in the first half, the bench 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.
Allen continued to take 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 heading into target score time.
The Sea Bears had previously struggled in the final frame this entire season, being outscored at the end of games more often than not.
This contest, however, did not go that way as Yang put Winnipeg on his back and led them to their sixth win of the season.
Yang 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 was getting set to head back home to regroup.
“We need a lot of work, time and energy,” Julius said.
“We haven’t had any real opportunity to practise. 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,” he shared.
Next up, the Bandits return home to Langley and the Langley Events Centre, where they will host the Calgary Surge on Sunday, June 25 for the club’s Indigenous celebration night.
Doors open at 3:30 p.m., with tip-off at 5.
Single game tickets for the fifth season of Bandits Basketball are still available online.
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