Winnipeg Stuns Shooting Stars 109-106 in Thrilling Home-Opener Victory
May 25, 2024 - Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL)
Winnipeg Sea Bears News Release
Teddy Allen lived up to his nickname, Teddy Buckets, on Friday. But head coach Mike Taylor has another suggestion: Triple-Double Teddy.
The Sea Bears star scored 41 points while adding nine rebounds and six assists in Winnipeg's home opener at Canada Life Centre, a thrilling 109-106 victory over the reigning champion Scarborough Shooting Stars.
"I've been a part of a couple of [Target Score finishes] and that's one of the best of them, for sure," said Sea Bears guard Alex Campbell, whose 75 games in the league are more than anyone.
Naturally, then, it was Campbell who kept his cool to seal the win.
As for Allen, his stat line at the end of the game wasn't quite a triple-double. But Taylor's idea - that his star player needs to become more of a distributor - proved effective when it mattered most.
With the teams tied at 106, the next made shot would determine the winner. Scarborough (0-1) had the first shot at glory, and a messy possession ended with off-season addition Jackson Rowe drawing a reach-in foul.
But a raucous Sea Bears crowd - at 9,116 fans, the second-largest attendance ever for a CEBL regular-season game - got loud when it mattered most, and Rowe came up short on both of his free throws.
"Honestly, I've been in a lot of arenas in my career and that was one of the loudest I've ever heard. It felt like your head was going to fall off," said Sea Bears guard Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson.
The misses breathed new life into Winnipeg (1-1), and Allen raced down the floor with the ball. As the defence keyed in on the reigning MVP, it left Campbell open in the corner.
Allen moved the ball to the top Canadian scorer in CEBL history, who calmly swished the three-pointer and sent the home side into a frenzy.
"This was just a storybook beginning to our season here at home," said Winnipeg head coach Mike Taylor. "You've got the defending champions coming in, you've got a sellout and you've got a team that you believe in. Then to fall behind in [Target Score Time], the assist from the home crowd to impact the free-throw shooter and then to have Alex hit a big three, I'm just so thankful and so proud of the guys, proud of the city."
Allen put it more succinctly.
"Electric," he told TSN reporter Nikki Reyes in a post-game interview. "The atmosphere was electric."
Allen's revised focus was on display from the team's second offensive possession of the game, when he threaded a pass inside for Darius Days, who was fouled on a layup attempt.
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Canadian Elite Basketball League Stories from May 25, 2024
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- Winnipeg Stuns Shooting Stars 109-106 in Thrilling Home-Opener Victory - Winnipeg Sea Bears
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