River Lions Snap Sea Bears’ Win Streak
By Zulfi Sheikh
Jahvon Blair’s 21 points helped the Niagara River Lions (2-2) pick up a 101-94 win on Thursday night, snapping the Winnipeg Sea Bears’ (3-2) three-game win streak in the process.
Niagara got contributions from everyone in the victory as every player to check in scored at least five points. Aaryn Rai did the most damage after Blair, as he put up 20 points, five rebounds and two steals off the bench and T.J. Lall chipped in with 14 points and eight rebounds.
Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson led the way for Winnipeg as he put up a game-high 24 points and six assists. Eighteen of those points came in the second half as the lead guard stepped up in the absence of Teddy Allen, who was ejected late in the second with just eight points.
David Muenkat had his best game as a Sea Bear, putting up 16 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Mason Bourcier joined the other two as Winnipeg’s only other double-digit scorer with his 13 points on a perfect four-of-four shooting.
Fans were treated to a back-and-forth affair right from the opening tip as Winnipeg and Niagara traded leads 10 times throughout the opening quarter. The Sea Bears led by as many as six points through the frame, but by the time the dust settled, the River Lions were up 35-31.
Niagara finished the quarter on an 11-5 run, courtesy of three consecutive triples, before Jordan Tchuente wrapped up the effort with a steal and bucket in the final seconds. He scored the River Lions’ final five as part of 10 points in the first quarter.
The exchanging of leads didn’t continue throughout the second quarter, however, as Niagara went ahead by as many as 14 points before going into halftime up 61-52. It wasn’t their production from outside the arc like in the first that helped the River Lions take the game’s first double-digit lead, but instead a strong inside game.
Niagara finished the first half plus-18 on points in the paint, overcoming the fact that they didn’t hit a single three in the second quarter. It was an adjustment on their part, reacting to Winnipeg’s drop coverage and using the open space in the mid-range, finishing the half with 17 two-point makes on a 61 per cent clip.
By the end of the game, the River Lions’ edge scoring inside ballooned to a +30 advantage on paint points.
“It’s exactly what we expected,” Niagara head coach Victor Raso said after the game on seeing Winnipeg in a drop coverage. “We did a great job against it, we scored at the rim over and over … it’s what we prepared to do.”
Meanwhile, Allen was held scoreless in the frame and was clearly frustrated by that fact, as he was tossed at the 2:55 mark following a second technical foul. If facing a nine-point deficit wasn’t challenging enough for the Sea Bears coming out of halftime, they ended up having to do it without the league’s top scorer (34.5 points per game).
Winnipeg got the lead down to as low as two points before the end of the third quarter, which ended with them trailing 78-72. The Sea Bears’ biggest adjustment came on the defensive end as they switched into a zone defence that paid immediate dividends.
The River Lions went scoreless through the first two minutes of the third and put up 17 total points, their fewest in any of the four quarters.
It wasn’t just their ability to get stops that swung momentum in favour of Winnipeg. It was also the leadership of Ogungbemi-Jackson. The Sea Bears’ guard scored nine points in the frame as he got things within striking distance.
Winnipeg’s comeback effort continued in the fourth as a Hildebrandt triple at the 6:59 mark capped off an 8-3 run and cut the lead down to just one point. The valiant push did little to waver Niagara, as they responded like they had all night. The River Lions used an 11-3 run of their own to go into Target Score Time ahead 92-83.
And although Ogungbemi-Jackson’s six points in the stoppage period led one last push for Winnipeg, they ultimately saw their win streak come to an end following a Blair layup that was blocked but called a goaltend.
The Sea Bears tried to overcome the absence of Allen as best they could, with all nine of their players scoring in the end. But it wasn’t their offence that fell short. It was their defence, specifically on the glass. Winnipeg finished minus-10 on rebounds and gave up 20 offensive boards (-5) to Niagara.
It allowed the River Lions to score 22 second chance points (+11) and put up 10 extra field goals inside the arc.
Winnipeg looks to get back in the win column on Sunday as they stay on the road for a third consecutive game, taking on the Calgary Surge at 3 p.m. CT. Stream the game live on
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About the Winnipeg Sea Bears
The Winnipeg Sea Bears joined the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) as an expansion franchise in 2023. The city's only professional basketball team plays out of Canada Life Centre from May to August in a 20-game regular season schedule. Winnipeg businessman and lawyer David Asper is the organization's owner and chairman.
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About the CEBL
A league created by Canadians for Canadians with a mission to develop Canadian players, coaches, sports executives, and referees, the CEBL boasts the highest percentage of Canadian players of any pro league in the country with 75% of its rosters being Canadian and a record 10 players with NBA experience in 2024. Players also bring experience from the NBA G League, top international pro leagues, the Canadian National team program, NCAA programs, as well as U SPORTS and CCAA. Fourteen players have signed NBA contracts following a CEBL season, and numerous CEBL players attend NBA G League training camps every year. The CEBL season runs from May through August with games broadcast live on CEBL+ powered by BetVictor, TSN, TSN+, RDS, Game+, Next Level Sports & Entertainment and Courtside1891. More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube
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