Sea Bears to match up against Honey Badgers in first game of road trip

The Winnipeg Sea Bears are looking to build off two straight home wins as they embark on a four-game road trip starting Wednesday morning at the CAA Centre in Brampton.

Live coverage begins at 10:00 am CT and fans can stream the game on CEBL+ powered by BetVictor, TSN+ and on the Winnipeg Sea Bears mobile app available for iOS devices.

Wednesday’s school day matchup for Winnipeg and Brampton will be the lone contest between the cross-conference opponents and a point of intersection for two teams trending in opposite directions.

In facing the Sea Bears, the Honey Badgers kick-off a three-game homestand with the hopes of returning to their early season form. Brampton won back-to-back contests at home to open the year and once they left the CAA Centre, they’ve not only been winless, but they’ve also lost hold of their singular-lead over the East.

And although it’s early, for a team that’s two years removed from a championship and coming off a disappointing 8-12 campaign in 2023, there’s no time like the present.

Both losses have left little to feel inspired about, losing by 43 and then 18 points, but in fairness to Brampton they’ve been missing starting guard L.J. Thorpe through both games. It’s evident that without their second-leading scorer (16.5 points per game) and top assist man, the Honey Badgers have lost some momentum.

In their most recent loss to the Alliance, the lack of a surehanded ball handler was clear as Brampton turned the ball over a season-high 24 times.

With Thorpe’s status uncertain heading into Wednesday’s contest, others will need to step up for the Honey Badgers to get back in the win column. And for what it’s worth, that is where there appears to be a silver lining for the team.

Shamiel Stevenson got his first start of the season in absence of Thorpe and had his best outing of the year. The third year CEBL guard finished Sunday’s game with a season-high 24 points on 62 per cent shooting from the field and 50 per cent from deep to go with five rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal. The breakout performance makes Stevenson a prime candidate for an increased role should Thorpe’s absence continue.

On the other side, Winnipeg is starting a four-game road trip by taking on Brampton. After losing their first game of the season, the Sea bears bounced back by winning a nail-biter against the defending champion Scarborough Shooting Stars then taking down the Ottawa BlackJacks by 13 points.

The biggest improvement for Winnipeg through their back-to-back wins was cleaning up unforced errors. In their seasoning-opening loss to the Saskatchewan Rattlers, the Sea Bears turned the ball over 17 times, the same amount they did in their next two games combined.

Beyond that, Winnipeg has also remained one of the top rebounding squads for a second consecutive season. Their 44.3 boards a game is second in the CEBL, and it allows them to get multiple scoring opportunities out of a given possession. Despite sitting at the bottom of the league in field goal (40.1) and three-point percentage (28.9), the Sea Bears still average the second-most points per game (96).

Key Matchup

 Fans watching this game will be treated to a face-off between two of the premier scorers in the entire league, when Zane Waterman and Teddy Allen go head-to-head.

Waterman saw a return to form against the Alliance as he put up a game-high 28 points on 9-of-12 shooting to go with eight rebounds. The import forward has now put up 27-or-more points in three of four contests and is averaging the third most points in the CEBL (22.5).

Meanwhile, Allen has been on a torrid pace of his own, leading the league with his 36 points a game. The 2023 league MVP has already put up two consecutive 40-point performances and is coming of a 27-point night in the Sea Bears win over the BlackJacks.

Both players like to score inside and out and battle on the glass. So, there ought to be plenty of instances where they get in each other’s way.

2023 Season Series

The cross-conference opponents faced off twice last season and split the series one win apiece. And since it was Winnipeg’s inaugural season, the 1-1 tally also reflects their all-time head-to-head record.

The games were drastically different as the Honey Badgers took the early matchup, winning a low-scoring 75-71 contest in June, while the Sea Bears came away with a 110-89 victory two weeks later. The most noticeable contrast between Winnipeg’s win and loss was the productivity of Allen.

In their win, the 2023 CEBL MVP put up 40 points while hitting a league record tying nine threes. Meanwhile, in the Sea Bears’ loss, Allen finished with 18 points -- one of just four times he was held under 20 points last season – on seven-of-24 shooting from the field and one of seven from distance.