Sea Bears struggles continue with fourth-straight loss
The Winnipeg Sea Bears' losing streak has stretched to four.
An 88-73 defeat to the visiting Ottawa BlackJacks in front of 8,374 fans at Canada Life Centre on Saturday dropped Winnipeg's pro basketball club to 1-4 after beginning the season with a victory.
Three of the team's four losses have come at home.
Ottawa improved to 2-2 on the campaign.
Deng Adel led a resilient offensive effort for the visitors with 20 points on a 50 per cent shooting efficiency. He added seven rebounds and seven assists.
Miryne Thomas supplied 16 points and four rebounds, while Tyrrel Tate chipped in with 11 points.
Tevian Jones scored a game-high 32 points, adding five rebounds and three assists. Jaylin Williams supplied 16 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Winnipeg continues to search for consistency off the bench. Head coach Mike Taylor shifted Emmanuel Akot to the second unit for that reason, but the homegrown forward managed seven points in 28 minutes on this night.
The BlackJacks held leads of 19-18, 44-37 and 65-60 after each quarter, which was encouraging for the Sea Bears, considering their third quarter struggles this season. Entering Saturday's contest, opponents had outscored Winnipeg 106-66 coming out of halftime.
On this night, the Sea Bears outscored the BlackJacks 23-21 in the third frame.
The BlackJacks entered Target Score Time with a 77-67 lead, and Tate ended the contest with a three-pointer.
It was the Sea Bears' first game since releasing guard Mason Bourcier. The club is expected to add another player to the roster at some point this summer.
The club's prized offseason addition centre Simi Shittu is expected to join the team on its eastern road trip, which begins June 7 in Brampton, Ont., but will not play.
joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca
x: @jfreysam
Joshua Frey-SamReporter
Josh Frey-Sam reports on sports and business at the Free Press. Josh got his start at the paper in 2022, just weeks after graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College. He reports primarily on amateur teams and athletes in sports. Read more about Josh.
Every piece of reporting Josh produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
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