Sea Bears travel to Saskatchewan for first game in prairie rivalry
Published
Two prairie rivals are meeting for the first time in CEBL history tonight, as the Winnipeg Sea Bears (3-1) take on the Saskatchewan Rattlers (2-1) at the SaskTel Centre at 9:30 pm ET.
Tonight’s game will see two of the league’s most proficient scorers go head to head.
Saskatchewan’s Justin Wright-Foreman, who is leading the CEBL in points per game at 26.7, will matchup in a backcourt duel against Winnipeg’s Teddy Allen—who is averaging 23.8 points per game, good enough for third in the league.
Allen is coming off a pair of games that saw him tie the CEBL record for most points scored in a single game (42) and come four assists shy of notching a triple-double in a win against the Vancouver Bandits on Tuesday afternoon.
Wright-Foreman, meanwhile, recorded a season-high 36 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists in his last game for the Rattlers, a 96-84 win over the Scarborough Shooting Stars on Sunday. Wright-Foreman is also fourth in the league in steals per game, and he has a top-three field goal percentage (54.9 per cent).
Michael Nuga has also been impressive off the bench for the Rattlers to begin the season.
The Toronto native is averaging 15.3 points per game in a hair over 25 minutes per contest.
Taking care of the basketball will be key for Saskatchewan in tonight’s matchup against Winnipeg.
After giving up the ball just 7 times in their first game of the year, the Rattlers have turned the ball over 21 and 20 times in their last two games respectively.
The Sea Bears are off to a blistering start in their expansion season.
Winnipeg has won three of four games to begin their inaugural CEBL campaign, and with a win coupled with a Calgary loss in Ottawa tonight, the Sea Bears can take sole possession of first place in the western conference.
Alongside Allen, Jelani Watson-Gayle has helped contribute on offence. The London, UK product is leading the CEBL in three-point percentage at 61.1 per cent.
Expect a high-scoring affair, as Saskatchewan and Winnipeg come into this game as the first and second highest scoring offences in the league.
The Rattlers are averaging 93 points per game, while the Sea Bears are putting up a little over 91 points per contest.