A second-half comeback by the Vancouver Bandits fell short as B.C.鈥檚 pro basketball team ran out of steam late against the Winnipeg Sea Bears.
Winnipeg's 88-84 over the 91原创-based Bandits Wednesday was fueled by a game-high 32 points from Justin Wright-Foreman.
It was a season-high night for last year鈥檚 MVP runner-up in just his third game as a Sea Bear. And none of his baskets were more important than the last one, as Wright-Foreman banked in a deep three for the game-winner.
His heroics helped Winnipeg overcome the fact they had blown a 13-point third quarter lead and trailed by 12 heading into Target Score Time.
鈥淚 always think a win is possible,鈥� Wright-Foreman said, when asked what went through his mind during the game鈥檚 final moments. 鈥淣o lead is safe, (especially) in Target Time. I feel like today we did an overall team effort to win this game ... it鈥檚 about all of us as a group and that was most impressive."
Wright-Foreman was backed up by Emmanuel Akot鈥檚 15 points off the bench, Simon Hildebrandt鈥檚 10 points and David Muenkat鈥檚 seven-point, 12-rebound performance.
On the other side, the Bandits鈥� furious second half rally ultimately fell short.
Vancouver was led by Duane Notice鈥檚 season-high 19 points off the bench, while Koby McEwen, Taze Moore, and Zach Copeland each pitched in with 17, 15, and 14 鈥� respectively.
James Karnik narrowly missed out on a double-double with nine points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
鈥淚t sucks to lose,鈥� Notice said postgame.
鈥淏ut it鈥檒l be another lesson for us, especially being on the road and learning how to play together. And knowing us we鈥檙e going to fight through the adversity and get back at it.鈥�
And although the Bandits 鈥� sitting 7-2 鈥� weren鈥檛 phased by their slow start, promptly hitting a barrage of threes in the second quarter to cut the lead down to as little as three points -- Winnipeg had a response of its own.
The Sea Bears鈥� answer came in the form of Wright-Foreman as the import replied to Vancouver鈥檚 five made threes in the frame by scoring 11 points to rebuild the home team鈥檚 lead.
Any doubts over how the Sea Bears would account for the absence of Allen鈥檚 league-leading 28.1 points per game were quickly dispelled thanks to the leadership of Wright-Foreman, who finished the first half with 19 points as Winnipeg held onto a 46-37 lead.
鈥淲e were not playing with a lot of life,鈥� Julius said of the Bandits鈥� first half play. 鈥淲e lost all our fifty-fifty battles, we were flat... We haven鈥檛 been down like that at the half all year, it鈥檚 a good test.鈥�
And it鈥檚 safe to say Vancouver passed that test, despite giving up an 8-0 run and trailing by as many as 13 points in the third.
Trailing 57-44 at the 4:39 mark of the frame, the Bandits went on a 16-1 run to take their first lead all night. The outburst was spearheaded by Notice who hit back-to-back threes as part of nine points in the frame.
Normally considered a glue guy, Notice took over the scoring load with usuals McEwen, Copeland, and Moore all having inefficient nights. And he easily outpaced his usual output of 5.5 points per game as Vancouver led 64-62 headed into the fourth thanks to his effort.
鈥淣ot at all surprised,鈥� Julius said on the Bandits captain taking charge in the third quarter.
鈥淗e works on his game as hard as anyone I鈥檝e been around, he鈥檚 a winner and showed that tonight.鈥�
And it appeared the Bandits had all-but sealed the victory through the first six minutes of the final frame as they went on a 14-4 run and led 78-66 prior to Target Score Time.
That was when Winnipeg鈥檚 defence, dormant since the first quarter, woke up and led the improbable comeback.
The Sea Bears began the stoppage period on a 9-0 run, forcing the Bandits to miss their first five shots.
And from there, Winnipeg capitalized.
Alex Campbell and Muenkat hit back-to-back triples to give the Sea Bears an 85-84 lead, before forcing a contested heave from Moore on the other end, which allowed Wright-Foreman to then drill the game-winning dagger.
鈥淭arget Score Time is a player's game,鈥� Taylor said on his impressions of the Sea Bears in the game-winning moments.
鈥淲e have to go out there and turn up our (defence) and make plays, and they did it.鈥�
Final score was Vancouver 84, Winnipeg 88.
Next up, Vancouver is back at home on Saturday, June 22, with a visit from the Ottawa BlackJacks to 91原创 Events Centre as part of the club鈥檚 Indigenous celebration game.
Tickets can be found at or by calling 604-455-8881.
