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NEIL NOONAN \/ CEBL<\/p>\n
The Winnipeg Sea Bears pulled off a seventh straight win on home court Thursday night despite losing big Jeremiah Tilmon Jr. to an ejection. The club will be looking for its eighth straight home victory Sunday night against Calgary.<\/p>\n
After Thursday\u2019s 97-93 victory over the Edmonton Stingers, the Sea Bears own their largest lead of the season in the Western Conference \u2014 a 1.5-game advantage with one game in hand over the Vancouver Bandits.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a chance that lead grows ahead of Sunday\u2019s contest, too, with the Bandits set to face a pesky Stingers squad on the road on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, it\u2019s there,\u201d Raimbault said, acknowledging the chance to create a small buffer with eight games remaining in the suddenly fading regular season. \u201cI think what we try to focus on are the details of what we\u2019re gonna have to do on Sunday to be successful and just try to take everything one possession at a time.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose things are much more in good hands for you to forecast and look at all the scenarios. The things that we can control, we\u2019ll try our best to control those.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here are three points to know ahead of Sunday\u2019s contest in the latest edition of Beyond the Arc.<\/p>\n
Remorseful big man<\/p>\n
Jeremiah Tilmon Jr. admits he let his emotions get the best of him on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The Sea Bears centre was handed back-to-back technical fouls and ejected from the game after cursing at an official in the dying moments of the opening half, leaving an already shorthanded club with just two import players and forcing Raimbault to rely heavily on his Canadian talent.<\/p>\n
Tilmon assured his brief lapse in judgment was nothing more than getting caught in the heat of battle, and that he immediately apologized to the team in the locker room at halftime.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just a bit of frustration,\u201d he said. \u201cI felt like it was a missed call, and I turned around and said something and got a tech. I should have just walked away from right there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Raimbault said he didn\u2019t speak with Tilmon after the game about the incident, because it was clear that the big man understood the cost of his actions.<\/p>\n
Surely it was also easier to let the water pass under the bridge after the Sea Bears were able to overcome his exit in impressive fashion.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a high character guy. He plays with the emotion, just like a lot of us,\u201d said Raimbault. \u201cI\u2019m not perfect either by any means in some of those situations, so I mean we\u2019re super pleased with the connectivity and character of our group, and we\u2019re happy that we were able to rally and get the win yesterday, despite the circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n
Returning troops?<\/p>\n
Trevon Scott was adamant that the walking boot on his right foot on Friday was strictly precautionary.<\/p>\n
The forward, who missed Thursday\u2019s contest, said the ailment he recently suffered was a \u201cminor\u201d ding that won\u2019t keep him out for long. He was confident that he could play on Sunday, if needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, don\u2019t look into that too much,\u201d said Scott. \u201cThis is an extra precaution. It\u2019s nothing crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Raimbault said he is hopeful both Scott and Trey McGowens will be available on Sunday.<\/p>\n
McGowens, who suffered a minor lower-body injury against the Stingers in Edmonton last weekend, was also held out of Thursday\u2019s contest as a precaution. He did not hesitate to say he plans on playing Sunday.<\/p>\n
The Sea Bears guard, who had started all 14 games since joining Winnipeg, was complimentary of teammate Mason Kraus, who led the top unit in his first-career start.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was great just to watch him do his thing. I see him in practice every day, getting better. And then I see him after practice; he\u2019s a really hard worker. It\u2019s something I said about the team before; it\u2019s just fun to see everybody in the gym trying to get better individually because when you get better individually, it\u2019s working towards the team goal,\u201d McGowens said.<\/p>\n
Moon update<\/p>\n
Prior to Thursday\u2019s contest, the Sea Bears organization issued a formal statement regarding the status of guard Xavier Moon, who arrived more than three weeks ago but has yet to suit up for the team this season.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
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While it was not a groundbreaking statement \u2014 it wasn\u2019t anything different from what the Free Press has reported since Moon arrived \u2014 it was the first time that the club released a statement on the star player.<\/p>\n
\u201cMoon has not played to date because the team is still waiting on his international clearance from FIBA, basketball\u2019s world governing body. This is a standard step for players moving between leagues and countries, and it has to be finalized before he can take the floor. The process is out of the club\u2019s hands, and we are working closely with the league to move it along as quickly as possible. We hope to have a resolution next week and will share more as soon as we can,\u201d the team said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Raimbault was asked after Thursday\u2019s contest whether there was a world in which Moon would not play for the Sea Bears this summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the exact statement that I\u2019ve given you,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, I got to continue to tell you that it\u2019s not really in our control. He could be in the lineup on Sunday if things go well. We\u2019re going to concentrate on preparing to play our best game on Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\n
winnipegfreepress.com\/joshuafreysam<\/p>\n
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Joshua Frey-Sam 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Josh produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.<\/p>\n \t\t
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