Full Game Highlights | Bandits vs. Winnipeg Sea Bears (06/20/2025)
Bandits Staff • June 21, 2025
Highlights of the Vancouver Bandits against the Winnipeg Sea Bears on June 20th, 2025.
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Terry Roberts caught fire in Target Score Time to secure a statement road win for the Winnipeg Sea Bears on Friday (June 20). The Sea Bears weathered a fourth quarter run from the Bandits to win 92-85 in front of a packed house at Langley Events Centre. Winnipeg picked up its fourth straight victory and ended Vancouver’s three-game winning streak in the process. The trio of Roberts, Jalen Harris and Simi Shittu carried the offensive load for Winnipeg with a combined 74 points in the victory. Roberts netted 25 points, including the final seven points of Target Score Time, and Harris showed off his ability to score at all three levels with 22 points on 10-20 shooting from the field. “I love the fact that we've got two dynamic play-making guards,” Winnipeg head coach Mike Taylor said. “There are times when Jalen Harris carried us in the first half and then they … put [their] best defenders on him. And then Terry is dynamic enough to go make plays. I think a lot of people would say shooting threes is not his forte – he's a guy that's attacking the paint – but he's just a guy that makes winning plays.” Taylor added that Shittu is a game-changer for the Sea Bears as well. The big man from Vanderbilt notched a double-double with a team-high 27 points and 14 rebounds. Shittu said the win will help build confidence for the Championship Weekend hosts. “As a team, we just came together and we saw what we’re made of down the stretch. It was good for us,” Shittu said. On the other side, Aussie Mitch Creek continued his MVP-calibre start to the season with 29 points, seven rebounds and four assists before leaving the game with an injury in Target Time. Vancouver head coach Kyle Julius voiced his frustration with losing Creek and said the team will have to evaluate its slow starts after going down by double digits in back-to-back games. “We've had some really soft starts. I thought tonight overall we were soft. The main takeaway is that we were soft overall,” Julius said. Curtis Hollis added 14 for Vancouver with recent acquisitions James Karnik and Corey Davis Jr. contributing in just their second game of the season as well. Karnik battled inside with 12 points and eight rebounds, while Davis Jr. was lethal from long range with 16 points and seven assists. Davis Jr. said the Bandits did a good job of fighting back in the third and fourth quarter, but the second quarter hurt them. “We did fight hard – we brought it back to be able to win the game – and I think that's always something you can look back on and build from. But I mean putting yourself in those types of situations is something that we have to stay away from,” Davis Jr. said. The star power for both teams was on full display in a fast-paced start to the game. Creek showed off inside touch and Davis Jr. hit from distance for Vancouver. Meanwhile, Shittu was a force on the boards and Harris cooked from mid-range for Winnipeg. The west coast squads traded leads late in the first, with a buzzer-beating corner three from Nathan Bilamu putting Winnipeg ahead 21-20 after 10 minutes. The Bandits and Sea Bears hung tight early in the second, but Winnipeg took control with a 17-4 run and led by as much as 13. The Sea Bears were active on the offensive glass during the stretch, with highlight-reel putbacks from Shittu and Harris. Vancouver started to pick up the pace late in the half, but Winnipeg caught fire from long range and carried a 54-42 lead into the locker room. The Bandits climbed back with an 11-2 run to start the second half and made it a one-possession game. Out of a timeout, however, the Sea Bears regained a double-digit lead capped by an and-one from Shittu. Creek and Shittu exchanged buckets to close the quarter with Winnipeg taking a 75-70 advantage into the fourth. Five free throws and a floater from Curtis Hollis tied the contest at 77 early in the final frame. With the shot clock winding down, Creek drove strong to the hoop to give Vancouver its first lead of the half. After trading leads, Harris buried a mid-range jumper for Winnipeg to head into the final stretch with a one-point advantage and a target of 92. Hollis kicked off Target Score Time with a triple, but a Shittu slam and four straight points from Roberts left the Sea Bears three points from victory. Roberts stayed hot and buried a contested wing trifecta to finish the game. Box Score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600612
The Vancouver Bandits have announced today the following roster updates in advance of its Friday, June 20 game at home against the Winnipeg Sea Bears at 7:00 p.m. PT: G Zach Copeland has been added to Club's active roster and will be available for tonight's game. G Kyle Mangas has been placed on the Club's Suspended List in order for him to participate in potential NBA team workouts and Summer League opportunities; he will return to the club at the conclusion of his commitments. G Mike Nuga has been released from the roster in order for him to pursue future basketball opportunities. G Tristan Jass (lower body) is ruled out for today's game.
The Vancouver Bandits announced Thursday that the club has re-signed American guard Zach Copeland. The 6-foot-4 sharpshooter makes his return to the Bandits roster for his second stint with the team. During the 2024 CEBL season, Copeland started in all 20 regular season games for the Bandits averaging 15.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 29.6 minutes of action per game. His 67 three-pointers placed him first among all CEBL players during the 2024 campaign. His summer with the Bandits was highlighted by notching the Target Score winner in the CEBL West Final on August 9, 2024 to send the club to the 2024 CEBL championship game. The Oakland, Calif. product most recently played professionally in Italy during the 2024-25 season with Scaligera Verona, appearing in 23 games and posting averages of 17.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists. His overseas career also includes stops in Germany, Finland, Ukraine and England. Copeland began his post-secondary career at City College of San Francisco, where his performance in the 2016-17 season earned him both the Coast-North Conference Player of the Year and the California Community Colleges Men's Basketball Coaches Association Co-Player of the Year awards. His impressive play at the junior college level led him to transfer to Illinois State University, where he played two seasons of NCAA Division I basketball from 2018-20. In his final year at Illinois State, Copeland became the Redbirds’ leading scorer with 14.5 points per game, also ranking 7th among Missouri Valley Conference leaders and establishing himself as one of the conference's top players.
Vancouver emerged victorious over Montréal in a battle between the best of both conferences on Saturday (June 14) at Langley Events Centre. The Bandits stormed back from a 20-point deficit in the first half to earn their third straight victory. A timely 15-0 run in the fourth quarter propelled the Bandits to the comeback, featuring clutch shooting from Curtis Hollis, along with inside finishing from Mitch Creek and Shamar Givance. Vancouver head coach Kyle Julius said certain possessions in the third quarter set the tone for the comeback. “We just kept talking about chipping away and we talked a lot about the power of one possession and how it can change a game,” Julius said. Creek paced the Bandits’ attack with a game-high 30 points to go along with seven rebounds. Hollis added 18 points, including the game-winner. “I knew we had to get one more bucket. I knew the guys were helping off me all game, which I really don't know why, but I saw he helped off me, and Shamar made a great pass and I just had to make a shot,” Hollis said. James Karnik and Corey Davis Jr. also made their season debuts for Vancouver, adding nine points each. Julius said incorporating new faces mid-season can be a challenge. “The chemistry of a locker room is fragile. You build your offence around a particular group, you build your defense around a particular group, and when certain pieces change, it can affect your scheme. And so, yeah, you have to tweak things all week,” Julius said. Meanwhile, Montréal guard Tavian Dunn-Martin proved difficult to stop despite second-half struggles as a team. He netted 20 points with four threes on eight-of-13 shooting overall. “We settled for too many threes [in the second half]. We didn't attack the basket … didn't get to the line. Then they got out in transition and made shots, and we didn't,” Dunn-Martin said. Montréal seized control early on, shooting 70 per cent from the field in the first quarter and forcing the Bandits into catch-up mode. Alliance head coach Jermaine Small said his squad was outrebounded in the second half but expects to get better from the loss. “You have to understand that you've got to play a 40-minute game. We got off to a really good start [and] obviously we tapered off a little bit. But it's just a good lesson … basketball is a long game, so I'm not worried about it,” Small said. Montréal began the game on a 14-4 run that culminated in back-to-back threes from Anthony Walker and Quincy Guerrier. Creek showed off his rebounding ability on the offensive glass, keeping the Bandits in the contest with three putbacks. However, the Alliance offence was on fire in the opening 10 minutes. Montréal closed the quarter on a 13-3 run, highlighted by a pair of Michael Diggins Jr. slams and a deep trifecta from Dunn-Martin, to take a 32-15 lead into the second. Guerrier connected on a free throw and a spin layup to extend Montréal’s lead to 20 early in the second before Vancouver went on a quick run fueled by transition finishes to narrow the gap. However, the Alliance stayed hot with another deep triple from Dunn-Martin and a corner three from former Bandit Malcolm Duvivier. The red-hot Montréal offence cooled off to end the half and Vancouver took advantage, closing the deficit to single digits by halftime at 48-41 with a 9-2 run. The third quarter turned into a defensive battle, with neither team scoring more than 15 points. The Bandits fought back to tie the game for the first time since the opening tip, powered by an 11-2 run in which the Alliance didn’t connect on a field goal. However, long-range shooting put Montréal back in front with back-to-back threes from Guerrier and Dunn-Martin. The Alliance carried a 62-56 advantage into the fourth quarter. Dunn-Martin continued to showcase his range with another deep three early in the fourth to bring the Alliance lead back to double-digits. But the Bandits demonstrated their resilience with a massive 15-0 run that put the home squad in front for the first time all game. Alain Louis made some clutch trifectas ahead of the final stretch, but a Creek and-one put Vancouver ahead 80-77 with an 89-point Target Score. After Guerrier kicked off scoring in Target Score Time with a transition slam, Davis Jr. buried a three, Creek got the hoop and the harm, and Givance scored in transition to put Vancouver one point away from victory. Hollis connected on a catch-and-shoot from the wing to complete the comeback and improve the Bandits’ record to 8-1. Box Score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600585
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