CALGARY SURGE HOLD OFF VANCOUVER BANDITS IN 93-88 ROAD WIN
By: Dillon White
The Calgary Surge snapped a two-game losing streak with a 93-88 win over the Vancouver Bandits at Langley Events Centre on Sunday.
After trailing by as much as 22 points and struggling to score in the first half, the Bandits fought back to tie the game in target score time.
However, clutch finishes from Stefan Smith and Sean Miller-Moore earned the win for the Surge. It’s Calgary’s first win over Vancouver in three meetings this season.
“This league is just relentless. I say that in a very complimentary way,” Calgary head coach Nelson Terroba said. “There's no nights off in this league, there's no possessions off in this league. So we expected them to come back and they did.”
Calgary had one of their best offensive nights of the season with a rare 50-40-90 game. The Surge shot 52 per cent from the floor, 45 per cent from three and 94 per cent from the line while dishing 27 assists.
Miller-Moore led the Surge to victory with a team-high 23 points on 8-13 shooting from the field and 2-4 from long range. Smith secured a double-double with 13 points and 12 assists to go along with four rebounds.
Kylor Kelley started at centre for Calgary and made an impact in the first half. He tallied 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocks on 5-6 shooting. Admon Gilder Jr. chipped in with an efficient 18 points while Kadem Allen added 11.
“We met force with force. Our guys played physically … but played the right way,” Terroba said. “It was a good battle – give credit to Vancouver – [it was] a hard-fought game, a great comeback by them in the second half. We were fortunate to hold on”
On the other side, the Bandits’ big men continued to be their focal point offensively. Both Nick Ward and Giorgi Bezhanishvili earned 25-plus-point double-doubles in the win, with just one other player reaching double figures for Vancouver.
Ward scored 28 points on 11-15 shooting from the floor while hauling in 16 rebounds – nine offensive. Meanwhile, Bezhanishvili struggled in the first half but finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block — including 16 points in the fourth quarter.
After a poor offensive first half, the Bandits bounced back to shoot 43 per cent overall. However, Vancouver struggled from long range at 26 per cent and at the free throw line at 59 per cent. The Bandits dominated on the glass with 46 total rebounds which included 20 offensive rebounds.
“It hurts when you come out flat,” Vancouver head coach Kyle Julius said. “In a summer league like this where most teams are just playing super free, if you come out really flat like that to a team that just lost a bunch in a row, you're gonna be in trouble.”
Calgary locked down defensively to start the game. Kelley anchored the defence and caused problems at the rim for Vancouver’s bigs. The 7’1 Calgary centre also produced offensively in the first quarter, impacting the game on the offensive glass and in the pick-and-roll. The Surge took a 20-15 lead into the second quarter.
Kelley hit the pine early in the following quarter after picking up his second foul. However, the Surge continued to bother the Bandits on the defensive end. Vancouver was held to just 12 points in the second quarter, with Calgary extending their lead to as high as 22. Diego Maffia drained a technical free throw and Ward finished a putback to cut the deficit to 46-27 at halftime.
The Surge held the Bandits to 30 per cent shooting from the field and 7.1 per cent from three in the first half, while shooting 56 per cent themselves.
Miller-Moore buried an open three to start the second half and extend Calgary’s lead back to 22. However, the Bandits started to hit from deep. Vancouver went on a 12-3 run to cut into the deficit and adjusted to zone defensively. Late in the quarter, a Ward and-one cut the Surge lead down to single digits. But four straight free throws from Allen gave Calgary a 70-58 advantage heading into the fourth.
Bezhanishvili hit back-to-back threes early in the quarter and scored 14 in the fourth prior to target time. However, Calgary held strong. Miller-Moore slashed to the hoop for a pair of high-flying dunks that helped the Surge to an 84-78 lead with a target score of 93.
Vancouver started target time on an 8-2 run capped off by a Maffia triple that tied the game. Shittu and Ward traded putbacks before Smith connected on a clutch three. The Bandits were able to get some stops, but Miller-Moore ended the game by spinning to the hoop for a layup.
Calgary improves to 7-5 on the season in second place in the Western Conference, while Vancouver drops to 4-6 in fourth.
Up next for the Bandits is a Canada Day showdown with the Edmonton Stingers at Langley Events Centre at 7 p.m. Meanwhile, the Surge will return home for a matchup with the Scarborough Shooting Stars on Wednesday.
All games are available for streaming on TSN+, CEBL+ powered by BetVictor and on the CEBL Mobile app available on iOS and Android devices.
About the Canadian Elite Basketball League
A league created by Canadians for Canadians with a mission to develop Canadian players, coaches, sports executives, and referees, the CEBL boasts the highest percentage of Canadian players of any pro league in the country with 71 per cent of its 2022 rosters being Canadian. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international pro leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. Nine players have moved from the CEBL into the NBA following a CEBL season, and 28 CEBL players attended NBA G League training camps during October. The CEBL season runs from May through August. More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.