CALGARY SURGE USE STINGY DEFENCE TO DEFEAT SASKATCHEWAN RATTLERS 80-63

The Calgary Surge (4-1) (-103) will look to snatch sole possession of first place in the western conference in their first meeting of the season against the Saskatchewan Rattlers (2-2) (-133) at the SaskTel Centre this afternoon at 5:00 pm ET.

The game will also be available for streaming on TSN+, CEBL+ powered by BetVictor, and on the CEBL Mobile app available on iOS and Android devices.

Calgary comes into today’s game on the heels of an 86-79 win over the Ottawa BlackJacks on Friday night.

Saskatchewan, who had the best home record in the CEBL last season, dropped their last game at home on Friday to the Winnipeg Sea Bears. The Rattlers are 1-1 at home to begin the 2023 campaign.

While Calgary is currently averaging the second-lowest points per game in the league this season (81.6), their defence has powered them to win four out of their first five games.

No team has scored over 84 points against Calgary this season, and the Surge are averaging 5.4 blocks and 9.2 steals per game—which both lead the CEBL.

Stef Smith is second in the league in steals per game at 2.4, while Calgary has three players in the top-6 in average blocks. Simi Shittu, who scored 19 points and the game-winner in target score against Ottawa on Friday, leads the league in rebounds at 58. Shittu is also averaging 18.2 points per game, good enough for ninth in the league.

The Rattlers are averaging the most points per game in the CEBL at 93 per contest, and are expected to be led by Justin Wright-Foreman. The Queens, New York guard is tops in the league in scoring at 28.5 points per game, almost four full points ahead of the next closest player.

The Rattlers have scored more than 93 points in three out of their first four games this season. The one exception was a 116-74 loss to the Niagara River Lions on June 3. 

Michael Nuga has been a sparkplug all season off the bench for Saskatchewan. The Toronto product is second on the team in pointers per game at 15.5 and averaging over 3 rebounds and 2 three pointers through four games.

Drake Jefferies scored a season-high 6 three pointers—four of which came in the third quarter—in Saskatchewan’s loss to Winnipeg, ending the game with 22 total points.

This will be the first of three regular season meetings between the Surge and Rattlers this season. The teams will lock horns again on July 22 in Calgary, before travelling to Saskatchewan six days later in a game that will also serve as each team’s final match of the regular season.

Full broadcast schedule of CEBL Games of the Week on TSN can be found here. All games will also be streamed live internationally on the CEBL’s OTT platform, CEBL+, and on the CEBL Mobile app for 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 percent 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.