SURGE HOLD STINGERS SCORELESS DURING TARGET SCORE TIME IN 91-80 VICTORY
The Calgary Surge were winless on the road. The Saskatchewan Rattlers had yet to be beaten at home.
Naturally, then, the Surge tipped off a six-game road trip Thursday with a 105-77 victory over the Rattlers at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon.
Mathieu Kamba led the Surge with 27 points and seven rebounds, while captain Sean Miller-Moore contributed 26 points and eight assists with fellow guard Corey Davis Jr. nearly matching that production with 25 points and eight dimes of his own.
“I feel like we finally put it together. I think we have a lot of talent in our room and everyone has pride as a basketball player, so when things aren’t going our way or you’re not getting your touches, you get in your feelings, but when you put that aside and you step into a role and you play that role to the best of your abilities, dangerous things happen and we showcased that today,” Kamba said.
“We played defence and we played offence so it’s just about everyone coming together and playing for the team instead of the individual.”
Guard Jalen Harris paced the Rattlers with 22 points and five assists.
Calgary took control of the game in the second quarter, battling back from an 11-point deficit to take a 40-39 advantage into halftime.
The Surge then blew things open in the third quarter when they exploded for 35 points, pushing their lead to 20 entering the final frame and essentially putting things out of reach for the Rattlers.
After Calgary took a 102-77 lead in Target Score Time, Saskatchewan waved the white flag with a platoon substitution.
Soon after, Miller-Moore buried a three-pointer to end the proceedings.
“Any win in the CEBL is a good win. It’s hard to come by. But at the same time, it’s good to kind of ride this momentum a little bit, two games in a row, we’ll take that,” Surge head coach Tyrell Vernon said.
Calgary improved to 4-5 with its second straight win, while Saskatchewan dropped to 5-4 with the loss.
The victory also marked the Surge’s second of the season over the Rattlers after a 102-85 home win earlier in June. With just one matchup remaining between the conference rivals, Calgary officially owns the tiebreaker should the teams finish the season with identical records.
After starting the season with three straight losses, Calgary has now won four of its past six games as it attempts to return to the CEBL Finals.
The six-game road trip may prove definitive toward those chances of climbing out of the basement, especially with a pair of games against provincial rival Edmonton mixed in.
Miller-Moore told sideline reporter Ryan Flaherty after the game that the Surge made a point of producing a resilient third quarter.
“We’ve been playing and every game we always come out in the third ice cold. We were preaching in halftime it’s 0-0, we’re only up one, so let’s come out strong in the third quarter,” he said.
The Surge also managed the victory without key bench piece Malcolm Duvivier, who’d played in all eight previous games while averaging 12.4 points per contest. Vernon said Duvivier was dealing with a “lower ligament” injury, but that he expects him to return “in the next coming games.”
Michael Linklater, who was part of the Rattlers’ inaugural 2019 championship team, was in the building Thursday as part of Saskatchewan’s First Nations Night.
But Saskatchewan, after winning its first three contests of the season, appears headed in the opposite direction with losses now in four of its past six games.
“Tough night. Came out, played hard early, kind of gave it away in the second half. Collectively I just think we need to mature as a group, put together a full 40 and do it the right way,” Harris said.
Rattlers head coach Larry Abney called the loss “disheartening.”
“We had some good stuff going in the first quarter, good execution, good energy. Second quarter we started to play one on one, and it led to them getting leakout points and finding their rhythm. Overall disheartening, but again, quick turnaround, bounce back and get ready for the next one,” Abney said.
Calgary got by with a major advantage in field-goal attempts, taking 75 shots to Saskatchewan’s 58. The Surge made the most of those opportunities too, shooting 54 per cent from the field to the Rattlers’ 44 per cent.
Thus, the rout was on.
What’s next?
The Rattlers head to Winnipeg for a date with the new-look Sea Bears on Saturday, while the Surge visit the Stingers on Sunday in the second of their six-game road trip.
- CEBL -
About the CEBL
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 75% of its rosters being Canadian and a record 10 players with NBA experience in 2024. Players also bring experience from the NBA G League, top international pro leagues, the Canadian National team program, NCAA programs, as well as U SPORTS and CCAA. Fourteen players have signed NBA contracts following a CEBL season, and numerous CEBL players attend NBA G League training camps every year. The CEBL season runs from May through August with games broadcast live on CEBL+ powered by BetVictor, TSN, TSN+, RDS, Game+, Next Level Sports & Entertainment and Courtside1891. More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.