Calgary snap losing skid with 97-81 win over Winnipeg in Father’s Day matinee
Trevon Scott’s season-high 22 points led the Calgary Surge (6-3) in the battle for the west as they got a 97-81 win against the Winnipeg Sea Bears (5-3) on Sunday.
The guard’s scoring output surpassed his previous mark by eight points, which was unsurprising considering he shot a stellar 62 per cent from the field. Scott’s performance helped his team hold onto first place in the Western Conference and snap their two-game losing streak.
It was also the Surge’s best offensive night of the season as they passed the 90-point mark for the first time this year. A big reason for that was they had five different players score 12 or more points, led by Scott and Sean Miller-Moore who put up 21 points, six rebounds and five assists. Simi Shittu did his part as well by nearly notching a double-double in the win with 12 points and eight rebounds.
“It’s a big win,” said Miller-Moore as the Surge finished up their three-game home stand with a victory. “We bounced back after being in the loss column for a bit, so it means a lot.”
On the other side Winnipeg got another 20-point outing from Teddy Allen who tallied 23 points and seven rebounds. The guard finished with a decent stat-line but struggled efficiency wise as he took on Calgary’s suffocating defense. He finished the game shooting 38 per cent from the field while going 1-5 from distance. He was joined by Chad Posthumus who put up a solid effort with a double-double via his 15 points and a season-high 15 rebounds.
Calgary head coach Nelson Terroba made a point to mention the effort of Admon Gilder Jr. as the team’s leader defensively and the one who held Allen in check for most of the night through his two steals and three blocks.
“He’s an amazing defender,” Terroba said post-game. “He’s an unsung hero. He comes every day, quiet, observant, committed to the cause.”
A factor coming into this game was which team was going to win the battle on the glass. Winnipeg is one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the league – going against a top-two defensive rebounding squad in Calgary.
In the early goings of this matchup, it was the Sea Bears who applied pressure on the boards, or specifically, it was Posthumus who made his presence felt. The big man tallied Winnipeg’s first eight points of the game while grabbing six rebounds, three of which came on the offensive side of the ball. The team came into the contest as the least-efficient two-point shooting team in the league, but it was clear that Posthumus wasn’t aware of that as he dominated inside.
Calgary, however, looked ready to snap their losing streak as the league-best defense began to clamp down. Before the game coach Terroba talked about continuing to allow their defense to help them generate offense and that’s just what his squad did. The Surge scored a quarter of their baskets from takeaways, no more important than Miller-Moore’s triple off a turnover right as the first quarter buzzer went off, giving the Surge a 20-19 lead heading into the second.
The second frame started as a back-and-forth affair with the teams staying within a point of each other for the first three minutes before Calgary unsurprisingly mounted a lead through their defense. They forced Winnipeg into five turnovers and scored seven points as a result.
The Sea Bears came into the game as one of the league’s most disciplined teams, committing a CEBL-low 11 turnovers a game, but their eight giveaways in the first half had them down as many as 14 points before ending the frame trailing 48-37.
Coming out of half-time Winnipeg head coach Michael Taylor spoke about the team needing to play stronger and at their own pace, without allowing Calgary’s pressure to speed them up. His message seemed to be received loud and clear as the Sea Bears started the frame strong. Allen scored six of his team’s first eight points after playing just eight minutes in the first half due to foul trouble – cutting the Surge’s lead to as little as five.
However, Calgary quickly responded by going on a 7-0 run, capped off by a steal and reverse layup and-one by Gilder Jr. to see themselves up double-digits yet again. The Surge then went on to methodically mount their lead to as many as 17 by doing what they do best, attacking the basket.
All of Calgary’s 26 points in the third quarter came either from inside the paint or the charity stripe, a calling card for the team all season. The Surge came into the contest as one of the most-efficient teams in the league on two-point baskets, converting on over 50 per cent of their attempts, an ability they made the most of as they ended the frame up 74-63.
The fourth was more of the same as Calgary’s stifling defense limited Winnipeg to 10 points through the first six minutes on just two made field goals. The Surge went into Target Score Time up 88-73, where it was Scott who ended things quickly, scoring his team’s final four points and ending the contest 97-81.
The Sea Bears will look to bounce back as they return to action on Wednesday as they play host to the winners of three-in-a-row, the Vancouver Bandits. While the Surge will also play on Wednesday where they’ll head to the CAA Centre to take on the defending champion Brampton Honey Badgers.
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