Calgary Surge Use Stingy Defence to Defeat Saskatchewan Rattlers 80-63
The Calgary Surge (5-1) held the Saskatchewan Rattlers (2-3), the CEBL’s highest scoring offence, to a season-low 63 points this afternoon in a 80-63 victory at the SaskTel Centre.
Calgary came into the afternoon matinee as one of the stingiest defences in the league. The Surge had not allowed any team to score over 84 points against them through their first five games of the season.
Saskatchewan averaged 93 points per contest heading into today.
“The defence was spectacular,” Calgary Surge head coach Nelson Terroba said after the game. “We disrupted the rhythm of the game, got stops, ran and executed… Our guys take pride in defence, they want to be two-way players.”
Terroba added that the absence of Saskatchewan’s superstar guard Justin Wright-Foreman, who was unavailable to the Rattlers this afternoon, also played a big role in helping Calgary fend off the Rattlers’ high scoring offence.
Wright-Foreman was off to attend a workout with the New York Knicks. The Queens, New York product leads the CEBL in points per game at 28.5.
Michael Nuga made his first start of the season in replacement of Wright-Foreman, and was an energetic replacement. Nuga, who was averaging over 15 points per game off the bench, collected 13 points, 7 assists, and 2 offensive rebounds in nearly 29 minutes on the floor.
“I saw a person that is confident in what he can do, I saw a person who stepped up,” Saskatchewan head coach Dean Demopoulos said.
The Surge trailed for most of the first half, as the Rattlers used the offensive glass and second chance points to take control of the game early on.
Saskatchewan had 8 offensive rebounds in the first quarter alone, turning those boards into 12 second chance points, as the Rattlers took a 37-35 lead at half.
In total, the Rattlers grabbed 27 offensive rebounds today, matching their total number of defensive rebounds in the game. They converted those second chance opportunities into 28 points.
Julian Roche and Anthony Tsegakele snagged 13 of those rebounds off the bench. Starters Adong Makuoi and Malik Benlevi added 4 and 3 offensive rebounds respectively.
“We got guys that go in there and get it. We just kept fighting,” Benlevi said. “When we put shots up, they just go get it, just being men going to grab it.”
Calgary, meanwhile, scored just 7 second chance points off 7 offensive rebounds.
“You gotta tip your hat to Saskatchewan, they really battled on the boards, they were really physical,” Terroba said.
But despite the significant disparity on the glass, Calgary stayed within striking distance at the half, going on a 6-0 run to end the second quarter—highlighted by four points from Stefan Smith, who finished the game with 12.
They also outscored Saskatchewan 24-5 on the fast break to overcome their rebound woes.
“We like to play in transition because we have so many athletes on the team who are very talented,” Smith said. “Obviously, we’re going to get in half court and execute when we can, but transition points play a big role in our wins.”
In the third quarter, the Surge retook the lead on a lob from Admon Gilder Jr. to Trevon Scott, and ended the frame with a two-point lead.
Although Saskatchewan got five offensive rebounds on one possession in the fourth quarter, which ended with a Tsegakele layup to make it a 53-51 game, that would be the closest the Rattlers would come to retaking the lead.
Calgary went on a 18-9 run from that point heading into target score time.
With the game clock turned off, Sean Miller-Moore scored 6 of his game-high 20 points to begin target score, and a Simi Shittu game-winning three pointer closed out the game. Shittu finished with 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists.
All five of Calgary’s starters scored in double digits. Seven-footer Kylor Kelley, meanwhile, protected the rim for Calgary all game, providing 5 blocks off the bench.
The Rattlers will look to rebound on the road on Wednesday night against the Edmonton Stingers.
Calgary is slated to return home to begin a three-game home stand. The first game will take place Wednesday against the Vancouver Bandits, the only team to defeat the Surge this 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.
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.
