Calgary Surge clinch playoff berth with 79-64 win over Saskatchewan Rattlers

The Calgary Surge (10-8) confirm their spot in the 2023 post-season as their stifling defence held the Saskatchewan Rattlers to their second-lowest point total of the year in a 79-64 win.

Saskatchewan entered the night as winners of four of their last five games, averaging 88.8 points per game during that span. However, the league’s best defence (83 OPPG) held the Rattlers to under 35 per cent shooting from the field and distance, while holding them to just 12 points in the final quarter of the contest.

Stef Smith led the way for the Surge by way of his 17 points, five rebounds and two steals. He was joined by Sean Miller-Moore, Admon Gilder Jr., and Simi Shittu as the other starters to score in double figures for Calgary, the trio putting up 15, 15, and 13 points respectively. 

“The team is starting to understand no one has to do it on their own,” said Surge head coach Nelson Terroba. “There’s no set answer…trust what’s in front of you…and with that stat sheet that’s what you see tonight.”

Deon Ejim in his second consecutive start with the team only put up three points but made his mark on the defensive end as he grabbed a game-high five steals, part of 14 for the Surge on the night. 

Justin Wright-Foreman did almost all of the damage on the other end for Saskatchewan as no other player on the team scored more than nine points. He finished the night with 30 points and nine rebounds, and his 30-point night was the third such performance he’s put up in five outings. 

“We had to deal with a heroic basketball player,” said Terroba on having to coach against Wright-Foreman. “He gave me many sleepless nights over the last three weeks thinking about this matchup. He’s an amazing player.” 

Unfortunately for the guard, coach Terroba’s lengthy game planning seemed to pay off as Wright-Foreman ended up giving a lot of his production back by way of his game-high eight turnovers.

The Rattlers were looking ready to make the West playoff race interesting in the early goings of this contest as they got out to an early 10-0 run led by Wright-Foreman and Jermel Kennedy. The duo each knocked down a triple as Saskatchewan built an early seven-point lead.

However, they couldn’t maintain said lead due to some careless play with the ball. The Rattlers committed four turnovers in the back-half of the frame – part of six in the first quarter – helping Calgary spark their own 11-0 run that took back the lead.

Sloppy play by Saskatchewan was uncharacteristic considering they only turned the ball over 13.9 times a game on average. Their high rate of miscues cost them nine points the other way, which allowed the Surge to get out to an 18-17 lead as the two squads headed to the second quarter.

Unfortunately for Surge fans at the Winsport Event Centre, Calgary returned the favour as they gave Saskatchewan the lead right back throughout the frame. Like the Rattlers, it was careless errors handling the ball that cost the Surge. Six turnovers in the frame, three by Miller-Moore alone, allowed Saskatchewan to get back in front, where they stayed the rest of the half, leading 35-30 going into the break. 

Wright-Foreman took care of business during the first half of the game as he dominated the box score. His 13 points, six rebounds, and two assists, were a game-high in all three categories at halftime.

Coming out of the break, Calgary reminded everyone why they’re the league’s best defence. The Surge forced nine more turnovers out of the Rattlers as their stifling defence led to easy offence. Over 40 per cent of the team’s offence through three quarters came as a result of takeaways they forced out of Saskatchewan. 

As the third came to an end, the Surge had the deficit down to three points, but weren’t satisfied there, as Smith threw up a triple in the final seconds of the frame and drilled it to tie the game at 52-52 headed into the fourth.

Despite Calgary shooting a lowly 3-18 from beyond the arch till that point, they seemed to finally find their groove from distance. Gilder Jr. followed Smith’s lead as both players knocked down a three in the early goings of the final frame, sparking the Surge to a 16-4 run to start the fourth.

Shittu capped off that run by taking a Wright-Foreman turnover down the other end for an easy layup, giving Calgary the game’s first double-digit lead as the teams went into Target Score Time.

That wasn’t the only transition opportunity Calgary made the most of as they feasted on fast break opportunities all night. The team scored 19 transition points to Saskatchewan’s zero – none of which were more important than Miller-Moore’s emphatic breakaway alley-oop slammed down in Target Time.

The dunk set up by Shittu, not only brought the Surge within one basket of finishing the contest, but also moments away from clinching their first playoff berth in the franchise’s first season in Calgary. 

Shittu took the moment seriously as turned into the Surge’s closer down the stretch. He scored five of the team’s final nine points, as he put an end to the contest by knocking down a free throw, 79-64 the final.

Despite clinching their first playoff berth in Calgary, Smith knows there’s more work to be done before the post-season gets underway. The Surge return to action on July 26 to finish off a three-game home with an Alberta rivalry game against the Edmonton Stingers.

“We have to continue to ride this momentum,” Smith said post-game. “Continue to learn and grow, the work’s not finished, so we have to take the positives from this game and continue to play.”

Meanwhile Saskatchewan only have one more game left in their season as they try to keep some hope for the playoffs alive. They’ll be hosting this Surge team once again on July 28 in their regular season finale, looking to make one final push for the post-season.

All games are available on TSN+ and CEBL + powered by BetVictor. Recap written by Zulfi Sheikh (@zulfi_sheikh).

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