Lockdown Defence Pushes Surge Past Sea Bears

The Calgary Surge are clicking early in the season.

They routed the Winnipeg Sea Bears 93–61 on Sunday (May 25), assisting on 69 percent of their field goals.

Calgary head coach Kaleb Canales said every little step—on and off the court—has helped build chemistry early.

“They're a great practice group and we've been just carrying that over to the game,” Canales said.

It was also strong defensively, holding the Sea Bears to 61 points. Winnipeg was limited to 30 per cent shooting from the field, 17 per cent from three, and 50 per cent from the free-throw line.

Calgary dominated inside as well, outscoring Winnipeg 46-28 in the paint.

The Surge attack featured an array of high-flying finishes in transition, including alley-oop connections and a between-the-legs showstopper from Greg Brown III in the third quarter.

“I was like, ‘Finally I got an open break’... I was a little far back but thought I could get [the dunk] off,” Brown III said of the highlight.

The victory at WinSport Event Centre was the back half of a home-and-home, with Calgary winning the first contest on Friday 98-86.

Canales said the team is building on the foundation of turning defence into offence.

“It's never going to be perfect but we're moulding it the right way,” he said.

Brown III netted a game-high 22 points in the victory to go along with nine rebounds.

Sean Miller-Moore followed up a career-best performance on Friday with another solid outing on Sunday. He scored 20 points, hauled in 10 rebounds, dished out six assists and drilled the game-winning free throw.

The six assists pushed Miller-Moore to 200 for his CEBL career.

Meanwhile, Jameer Nelson Jr. also left a mark on both ends. He set a team record with seven steals in the win, while contributing 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

On the other side, Terry Roberts was a bright spot for the Sea Bears offensively. The Georgia alumnus led the team in scoring, rebounding and passing with 21 points, 10 boards, and seven assists.

Roberts said the Sea Bears need to be tougher moving forward.

“I think the defense dictated our offense. We [weren’t] playing good defensively, and it made us ultimately struggle offensively. So I think we have to lock in more defensively and we'll be alright,” Roberts said.

Winnipeg head coach Mike Taylor credited Calgary for effort, rebounding, speed and physicality. He attributed offensive struggles to the Sea Bears’ fast break.

“I think we did not space the floor as quickly as we needed to. And then again, we did not take advantage of the opportunities that the game gave us. We had some mismatches in the post we didn't take advantage of and we had some opportunities in transition we didn't take advantage of,” Taylor said.

To open the game, both teams started hot from beyond the arc. Roberts directed the Sea Bears’ offence in the first quarter, scoring or assisting on 14 of the team’s 17 points. However, the Surge pushed the pace leading to a pair of alley-oops in transition.

Calgary seized control, closing the quarter on a 12-1 run and taking a 23-17 advantage into the second quarter.

The Surge continued to dictate the tempo as Winnipeg’s offence stalled. The Sea Bears went roughly seven minutes without a field goal stretching back to the first quarter and Calgary capitalized with a 21-3 run during that span.

Winnipeg began to find some rhythm midway through the frame, but Calgary quickly shut the door with a 13-4 run—taking a 49-31 lead into the break.

Coming out of the locker room, Winnipeg started to push the pace as well. The Sea Bears scored six early points but Brown III killed the momentum with an audacious between-the-legs breakaway slam.

Brown III kept the highlight reel rolling as the Surge entered the fourth quarter up 71-48.

Winnipeg didn’t connect on a field goal for the first four minutes of the quarter and trailed by 30 heading into Target Score Time.

Winnipeg opened Target Time with a 7-2 burst, but Nelson Jr. responded with a personal 6-0 run to bring Calgary within one.

Miller-Moore iced it at the line, sealing Calgary’s 50th win in franchise history.

Box Score

https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600577

Up next for both teams

Winnipeg returns to Canada Life Centre for a meeting with the red-hot Vancouver Bandits on Wednesday (May 28), while Calgary hosts Brampton on Thursday (May 29) at WinSport Event Centre.

Next CEBL action

The Ottawa BlackJacks travel to Scarborough on Tuesday (May 27) for an Eastern Conference battle with the Shooting Stars. For the full 2025 CEBL schedule and up-to-date results, please visit cebl.ca/games.

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