Winnipeg Sea Bears Defeat Calgary Surge 100-75 in First of Home-And-Home Series

Teddy Allen notched his third straight 30-plus point game as the Winnipeg Sea Bears (11-6) stayed ahead of the Calgary Surge (8-8) in the race for top spot in the western conference with a 100-75 victory at the Canada Life Centre.

Allen finished with 37 points, including the game-winning up and under layup in target score time.

“I’m really proud of my guys for how they defended and got on the boards,” Allen said after the game. “That was the biggest part of the game.”

Allen did a bit of everything on the floor tonight: recording 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. The Phoenix, Arizona native also converted 6 of Winnipeg’s 17 three pointers on the afternoon.

As a team, Winnipeg shot 43 per cent from the field. But their defence was a major reason for the victory.

Winnipeg came into today’s game giving up the second most points per game in the CEBL (89.9), but pressured Calgary on nearly every possession and had 13 steals on the afternoon. Winnipeg head coach Mike Taylor credited his team’s defence after the win.

“This is what’s going to help us in the postseason,” he said. “You might not be able to score as easily as you want, or one of your stars doesn’t have a great day, you still got to find a way to win—and that way is by defending people.”

Stef Smith led the Surge with 15 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, but turned the ball over a game-high 8 times. Calgary, who was without forward Simi Shittu for personal reasons, recorded 19 turnovers in the game, which resulted in 34 Sea Bears points.

Sean Miller Moore, Calgary’s leading scorer who entered this afternoon with a 16.9 points per game average, struggled all day—shooting only 22 per cent and scoring 12 points.

The first few minutes of the game hinted that the game would go in an entirely different direction.

The Surge went on an 8-0—highlighted by a pair of three pointers—in the first quarter to take an early lead. Taylor, however, opted to not take a timeout and let his team play through the early deficit.

Taylor was rewarded as the Sea Bears would go on a 9-0 run that started after Shane Osayande swatted a ball off the backboard on Calgary’s next offensive possession. He then hit a three pointer down the floor to end the run, while Allen’s first two three pointers of the afternoon forced a timeout from Calgary head coach Nelson Terroba.

The break did little to deter Winnipeg’s momentum, as they went on a 29-5 run after the first eight Calgary points to take a 33-17 lead after one. 

Allen recorded 18 of his 37 points in the first quarter and was perfect from the field (6-6) and three point range (4-4).

Glen Yang, after shooting only one field goal in Winnipeg’s last game, scored 10 points in the first half and finished with 15 in the game. E.J. Anosike matched Yang with 15 points and six field goals.

“Last couple of games, I don’t think I was at my best: aggrieve-wise,” Yang said. “Guys like Teddy in the locker room, coaching staff, and whole organization [offer] nothing but support and tell me to be aggressive.”

Both Smith and Admon Gilder Jr., who scored seven and six points respectively in the first half, did their best to keep the Surge within striking distance. But the Sea Bears extended their lead to 20 at the break.

Calgary’s Kylor Kelley, splitting time with Jordy Tshimanga in replacement of Shittu, was efficient in the third quarter. The seven footer scored four of his six points in the frame—including slamming home an alley oop from Miller-Moore—but was forced to exit with a minute to go in the quarter with an ankle injury.

Kelley also hauled in 10 rebounds, four of which on the offensive glass, in a little over 14 minutes before leaving the game.

After halftime, Allen sunk his fifth three pointer off a dribble hand-off to give the Sea Bears a 22-point lead—their biggest lead at the time. Jelani Watson-Gayle, who finished with 16 points and four threes off the bench, dropped home one of his triples with seconds remaining to make it a 77-43 game after three.

Winnipeg took a 90-63 lead heading into target score time, and after missing three chances to end the game with a three pointer, Allen converted layups on back-to-back possessions to ice the game.

With the victory, the Sea Bears avenged a 19-point loss to the Surge last month and moved 2.5 games up on Calgary for first place in the western conference.

Calgary, meanwhile, remains in possession of second place in the conference—but are only half a game up on the Edmonton Stingers to avoid a play-in spot in the CEBL playoffs.

Calgary and Winnipeg will renew hostilities for the second half of the home-and-home on Thursday night at the WinSport Centre.

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.