Saskatchewan Rattlers Hope to Keep Playoffs Hopes Alive in Date With Calgary Surge

The Saskatchewan Rattlers (8-11) (-160) will look to stay alive in the CEBL playoff race in their regular season finale against the Calgary Surge (11-8) (+115) at the SaskTel Centre at 9:30 p.m. ET/7:30 local.

The game will also be available for streaming on TSN+, CEBL+ powered by BetVictor, and on the CEBL Mobile app available on iOS and Android devices.

Despite losing to the Surge on Saturday night in Calgary, the Rattlers can still clinch third place in the western conference — and a spot in the play-in tournament — with a win tonight and an Edmonton Stingers loss to the Winnipeg Sea Bears tomorrow.

Calgary, meanwhile, has won four out of their past five games and have their eyes set on taking top spot in the west.

The Surge can jump past Winnipeg with a win tonight, coupled with a Sea Bears loss tomorrow evening.

Tonight’s matchup will feature the league’s leading scorer, Saskatchewan’s Justin Wright-Foreman, taking on a Calgary defence that is averaging a league-low 81.9 points against this season. Wright-Foreman, who is averaging close to 30 points per game, put up 30 in a 15-point loss to Calgary on the weekend.

Through the first two meetings this year, the Surge have held Saskatchewan to less than 65 points on both occasions. The Surge knocked off the Rattlers 80-63 back in June. Wright-Foreman missed that game, but Mike Nuga and Malik Benlevi flirted with double-doubles in that contest.

Calgary has found their footing after a two-game losing streak that started at the end of June and bled into July.

Following a six-day break after a loss to the Edmonton Stingers on July 5, the Surge knocked off Montréal and then split a home-and-home series with the Winnipeg Sea Bears before dispatching Saskatchewan and Edmonton heading into tonight.

While the trio of Sean Miller-Moore, Simi Shittu, and Stef Smith have led Calgary offensively all season — averaging between 14 and 16 points per game — it’s been a relatively new face who has led a spark off the bench. Terry Henderson Jr., a guard from Raleigh, North Carolina, has recorded 10 points in back-to-back games.

Henerson Jr. is averaging a little over six points and three rebounds through five games this season.

Head coach Nelson Terroba credited his team’s balanced scoring after their win against Edmonton on Wednesday.

“We can trust a lot of different people to help us win a game,” he said. “And they’re okay with letting it work out in the wash and letting the game kind of dictate who that is.”

On the other side of the court, Wright-Foreman will look to have his teammates step up to provide complimentary scoring.

No other player reached double figures in the Rattlers last game against Calgary, although Trey Niemi came close with nine points. Niemi scored a season-high 20 points against the Vancouver Bandits less than one week ago.

Mike Nuga has also been a reliable secondary scoring option all season, averaging 13.1 points in roughly 27 minutes of action per night.

Malik Benlevi, after missing half of July with an injury, will also be tasked with patrolling the paint. Benlevi leads the team in rebounds per game (5.4), while the Rattlers boast four players (Anthony Tsegakele, Julian Roche, and Wright-Foreman) who are snagging more than five boards per game.

As a team, Saskatchewan is averaging about 38 rebounds per game, just shy of Calgary’s mark of 40.1 per contest.

The Rattlers are eliminated from playoff contention with a loss tonight. If Calgary loses, Winnipeg clinches top spot in the western conference.

The Sea Bears are slated to take on the Stingers tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m. ET at the Canada Life 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.