Top Two Teams in Western Conference Lock Horns as Sea Bears Host Calgary Surge
By Josh Kozelj
The race for the top spot in the Western Conference will heat up as the Winnipeg Sea Bears (10-6) (-129) host the Calgary Surge (8-7) (-108) at the Canada Life Centre at 2 p.m. CT.
This afternoon will be the first of two straight meetings between the Surge and Sea Bears. Winnipeg clinched a playoff spot with an Edmonton Stingers victory over the Saskatchewan Rattlers last night.
The Surge, who snapped a two-game losing streak with a win over Montréal on July 12, come into today’s game one and a half games behind the conference-leading Sea Bears. Calgary also has one game in hand over Winnipeg and can take over first spot in the conference by sweeping the home-and-home series.
Stef Smith led Calgary in their win over the Alliance earlier in the week. The Ajax, Ont. product recorded a team-high 20 points on 52 per cent shooting from the field. Smith also collected six rebounds and three assists.
On the other side, Winnipeg is also hot off a bounce-back performance. After giving up 29 points to Saskatchewan’s Justin Wright-Foreman in a nail-biting 99-96 loss on Tuesday night, the Sea Bears dispatched the Alliance by eight points on Friday.
Teddy Allen, the CEBL’s second leading scorer, notched 33 points and converted six of nine three point attempts in that game. As a team, Winnipeg shot over 50 per cent from both the field and three-point range.
Jelani Watson-Gayle and Simon Hildebrandt combined to score 29 points off the bench. Hildebrandt hit the game-winner with a pull-up mid-range jump shot to seal the win for Winnipeg. Head coach Mike Taylor highlighted their performances after the game.
“Our bench has been outstanding all season,” he said. “I think Jelani is a leading candidate for Sixth Man of the Year and I think Simon is a leading candidate for U SPORTS Player of the Year.”
Calgary defeated Winnipeg by 16 points at home in their last meeting of the regular season on June 16.
Smith didn’t play in that contest, but Sean Miller-Moore racked up 21 points, six boards and five assists. The Surge also held Teddy Allen to 23 points on 38 per cent shooting from the field. Allen was able to convert only one of five three-pointers that night, too.
The Surge outscored the Sea Bears 54-38 in the paint and allowed only 13 bench points.
Expect a rebound battle in the paint tonight, as the CEBL’s top offensive rebounder is slated to go head-to-head with the league’s best defensive rebounder. Chad Posthumus (62) and E.J. Anosike (54) are ranked first and second in the league in offensive boards, while Simi Shittu’s 8.3 defensive rebounds per game leads the league.
Shittu is also averaging more total rebounds per game (10.8) than any other player in the league.
As a team, the Sea Bears and Surge are ranked second and third in total rebounds per game.
Although Winnipeg has a large advantage in points per game—the Sea Bears are putting up nearly 91 points per game, compared to Calgary’s 81.4—the Surge defence is yielding only 81.9 points per game, the best in the CEBL.
Calgary will need to win the rebound battle and slow down Allen like they did in their last meeting to climb within one half game of the Sea Bears for the Western Conference lead as the playoff race continues.
After this afternoon, the home-and-home series will shift to Calgary on Thursday July 20.
For tickets, visit seabears.ca/tickets. 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.
About the CEBL
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. Head to CEBL.ca for more information or follow @CEBLeague on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.
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