Shorthanded Surge Scrap Together Clutch Win Over Bandits
Several key players out of the lineup wouldn't stop the Calgary Surge from defeating the Vancouver Bandits Thursday night at WinSport.
Kyler Edwards shoots a jump shot against former teammate at the University of Houston, Tazé Moore. (photo via @calgarysurge on Twitter/X)
“We knew it was going to be a challenge. No Rugz, no Stef and a few guys leaving for Summer League and a bunch of new faces around. In this league, effort is at a premium and we gave everything we had,” said Calgary Surge head coach Tyrell Vernon.
The Surge left it all on the court in a thrilling 97-94 win on Thursday over Western Conference juggernauts, the Vancouver Bandits.
Heading into their first home game in nearly a month, Calgary looked to feed off the city’s energy with Stampede festivities all around the town.
However, the Surge were not dealt the finest set of cards. It was known that a trio of key players were heading to Las Vegas to participate in the NBA Summer League. But the biggest surprise came when the starting lineup was read aloud to fans at WinSport.
No, your ears did not hear that wrong. Sean “Rugzy” Miller-Moore and Stef Smith are not in the lineup.
It was a big shock and it was temporarily unknown why they weren’t playing. Following the game, the team confirmed that both Canadian stars were out due to lower-body injuries. When asked about a timeline for their return and the severity of the injuries, the club has not commented.
Suddenly, Corey Davis Jr. and Mathieu Kamba were the only remaining regular starters. Malcolm Duvivier made his return to the starting lineup and Jordy Tshimanga made his third straight start since the departure of Gabe Osabuohien. That left new signing Kyler Edwards to fill the final starting position while he was making his home debut for the Surge.
Surely we would see some shakiness in the first quarter from Calgary, right? Wrong. The Surge erupted for 30 first-quarter points, taking a double-digit lead into the second. They were playing free and oozing confidence on both ends of the floor.
Vancouver didn’t go away and reminded everyone in the building why they are a top team in the CEBL this year. The Bandits matched the Surge's big first quarter, chipping away and eventually tying the game at 50 right before the halftime buzzer. MVP frontrunner Tazé Moore was leading the charge with the help of sharpshooters Koby McEwen and Zach Copeland.
Surge coach Tyrell Vernon wasn’t too surprised that Vancouver gave a solid pushback.
“There was fatigue for us. We ran out of gas in the first half,” said Vernon. “We weathered the storm the best we could, but we knew Vancouver is an extremely good team.”
Tyrell Vernon (centre) and his coaching staff (photo by Ethan Bomhof / @bomhof.jpeg)
In the second half, the Surge looked to the reliable shooting of Calgary-native Mathieu Kamba. Arguably the league’s best shooter from deep, Kamba set the tone with an early trey from the corner.
With Miller-Moore and Smith out of the lineup, Kamba knew that he had to perform but didn’t feel too much pressure.
“I know [my teammates] were going to rely on me to take shots and make shots but I still had to play tough defence and crash the boards, so I was trying to pace myself,” explained Kamba.
The 2-way phenom was still riding high after defeating his former team, the Edmonton Stingers, on Tuesday and kept that energy into Thursday. He finished 18 points against the Bandits.
“After Edmonton beat us the first two games, I had to get them back … We knew after we beat them that we stood a great chance of beating Vancouver too,” said Kamba.
Kamba’s composure paired seamlessly with fellow wing Kyler Edwards, who was coming off a stellar CEBL debut earlier in the week. Edwards’ tenacity on the court has already made him one of the team’s go-to options while he also rekindles chemistry with longtime friend and fellow Houston Cougar alumni, Corey Davis Jr.
“I’ve known Corey since sixth grade. Him being up here made it really easy to come over to the Surge,” said Edwards.
Edwards’ transition to the CEBL has been as smooth as his jump shot with his passion and resilience proving vital in such a tight game. The American recorded 19 points and eight rebounds in his first home game.
Kyler Edwards and Tazé Moore were both members of the 2022 Houston Cougars that made it all the way to the NCAA Final Four. Corey Davis Jr. played for Houston prior to Moore and Edwards. (photo via F. Carter Smith)
It was a spirited affair that included an injury scare to Moore (he briefly left the game but returned quickly) while each team’s lead briefly grew and quickly faded. It became evident that the game would come right down to the wire. Vancouver saw a burst from a new signing of their own, Mitch Creek. The Australian registered a game-high 24 points and seven boards off the bench in his CEBL debut. For Calgary, Malcolm Duvivier took advantage of extra minutes as a starter and led his squad with 20 points
Ultimately, the Calgary Surge prevailed by the slightest of margins. Leading 95-94, the Surge’s offensive set began to break down before the ball found the hands of Jordy Tshimanga. Coming off a career game in Edmonton, Tshimanga was poised to be the hero again. He spun off his defender and laid the ball up off the glass and through the twine to give Calgary their first win against the Bandits this year. Tshimanga simply wouldn’t be denied.
Since a slow start, the Montreal product has visibly elevated his play after being inserted into the starting lineup. He is hustling to every ball off the glass, making effective moves in the low post and playing with a high level of confidence reminiscent of when he took over the starting five spot last season after the departure of Simi Shittu.
The Calgary Surge’s clutch victory primarily came down to their “next man up” mentality. Every member of the squad contributed to the win, including U SPORTS development player Gatluak James. The rookie out of St. FX had not seen the court yet this season but with the team down several players, James was inserted in the lineup and checked into his first-ever professional basketball game.
“He’s practiced hard all year, been a great teammate and is always positive with the guys,” said Tyrell Vernon, who also coaches James at St. FX.
You could tell that the entire team was ecstatic to see James on the court. Vernon even trusted his young gun in target time. Fittingly, the energetic forward came up with an offensive rebound, put it back up and in while also drawing the foul to bring the Surge within inches of securing the win. It was the moment of the game and I’m sure something Gatluak James will never forget.
The victory proved that the Calgary Surge can win close games. After the 108-105 loss a couple of weeks ago in Brampton, it looked like the Surge might be plagued by some target time jitters. While there were still some lapses in target time against Vancouver, the Surge got the job done.
With the win over Vancouver and Winnipeg losing to Saskatchewan, the Surge move to 8-7 and jump into third place in the west with five games to go.
They head back on the road to take on the new-look Saskatchewan Rattlers roster that now features former MVP Teddy Allen. Calgary has done a great job and containing Allen and getting under his skin in the past and will look to the same during Sunday’s contest in Saskatoon.
Considering the slow start to the season; you can really appreciate how there’s just “no quitting” with this team!