Surge Lose to Shooting Stars Again, Gear Up for Western Conference Final Rematch Against Bandits

Calgary falls to Scarborough at WinSport and are still looking for their first win heading to the Lower Mainland.

Sean “Rugzy” Miller-Moore against Scarborough on May 29, 2024. (Photo via @CalgarySurge on X)

Scarborough’s got our number, Surge fans.

In a rematch of the 2023 CEBL championship, the Scarborough Shooting Stars once again defeated the struggling Calgary Surge. Both teams came into the game without a win on the season. After the Shooting Stars started the season 0-2, you knew they would be playing with desperation. Scarborough's 104 – 97 victory moves them to 3-0 all-time against the Surge.

Calgary was also eager for a win after a bad loss to their provincial rivals at the Saddledome last week. The Surge had eight days to figure out what went wrong on opening and they did show improvement. However, momentary lapses proved detrimental to their game plan and the improvements were insufficient.

After giving up the game's first basket, the Surge responded well with a corner three from Justin Lewis. The American wing set the two with his deep make and then rocked the rim with a one-handed flush the next time down the court. It was early, but things were looking up for Calgary.

The struggles on the defensive end looked similar to the previous game with the Shooting Stars beating the Surge in the paint with ease. Still lacking a centre and sufficient rim protection, Scarborough exploited Calgary’s weakness and capitalized.

The individual I was most impressed by on Calgary was Matt Grace. The tallest player on the roster didn’t give much of an impact in the home opener and puttered around on the perimeter for most of the loss to Edmonton last week. On Wednesday, Grace looked like a completely new player. Playing 26 minutes off the bench, the Hamilton, Ont. product was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field, totalling 12 points. It was evident that Grace was instructed to adjust his game and embraced a new role in the lower post. His soft touch around the rim was much needed for the Surge’s offence.

The Surge went into the halftime break up by one, thanks to a buzzer-beating layup for Sean “Rugzy” Miller-Moore.

Calgary was still without star point guard Stef Smith, who has yet to make his way to southern Alberta after concluding his season in France. Sources tell the SurgeStack that Smith is most likely to return on June 14^th when the team tips off against Edmonton.

Already without Smith, the team also learned that Corey Davis Jr. would be absent. Davis Jr. returned home for the birth of his child. Congratulations to Corey and his family!

The addition of American forward Troy Baxter Jr. gave the depleted lineup life. Standing 6-9, Baxter Jr. gave the Surge some desired size and versatility. The Floridan had five points in nine minutes off the bench in his CEBL debut.

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After going bucket for bucket in the third quarter, the Surge began to struggle and the Shooting Stars got hot. Scarborough suddenly had a substantial lead with target time right around the corner.

A big factor in the game was the officiating. I won’t say it was the worst officiating I have ever seen but it wasn’t great. I heard a few fans around me calling the referees “dirtbags” and making fun of their haircuts, but I would never do such a thing.

Scarborough was able to draw multiple calls on three-point attempts. There very well may have been contact by Surge defenders on the shooters but the Shooting Stars players would go down very easy and earn the whistle and a trip to the stripe. If it happened once, then whatever; but I counted three different occasions of a sell job. I wasn’t thrilled and Surge head coach Tyrell Vernon most definitely wasn’t either.

Take a look below at a play the CEBL posted on Instagram. Miller-Moore closes out on the Stars Devoe Joseph. The camera pans away before the “contact” that knocks Joseph to the ground. Trust me when I say this was a total sell job and the officials fell for it.

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Ultimately, Calgary can’t blame the officials for blowing a lead and finding themselves down by 12 heading into target time. Down the stretch, Scarborough was playing with desperation while the Surge were suddenly crumbling.

The Surge made it interesting by elevating their defence in the target time and cutting the Scarborough lead down but they couldn’t complete the late comeback. Even without star guard and CEBL great Cat Barber, the Shooting Stars stole another win from the hands of the Surge.

A quick note on Rugzy Miller-Moore: he has been the focal point of the Surge’s offence and has garnered a lot of criticism for his performance at the start of the season. He put up a game-high 20 points during Wednesday’s, showing the WinSport faithful why he is the go-to individual on the offence end. While he went 0-for-4 from three, he was much more efficient inside and was getting his usual fading 12-footer to drop. It appears the rust has been grinded out and Miller-Moore is ready to replicate his 2023 three All-Canadian season.

June begins with a test out west

April Showers bring May Flowers more showers… well, let’s just hope June can be a fresh start in the “Blue Sky City”.

Tonight, the 2-1 Vancouver Bandits host the 0-2 Calgary Surge at Langley Events Centre. It will be the first time the Surge are back in Langley since they fell to Scarborough in the 2023 championship and a rematch of the 2023 Western Conference final.

The aforementioned West final was one of the most iconic games from Calgary’s inaugural season. Stef Smith hit arguably the clutchest shot of the season to send the Surge to the finale in front of a stunned Bandits crowd.

This time around, the Surge will be without Smith and the Bandits have added new talent and a couple of significant returners as well. Remember all the trouble that Bandits big man Nick Ward gave the Surge last year? Well, he’s back for more and this year Calgary does not match up any better against him.

The other Bandit to watch out for is CEBL rookie Taze Moore. The American guard gives Rugzy Miller-Moore a run for his title of “The Human Highlight Reel” with both being able to jump out of the gym. Last year, the Surge nearly signed Moore to a contract but ultimately were not able to get it done. Moore went to compete at the 2023 FIBA 3x3 World Tour, representing his home country.

The Bandits signing Moore turned some heads as the guard spent some time with the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers, averaging 4.5 points over four games. Between Moore and Ward, the Surge will have their hands full on Saturday.

This may not be the game that Calgary gets their first win of the season but I remain optimistic!

After a great performance on Wednesday, my SurgeStack player to watch, presented by [email ejbomhof@gmail.com for sponsorship opportunities ;)] is Matt Grace.