Who Wins The Wild West? The Calgary Surge Prevail Over Edmonton To Set Up Conference Final Rematch Against Vancouver
Surge guard Trhae Mitchell looks on after shooting a three in Edmonton on August 4, 2024. (Photo via CEBL)
On June 1, 2024, the Vancouver Bandits blew out the Calgary Surge 100-74 at Langley Events Centre. Vancouver improved to 3-1 early in the season while Calgary inched toward rock bottom and sat 0-3.
Fast forward 65 days to August 4. Fresh off a gutsy win over the Winnipeg Sea Bears in the CEBL West Play-In, the Surge are visiting their northern neighbour, the Edmonton Stingers in the West Semi-Final with a spot at the league Championship Weekend in Montreal on the line.
(Photo Via CEBL)
How do you go from feeling like you might never win again to a win away from heading back to the conference final? That’s the beauty of sport. We’ve been witnessing it every day at the Paris Olympics and on a different scale, Surge fans saw it in the summer of 2024.
Thanks to two separate four-game winning streaks during the regular season, Calgary earned a home playoff game for the second consecutive year. However, their path to avenge their championship loss would be more challenging.
The Surge barely defeated the Winnipeg Sea Bears 84-82 in the play-in on Friday and quickly pivoted to a date with the Stingers on Sunday at the Expo Centre in the self-proclaimed “City of Champions”.
Despite splitting the season series, the 13-7 Stingers were the favourite over the 11-9 Surge and held home-court. Although, I don’t think the “buzzing” Expo Centre fazed Calgary. In the regular season, the Surge defeated Edmonton in both games at the Stingers home venue. On the flip side, Edmonton thumped the Surge in both games in Calgary, first in front of 12,000 at the Scotiabank Saddledome and then again at WinSport.
Would the Stingers break the pattern of the road team prevailing or would Calgary be able to get their third win of the season in Edmonton and beat the Stingers for the second straight year in the West Semi-Final?
It was expected that the game against Edmonton would be wildly different than Friday’s contest versus Winnipeg. Every time the Surge and Sea Bears play, you can anticipate a lot of scoring. That can’t be said when you play the Stingers.
The Stingers have something that most other teams don’t: an abundance of depth. Similar to the Surge, Edmonton weathered losing a key player in Davion Warren by inserting versatile two-way guard Trey McGowens. Since joining the Stingers, McGowens has been the team’s most effective scorer, averaging 15.7 points in nine games. He also boasted 2.2 steals per game, making the American one of the more feared players on both sides of the ball.
Early in Sunday’s game, Calgary was looking a little sloppy on defence in the paint. Their rotation was a half second too slow and Edmonton’s talented frontcourt of league veterans Brody Clarke and Nick Hornsby were making great connections. Halfway through the opening quarter, Clarke was on his way to another easy bucket only to be denied by his former teammate Mathieu Kamba, who came soaring to swat the ball away and gather some momentum for the visiting Surge.
Something that the Stingers have more than anyone else in CEBL experience. They have done a great job of retaining players year to year while also adding veterans and fresh faces. It gives them a great mix of lineups but since winning multiple titles in the early CEBL days, they have struggled to rekindle their success.
The Surge and Stingers went shot for shot, leaving them tied at halftime.
What would be the point of difference?
Edmonton point guard Elijah Miller excelled early in the third quarter, knocking down a momentum-shifting three, followed by a beautiful assist to Brody Clarke. Miller has had a breakout season in 2024 for the Stingers after suffering a devastating leg injury during a previous Battle of Alberta in 2023.
Answering Miller was Corey Davis Jr., who was tasked with guarding Miller. Davis Jr. took over and showed everyone why he is one of the best point guards in the CEBL on both sides of the ball. The former Houston Cougars dominated the second half and came up big in target time as well.
(Photo via CEBL)
Calgary pulled away late in the game with Sean “Rugzy” Miller-Moore dropping in a floater to win the game despite being fouled. For the second year in a row, the Calgary Surge clinched a spot in the CEBL Championship Weekend. Miller-Moore was fantastic in the entire game and much better than the play-in versus Winnipeg. I was reminded about the aspect of his game that makes him so good: he is an elite finisher. It doesn’t matter if he’s being fouled, fading away or has a bigger guy on him. Rugzy will find a way to find twine.
It was a very disappointing loss for Edmonton and marked the end of two prolific CEBL careers with the Stingers. Adika Peter-McNeilly and Brody Clarke are both rumoured to be moving on from playing professional basketball. They have been incredible ambassadors for the game in Alberta and will continue to do so.
Nevertheless, the Calgary Surge are headed to Montreal for the 2024 CEBL Championship Weekend. Their opponent in the Western Conference Final? The Vancouver Bandits.
Back With The Bandits
The 14-6 Vancouver Bandits have been patiently waiting for their opponents after having a bye to the final four in Montreal. Unlike last season when they hosted Championship Weekend, the Bandits rightfully earned their spot in the West Final.
Vancouver’s Koby McEwen drives on Calgary’s Mathieu Kamba on June 1, 2024. (Photo via CEBL)
For their fantastic season, they are given a rematch against the Surge. However, this season Vancouver is the clear favourite.
The juggernaut squad in Langley is led by newly crowned league MVP Taze Moore. The American guard beat out Winnipeg’s Justin Wright-Foreman for the CEBL’s most coveted individual trophy. In my opinion, there was never any doubt that Moore would take home MVP but I’m sure there are a few Sea Bears fans that would disagree with me.
Moore is a freak athlete and continuously defies gravity in games. I thought Rugzy Miller-Moore was the highest jumper in the league but I have to admit that Taze Moore has taken the title from him. Not only is Moore a unique athlete, he brings a multitude of diverse skills to the game. He led the league in assists per game (7.3) and was third in rebounds per game (8.8) among players who played at least ten games all while putting up 17.6 points per game. That is a pretty incredible stat line for the season.
Now it would be a lot simpler if the Surge only had to worry about stopping one guy. Unfortunately, the Bandits have an abundance of weapons in their arsenal. Koby McEwen was awarded Canadian Player of the Year for his outstanding season. He usually comes off the bench for the Bandits but was their leading scorer. They also have Zach Copeland who starts along with Taze Moore in the backcourt. Copeland is another sharpshooting guard.
Surge fans are very familiar with Vancouver’s centre, Nick Ward. The broad-shoulder big man hasn’t had as good of a season as last year but that is actually not a bad thing for the Bandits. Last year, Ward was forced to be the focal point of the Bandits’ offence and that held them back a little bit. He was great but he can’t do it alone. With the loaded roster that Vancouver has this year, Ward isn’t expected to be the number one option. I’d say he’s maybe the fourth or fifth option now. That just speaks to how deep and dangerous the Bandits are.
The last couple of players that I’ll note to keep an eye on are two midseason additions: Mitch Creek and Marcus Carr.
Creek is probably one of the most talented players this league has ever seen. He had a brief stint in the NBA with Brooklyn but has spent most of his career playing in his home country of Australia. In six games with the Bandits, Creek averaged 25.8 points and 8.0 rebounds. Can you imagine a full season of him in this league? Scary.
Lastly, Vancouver made another great move close to the transaction deadline by signing Canadian and former NCAA standout at Texas and Minnesota, Marcus Carr. Since Carr’s college career ended, I was wondering if we would see him in the CEBL. He is a smooth guard who excels off the ball but can also manage running the point. Another deadly weapon for the Bandits.
Challenge for Calgary
It will be a daunting task for Calgary to match their 2023 West Final victory against the Bandits but the good news for them is they have built up some solid momentum going into Friday’s rematch.
Much like last year, Playoff Jordy Tshimanga is back in full force. It will be an entertaining matchup to watch when Tshmanga goes to battle in the paint with Nick Ward. Tshimanga was great against Edmonton but the only thing that worries me is his lack of consistency. In some games, he seems unstoppable and his touch around the basket is flawless. However, there are times that he seems to lose all confidence and is a complete non-factor. The Surge will need him to play to his full potential.
As with any big game for Calgary, Corey Davis Jr. is the focal point. I’m sure he’ll have to spend some time guarding his good friend Taze Moore and will also be expected to score. After Davis Jr. was left off of both All-CEBL teams, expect him to play with a chip on his shoulder. For what it’s worth, I think Davis Jr. being left off the All-CEBL teams is a huge snub.
Corey Davis Jr. shows how I feel about him being left off both All-CEBL teams.👎(Photo by Ethan Bomhof)
An 0-3 start to the season left a lot of Surge fans scrounging for hope of even making the playoffs. I guess it doesn’t always matter how you start the season but how you finish. They earned a spot in the league’s final four and still have a chance to get back to the championship game and possibly win it this time. Will they be able to pull of the upset against the Western Conference’s top team? Or will Vancouver get the best of the Surge this time around? We have to leave that up to the basketball gods.
Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. MT. If you’re like me, sneaking away from work might be a little tough but this game will be well worth the hassle.