Surge and Sea Bears meet again in potential playoff preview

The fourth-place Winnipeg Sea Bears (9-9) will visit the third-place Calgary Surge (10-8) on Thursday in a crucial Western Conference matchup that also serves as a potential playoff preview.

In the second half of a home-and-home, the Surge will play in front of a home crowd for the final time of the regular season at WinSport Event Centre. The game is set for 8 p.m. CDT on Game+, NLSE, and streaming live on CEBL+ and TSN+.

The first half of the home-and-home on Tuesday saw the Sea Bears even the season series with the Surge in a 111-104 comeback win in front of over 11,000 fans at Canada Life Centre.

The victory provided Winnipeg with back-to-back wins and snapped a four-game winning streak for Calgary. It also avenged a 110-78 loss to the Surge in the only previous meeting between the two squads this season in June.

An efficient night from the field, beyond the arc, and free-throw line powered the Sea Bears to a franchise record for most points in a game. Winnipeg trailed by as many as 13 points in the contest but fought back to clinch the conference’s final post-season spot.

Calgary head coach Tyrell Vernon attributed the loss to defence and turnovers – something the Surge will have to adjust ahead of the rematch.

“We’re not built for outscoring teams,” Vernon said after the game. “We’re not the 112-, 110-[point] type of team. We gotta grind it out a little bit more, keep flying around defensively. Multiple efforts — that’ll be the change.”

Depending on the outcome, Thursday’s contest could be the final home game of the season for Calgary with a matchup in Scarborough for the regular season finale on Sunday. While both the Sea Bears and Surge have playoff spots clinched, a lot could change in the Western Conference based on tonight’s result.

Calgary can clinch a top-three finish in the West with a win which would also mean a home playoff game and a chance to move up.

If the Sea Bears win, it would lock in a rematch with the Surge for the West Play-In. Winnipeg would also own the tiebreaker against Calgary and hold the upper hand to host heading into the final game of the season.

Vancouver and Edmonton each have a vested interest in the result as well, with both squads clinching a top-two finish in the conference with a Winnipeg win.

Player spotlight

Winnipeg guard Justin Wright-Foreman and Calgary guard Corey Davis Jr. will look to showcase their dual-threat abilities on Thursday.

Each player finds themselves among the league’s top five in assists per game and demonstrated why in the previous matchup. 

Davis Jr. dished a game-high 10 assists on Tuesday, setting the CEBL record for assists in a season with 114. Meanwhile, Wright-Foreman forked out nine dimes in the win, while dropping a game-high 24 points.

The Sea Bears’ star is no stranger to pacing an offence, as he is poised to finish in the league's top-two in points per game for the second consecutive season. 

Davis Jr., however, outperformed his season average with a team-high 20 points in the loss on Tuesday. The Calgary facilitator has proven himself a lethal shooter this season, placing top-five in three-pointers made at roughly a 40 per cent clip.

Milestone Watch

●     Winnipeg’s Alex Campbell is eight steals away from 100 for his career, including playoffs

●     Winnipeg’s Chad Posthumus is seven rebounds away from 500 for his career, including playoffs

●     Winnipeg’s Mason Bourcier is two assists away from 200 assists for his CEBL career

●     Calgary’s Davis Jr. is five assists ahead of Vancouver’s Tazé Moore for the regular season record

●     Calgary’s Sean Miller-Moore is two points away from 800 for his career, including playoffs