Late win against the Rattlers: Surrender blow, a step closer to a playoff spot

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Myles Poet

CEBL.ca

The playoff situation in the West is gradually becoming clearer.

The Calgary Surge beat the Saskatchewan Rattlers 95-87 on Sunday at the Sasktel Centre to extend their three-game lead over the conference’s final postseason spot with four games remaining.

Meanwhile, the first-place Vancouver Bandits and the second-place Edmonton Stingers secured their playoff spots due to the Rattlers’ loss.

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After building a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter, Saskatchewan had the opportunity to put pressure on both Calgary and fourth-place Winnipeg with a win – but instead they are now under pressure themselves.

The Rattlers dropped to 6-10 with the loss and are now 1.5 games behind the Sea Bears. Head coach Larry Abney said his team played “32 minutes of great basketball.”

“Everyone knows what’s at stake. I guess it’s basically a race between us and Winnipeg right now. Game by game, we have to approach our 40s with the urgency that it could be our last chance,” Abney said.

Surge, which has already won its third straight, improved its record to 9-7 and can suddenly focus more on catching the Bandits and Stingers than worrying about the teams behind them.

“It was a good win,” said Surge guard Stefan Smith. “That was a really good end to the game with the defense. … And I think we know we can be the best team in the West. We just have to keep winning games.”

Smith led Calgary with 29 points as a substitute and reached the 500-point mark in his CEBL regular season career.

The Ajax, Ontario native showed no signs of rust after missing the Surge’s last game with a lower-body injury, playing over 28 minutes and grabbing eight rebounds.

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And it was Smith who decided the game. With just over seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, Calgary extended its lead to 15-1 and went into target score time with an 85-79 lead.

Smith then scored Calgary’s next 10 points on four consecutive possessions, finishing the game with a contested layup before engaging in a verbal exchange with an opposing fan.

“I just tried to play hard and my teammates did a good job of passing the ball to me,” Smith told sideline reporter Heather Morrison after the game. “I got into a rhythm and eventually it happened.”

The game went back and forth for three quarters as neither team managed to take the lead.

Calgary finished the first quarter with a 24-23 lead, but the Rattlers used a 15-3 run to take a 12-point lead – their largest lead of the game.

The Surge were able to reduce their deficit to five points by halftime and took a strong start to the second half to take a 63-60 lead.

But this time it was Saskatchewan that fought back, regaining a four-point lead at 71-67 after 30 minutes. The Rattlers extended that lead to 79-70 in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter – and then it all fell apart.

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Calgary head coach Tyrell Vernon said the comeback started on the defensive.

“I think it was just a matter of stringing together stops and paying attention to details. I think we had a little more urgency while Saskatchewan had more urgency in the first three quarters,” he said.

Now the Rattlers’ season is in jeopardy.

Teddy Allen led Saskatchewan with 28 points on 25 shots, including six of 17 three-pointers, while fellow starter Emmanuel Bandoumel contributed 25 points.

“We want to learn from tonight’s game,” Bandoumel said. “But at the same time, we have to be desperate and have a short memory. We still have a chance to make the playoffs and we still believe in it. Now it’s about controlling what we can control.”

Allen’s inefficient night was part of Calgary’s game plan, as forward Mathieu Kamba chased him throughout the fourth quarter, making it difficult for the reigning MVP to get open plays.

“I thought three quarters were a little sluggish. Defensively, I thought we were a step back,” Vernon said. “But in the fourth quarter, we really turned it around, just flew around. Kamba did a great job defensively, trying to keep the ball out of Teddy’s hands.”

With the win, Calgary completed the season series with three wins against Saskatchewan.

Now they can think about making it to the CEBL finals for the second year in a row – and maybe going home with the trophy this time.

“We just have to have the identity to make stops, win every possession and then we’ll live with the results,” Vernon said. “I don’t want to look too far ahead on what we can do or what we’re going to be. I think if we just focus on every single possession like it’s our last, we’ll set ourselves up for success.”

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