Sea Bears soar to playoff spot with comeback victory over Surge

The Western Conference playoff field is set.

Once down 13 points, the Winnipeg Sea Bears came back to beat the Calgary Surge 111-104 on Tuesday to clinch the conference’s final post-season spot in front of 11,051 rowdy home fans at Canada Life Centre – the second largest crowd in CEBL history.

The Sea Bears’ scoring output shattered the franchise record, surpassing the previous mark of 110 set last season. The win also pushed Winnipeg to 9-9 on the season and eliminated the last-place Saskatchewan Rattlers from playoff contention.

“I just wanna give all the credit to the players,” Sea Bears head coach Mike Taylor said. “They really competed. They believed. It’s been a mark of these guys all summer, and what a great comeback. And to win your way to the playoffs is something special. It’s a great accomplishment for these guys.”

Meanwhile, Calgary saw its four-game winning streak come to an end as it fell to 10-8. The third-place Surge still have a shot at improving their playoff seeding but would now need to win out to do so.

Head coach Tyrell Vernon said the biggest change he’d like to see moving forward is on the defensive end.

“We’re not built for outscoring teams. 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,” Vernon said.

For much of the contest, defence for both clubs appeared to be optional.

Calgary took a 33-29 lead after the first 10 minutes as its offence hummed from the tip with crisp passing leading to open looks.

The second quarter provided more of the same, and as the Sea Bears’ offence stalled somewhat, Calgary took advantage and built up a 13-point edge heading into the locker rooms — its biggest lead of the game.

For most of the third quarter, the point differential stayed around that 10-point mark. But in what seemed like the blink of an eye, the game shifted. Winnipeg ripped off a 10-2 run to end the frame, which had the fans out of their seats and getting loud.

While the Surge still led 87-82 heading into the final frame, momentum had tilted in the Sea Bears’ favour. And slowly but surely, Winnipeg reeled in its West rival, eventually taking a 102-96 lead into Target Score Time.

Fittingly, bench guard Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson, who seemed to spark the second-half comeback, iced the game with a free throw.

“Not to say that we want to come from behind to win games, but we show a lot of fight, we show a lot of character over the course of the season, especially in games like this,” he said. “It felt like there was no panic. … You could tell we were poised and that’s what we need going into the playoffs.”

Starter Justin Wright-Foreman led Winnipeg with 24 points and nine assists.

“All game we just played hard. It wasn’t anything special. There’s times where have lapses but overall today was a gritty win,” he told sideline reporter Heather Morrison after the game. “Just believe, that’s all we can do.”

Calgary turned the ball over 15 times, which Vernon cited among the reasons for Winnipeg’s comeback.

“I think we got comfortable in the first half with what was working for us and then instead of giving that same energy and intensity to it in the third and fourth quarter, I think we took our foot off the gas a little bit,” Vernon said.

Surge guard Corey Davis Jr., set a record of his own as his 10 assists pushed him to 114 for the season, topping the previous benchmark set by the Rattlers’ Tony Carr two years ago. Vancouver’s Tazé Moore is sitting on 109 dimes for the season.

“I attribute it to all my teammates,” Davis Jr., said. “Without them scoring the basketball, I can’t do that, so they do a good job of filling lanes, getting to open spots. I just find them and they make them. So it feels good.”

Davis Jr., recorded a double-double by adding 20 points as well, while Stefan Smith added 17 off the bench.

The Surge are expecting to have two key players in Gabe Osabouhein and Trhae Mitchell back from Summer League shortly.

“It’s been a part of this kind of CEBL all year,” Vernon said. “Someone comes in, we just gotta integrate them, get them back in, kinda throw them out there, see what works. We’re excited to have those guys back, but at the same time there’s certain things this group has to clean up as well.”

Winnipeg didn’t lose any players to Las Vegas but has overcome its own roster turnover through the season, including the release of reigning MVP Teddy Allen.

“There’s been a lot of changes and they’ve kept working. They’ve really got themselves together in a short time. We’ve been through some ups and downs,” Taylor said. 

“But it’s different if you back your way into the playoffs with another team losing. When you win it, you earn. And we’ve earned it.”

The Sea Bears can now look ahead to the post-season, where a first-round rematch against the Surge is suddenly appearing likely.

First, though, the teams will duel it out once again on Thursday in Calgary.