Surge stun Stingers, advance to CEBL western final with 78-69 victory

The Calgary Surge advanced to the CEBL western conference finals Sunday, defeating the Edmonton Stingers 78-69. (Photo: X@CEBLeague)

The Calgary Surge are back in the CEBL western final.

The underdog Surge outscored the Stingers 24-15 in the third quarter Sunday night in Edmonton and hung on for a victory in the CEBL western conference semifinals.

The Surge, who finished third in the West with an 11-9 record, will face the Vancouver Bandits in the western conference final on Friday at Verdun Auditorium. The winner advances to the CEBL championship game in Montreal on Aug. 11.

In Sunday's hoops version of the Battle of Alberta, Corey Davis Jr. paced the Surge with 22 points. Sean Miller-Moore chipped in with 18, while Jordy Tshimanga added 14 points and eight rebounds.

Miller-Moore led the way in crunch time, scoring six of his 18 points including the game-winning bucket on a contested layup.

“I was thinking about going to the left but I just ducked my head, tried to get it up, and the ball bounced in my favour,” said Miller-Moore.

It was a repeat of the result of the 2023 Western Conference semifinal, only last year the Surge won it in Calgary.

Jacob Evans Lii led the Stingers with 13 points, while Brody Clarke, Michael Nuga and Trey Mcgowens all had 11 points.

Edmonton finished second in the West with a 13-7 record, one win behind of the Bandits.

Next Friday’s western final will be a rematch of last season, when the Surge won to advance to the CEBL finals, where they lost to the Scarborough Shooting Stars.

In the east, The Niagara River Lions rallied from behind to defeat the Ottawa Blackjacks 94-91.

The River Lions, who finished first in the eastern conference this season with a 14-6 record, now face the host Montreal Alliance in Friday's eastern conference final, with the winner advancing to next Sunday's CEBL championship game at Verdun Auditorium in Montreal.

With files from The Canadian Press