The Calgary Surge kept pace atop the Canadian Elite Basketball League standings with a big win over the Ottawa BlackJacks.
The Surge, tied with the Winnipeg Sea Bears with a league-leading 4-1 record, were led by forward Simi Shittu and Stef Smith, who paced the team with 19 points each. Trevon Scott chipped in with 13.
Off the bench, Mason Bourcier logged 25:48 and knocked down a trio of buckets from long range (9 points), while adding six assists.
Smith’s 14-point burst in the fourth quarter helped lead the team to a bounce-back win. The Surge dropped their last game 84-81 to the Vancouver Bandits.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Smith said after the game.
“I’ve been struggling with my outside shot a little bit but my teammates trust me. I’ll just keep putting them up.”
Guard Sean Miller-Moore, who had only six points, stuffed the rest of the stat sheet with eight rebounds, five assists and three blocks.
Surge head coach Nelson Terroba said the team’s defensive play was key.
“The defence was amazing tonight,” he said.
“They have a great shooting team, and we were just impacting shooters all night long.”
Ottawa’s Kadre Gray led that team with 21 points on 7-14 shooting. Michael Flowers was second in team scoring with 17 points.
The Surge’s next match is Sunday against in Saskatchewan against the Rattlers at 3 p.m. CST.
