Thanks to wins against Vancouver and Winnipeg, the Calgary Surge have won six of their last five games.

For the third time this season, the Calgary Surge have defeated the Vancouver Bandits. This time, Calgary took care of business with a 93-86 win on home court.

The game started with Calgary centre Javonte Brown winning the opening tip-off, but Vancouver opened the scoring thanks to James Karnik. Armani Chaney quickly answered with a three for the Surge.

Calgary eventually left the first quarter with a 25-18 lead.

Throughout the second, the Bandits cut into the original seven-point lead and entered halftime down one, 42-41. Calgary’s Sean “Rugzy” Miller-Moore and Vancouver’s Tevin Brown led the game’s first half scoring with 10 points each.

After continued even play in the second half, the Surge entered target time up 83-79. The Surge’s Marlon Johnson secured the 93-86 Calgary win with a corner three-pointer.

Chaney, who assisted Johnson’s game-winner, said that hometown chemistry was at play.

“Chicago to Chicago connection. When I passed it, I said, ‘Come on Marly’ and he made it,” he said.

Had the Bandits won, Calgary’s already low playoff chances would’ve been nearly zero. 

Bandits’ Head Coach Ransford Brempong said that after losses to Calgary on both July 5 and July 9,  winning and putting a nail into the Surge’s coffin was a large point of emphasis heading into Tuesday’s game.

“I’m not holding no punches, I’m tired of losing to them, but I gotta give them the credit,” he said post-game.

“The league is interesting like that. There’s certain teams that always seem to have certain other teams’ numbers.”

Midway through the fourth quarter, the Bandits held as large as a seven-point lead over the Surge. Brempong said that from his point of view, some suspect calls from the referees played into Calgary’s comeback.

“There was consecutive four or five calls that were questionable when the game was on the line, and we were up by seven; next thing you know, I look and we’re down by one,” he said.

“It’s a game of runs and I don’t want to make excuses, but that’s a factor.” 

Surge faithful needed for strong finish

After a disappointing home loss to the Saskatoon Mamba on Sunday night, Surge Head Coach David Deaveiro said that his team played more like themselves on Tuesday.

Chaney and Sincere Carry, the team’s point guards, each bring a different feel to the game, Deaveiro said.

“Armani, he’s a scorer; (Carry) gets into the paint and distributes. Armani’s much more of a three-point scorer and when he’s got it going, you got to let him go. Those two guys really balance each other out,” he said.

The now 6-14 Surge sit two games behind the Edmonton Stingers with back-to-back games against their provincial rivals this weekend.

Deaveiro said that for Friday night’s home game against the Stingers, the Surge will need home crowd help.

“I want to thank the fans that are here. It’s really easy to jump off the ship when we’re not successful, but the fans that are coming and supporting us made a big difference,” he said.

“Hopefully we can get some more on Friday because when they show up, they make a big difference; our guys would really appreciate it.” 

Four games remain in the Surge’s 2026 regular season, with games at home on Friday, July 24 and Friday, July 31.