After back-to-back trips to the CEBL Finals, the Scarborough Shooting Stars can now call themselves champions after taking down the Calgary Surge 82-70 in the 2023 CEBL championship game.
Isiaha Mike, a late addition to the Scarborough roster this season, gave the Surge fits throughout the game and stuffed the stat sheet with 22 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists. Mike was also named the CEBL Finals Most Valuable Player for his efforts.
The game itself was, in many ways, a classic Scarborough Shooting Stars script. Calgary surged out of the gates to a 15-5 lead on the back of Jordy Tshimanga, who had a 15-point, 15-rebound double-double, and the Surge led 19-16 after one quarter – but an offensive explosion from Scarborough and suffocating defense awaited on the other side of the break.
Scarborough opened the second quarter with a 10-point run, and the Shooting Stars, a team who once struggled to contain scorers just a month ago, locked up the Surge defensively. No team this postseason was able to score more than 74 points against them, and Calgary was held to 38 percent from the field and 20 percent from three-point range.
Cat Barber, the engine of the Scarborough offense all year, began to take over in the third quarter. Barber had 23 points and five assists, and Kyree Walker, who was one of the key figures of the defensive turnaround for the Shooting Stars, had 17 points and four rebounds as Scarborough mounted a 15-point lead in the third.
Despite the offensive issues, Calgary had four players reach double-digit scoring, along with Tshimanga. Stefan Smith had 14 points and five assists. Terry Henderson had 11 points and four rebounds, and Sean Miller-Moore had 10 points and six rebounds.
The Barber-Walker duo would team up for an 8-2 run that all but sealed the game for Scarborough, and for one final time, Barber sealed a victory for the Shooting Stars, driving to the rim and finding a lane for a layup in Elam time.
Photo courtesy CEBL
Scarborough Shooting Stars vs. Calgary Surge boxscore click HERE.
