Latest news with #SeanEastII
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Former Mizzou Guard Emerges as MVP Candidate in Canadian Basketball League
Former Mizzou Guard Emerges as MVP Candidate in Canadian Basketball League originally appeared on Athlon Sports. One former Missouri Tigers guard is making lots of noise in the Canadian basketball scene. Advertisement Sean East II, who played his final collegiate season as a graduate student in 2024, is turning heads in his rookie season up north. Signed by the Edmonton Stingers of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) in April, East II has put up impressive numbers through his first 15 games — averaging 24.4 points, 5.2 assists, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game. As his assistant coach Eric Fawcett points out, he's doing it all with remarkable efficiency, shooting 51.9% from three, 57.7% from the floor, and 93.2% from the charity stripe. In his best season at Mizzou (2023-24), East II averaged 17.6 points, 4 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game. Before arriving in Edmonton, the 6-foot-3 guard played 10 games for CSM Constanța of the Romanian Basketball League during his first professional season, averaging 24.4 points and 4.8 rebounds. Advertisement The former Tiger is quickly becoming an MVP candidate within the league, making a name for himself with every game. In a standout performance against the Montreal Alliance, the Louisville, Kentucky native led the Stingers to a 94-83 victory, posting a season-high 35 points, six assists, and four steals. 'If he's not the MVP of the league at the midway point, I don't know who is,' said Stingers head coach Jordan Baker. 'He's carried us a lot of the time, and now we've got guys playing alongside him that are pretty damn good too.' Despite shouldering a heavy load, East II remains humble. 'I give the credit to my teammates and my coaching staff. They're letting me play. My teammates are finding me when I'm open, we're moving the ball well. We started [the season] out slow… but we finally found our team and I think we're moving in the right direction,' East II said. Advertisement As mentioned, the Stingers didn't start the season too hot, going 2-4 in their first six games. However, with East II leading the charge, they've turned things around—now riding a five-game win streak and sitting at 9-6. He was recently named CEBL Weekly host Esfandiar Baraheni's mid-season MVP, showing strong early returns in his first season in the league. With just nine games remaining in the regular season, the former Tiger has taken the CEBL by storm, and he doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon. It wouldn't be too surprising to see East II pick up interest from top European or NBA teams in the coming months, as he could easily fit on a roster as a gritty two-way player with the ability to control game tempo — someone who likely won't be on the secondary market for much longer. Advertisement Related: Mizzou Becomes Favorite to Land Top-5 Class of 2026 Recruit This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 9, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Calgary Surge fall to Stingers, dropping 2025 CEBL Battle of Alberta series
The always entertaining Battle of Alberta has come to an end for the time being. With a 113-90 victory over the Calgary Surge on Sunday, the Edmonton Stingers not only took the inter-province season series 2-1, but they also extended their league-best win streak to five consecutive games. The host Stingers improved to 9-6 with the win, now just a half-game back of the Calgary crew, which fell to 9-5 and into second place in the West. Leading that charge for the Stingers, as they hit a new season-high in scoring and the largest Target Score mark of any team this season, was Scottie Lindsey with 29 points on 7-for-11 from beyond the arc. Behind him was Sean East II, who chipped in 22 points, six rebounds and 10 assists, and Nick Hornsby, who added 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists as part of five different Edmonton players to reach double figures in scoring. 'We're in a groove,' Lindsey said after Edmonton extended its win streak. 'We took a tough loss to Montreal, and even since then, we've been locked in, in a different way.' Meanwhile, Calgary native Olumide Adelodun led the way for the Surge as he finished with 25 points on 6-of-10 shooting from distance off the bench. Greg Brown III and Jamarko Pickett each scored 16 and 12 points respectively. 'We allowed their runs to affect us,' Adelodun said post-game. 'We let play after play roll over, and we didn't fight back after that … just too much for us to come back.' The lopsided outcome was a surprise considering both of the previous two Battle of Alberta matchups this season had been decided by a combined five points — the first half of Sunday's contest proving similar. Neither team went ahead by more than 10 points through the first 20 minutes as Calgary led 43-40 at halftime. But then the third quarter happened. Edmonton opened the second half on a 17-0 run en route to a league-record 42 points in the third quarter, one shy of the most points scored in any frame all-time. Calgary's first basket of the second half didn't come until he 6:08 mark of the third, a Sean Miller-Moore triple, to which Edmonton immediately replied with an 11-0 run as it carved out an 82-64 lead ahead of the fourth. 'We had two close games with (Calgary) already this season, so we knew them well,' Lindsey explained. 'We just wanted to come out and protect home court, and we did that in the second half.' The Stingers built that lead as high as 29 points throughout the final frame, ultimately carrying a 103-79 edge into Target Score Time. 'Great third quarter,' Stingers head coach Jordan Baker said on what made the difference in the win. 'We felt the energy in this building from the fans, and it was easy to get on a run.' Underscoring Edmonton's CEBL-record second-half scoring output of 73 points was a drastic turnaround from beyond the arc. The League's No. 1 three-point percentage (37.7) team entering Sunday, starting the contest just 1-for-14. Yet they caught fire as the game went on, making 10 of their next 16 attempts from distance — fittingly ending the ball game on a Lindsey triple from the right wing. 'We didn't play our brand of defence or our brand of basketball,' Surge head coach Caleb Canales said after the loss. 'Which led to us not playing efficient offence … just have to give them credit, they had a great game today.' Meanwhile, the Stingers also did plenty of damage inside the arc, outscoring the Surge 60-32 in the paint as Edmonton shot 57 per cent on two-pointers to Calgary's 36 per cent. Much of which was predicated on the Stingers' commitment to ball movement as they finished with 27 assists (plus-16) on as many turnovers (12) as the Surge. Next up is Surge2Stampede, with the host Surge facing the Montreal Alliance (6-7) on Wednesday night at the Saddledome (7:30 p.m.).
