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G League Santa Cruz Warriors

Verdell Jones III Leads Santa Cruz Past the Vipers

February 23, 2016 - NBA G League (G League)
Santa Cruz Warriors News Release


HIDALGO, Tex. - The defending NBA D-League Champion Santa Cruz Warriors (13-22) defeated the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (18-17) 107-84 on Tuesday at State Farm Arena.

Verdell Jones III paced the Warriors with 40 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists. Aaron Craft recorded a double-double finishing with 15 points and 11 assists and Chris Udofia also notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Ronnie Brewer added 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 steals.

Jaron Johnson led the Vipers with 18 points, followed by Will Cummings with 16 points. Jordan Hamilton added 12 points, while Houston Rockets assignee Sam Dekker added 10 points.

The opening minutes of the first quarter saw a tight battle for the edge until the Warriors broke away with a 9-2 run for a seven-point lead with 7:32 on the clock. Santa Cruz would ultimately outscore the Vipers 26-22 to enter the second period on top.

The next time the Vipers seized the lead was midway through the second quarter when Carlino made a jumpshot to give the hosts a one-point lead. Santa Cruz's Udofia responded with a layup for Santa Cruz, but Livingston followed with a layup to put Rio Grande Valley up 35-34, marking their final lead of the game. The Warriors answered with a 14-2 run to take a 13-point advantage, the largest lead of the night, and would enter the locker room leading by 10.

Santa Cruz continued to control the game throughout the second half. The Vipers closed their deficit to 7 points twice near the end of the third quarter, but could not overcome the Warriors. Jones scored 24 of his total 40 points in the second half to lead Santa Cruz to the 107-84 win.

The Santa Cruz Warriors will return home to take on the Reno Bighorns on Friday at 8:00 p.m. PST. Fans can watch the game on ESPNU.

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