Sports stats



G League Santa Cruz Warriors

Warriors' Comeback Falls Short against D-Fenders

March 23, 2014 - NBA G League (G League)
Santa Cruz Warriors News Release


EL SEGUNDO, Calif. - The Santa Cruz Warriors fell to the Los Angeles D-Fenders 140-121 Saturday night. With five regular season games remaining, the Warriors are now two games behind Los Angeles for first place in the West Division, and their "magic number" to clinch a playoff berth is down to three - a combination of Santa Cruz Warriors wins and Idaho Stampede losses.

Santa Cruz was led by Cameron Jones, who tied a career-high with 31 points and was a perfect 14-14 from the free throw line (tying a Santa Cruz Warriors all-time record for free throws made). Ognjen Kuzmic, currently on assignment from the Golden State Warriors, logged his sixth double-double of the season with 12 points and 14 rebounds, while Joe Alexander scored 20 points. Lance Goulbourne also had a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Hilton Armstrong scored 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Golden State Warriors assignee Nemanja Nedovic scored six points and dished out a team-high eight assists.

Los Angeles was paced by Brandon Costner, who led all scorers with a season-high 38 points and 14 boards. Shawne Williams scored 20, while C.J. Williams had 18 points. Terrence Williams scored 15 points and dished out a game-high 13 assists, while Josh Magette and Andre Ingram also scored 15 points each. James Southerland scored 16 points off the bench.

There were three lead changes in the game - all in the first minute of play. Los Angeles went ahead 5-4 on a Brandon Costner layup with 11:02 remaining in the first and held on to the lead for the rest of the contest. The D-Fenders extended their advantage to 25 in the second quarter, but the Warriors went on a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to 15 with 5:14 left in the first half. Los Angeles scored 44 points in the third quarter, powered by 14 points apiece from Shawne Williams and Brandon Costner, and held as much as a 32-point lead in the frame. Santa Cruz mounted a fourth quarter comeback to cut the deficit to 10 with 2:12 left in the game, but the D-Fenders scored nine straight to secure the 19-point victory.

Los Angeles outshot the Warriors (49.0%-47.1%), handed out more assists (34-25), collected more steals (13-5) and committed fewer turnovers (8-18). Santa Cruz grabbed more rebounds (62-44) and scored more points in the paint (80-40).

The Santa Cruz Warriors will return to Los Angeles to face the D-Fenders on Saturday, March 29 at 6:30 p.m. The Warriors currently own the 4-3 advantage on the season series heading into the contest. Fans can listen to the broadcast on the Santa Cruz Warriors flagship station, KION 1460AM/101.1FM, or stream it on the NBA D-League's YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/nbadleague.

Check out the Santa Cruz Warriors Statistics

• Discuss this story on the NBA G League message board...

NBA G League Stories from March 23, 2014


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central