SANTA CRUZ, CA – The South Bay Lakers had seven players reach double figures, but Santa Cruz relied on the duo of Quinn Cook and Terrence Jones to get the 131-127 overtime win on Sunday night. Thomas Bryant scored 28 points for South Bay (22-14), but Cook’s 41 points and Jones’ double-double gave the Warriors (19-17) their first win over South Bay this season.
Santa Cruz got out to an early 34-30 lead through one behind 10 points from Cook and nine points from Jones in the first. Bryant had eight points of his own to pace South Bay. The Lakers picked up the pace in the second quarter as Stephaun Branch and Scott Machado combined for 14 points to give their team a 64-56 lead at the half.
Santa Cruz fought back in the third as they shot 73.9 percent from the field and Cook’s 17 points bested Travis Wear’s 11 points to give the Warriors a 96-92 lead heading into the final frame. The two teams continued to go at it in the fourth as South Bay was led by Bryant’s 12 points. With South Bay down two and seconds to go, Machado missed a pair of free throws, but Wear grabbed the rebound and put in the shot to send the game to overtime.
However in overtime, Cook scored seven points and the Lakers went 0-3 from beyond the arc as Santa Cruz grabbed the win.
Cook (41 points, six assists) and Jones (31 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists) fueled the Warriors, while Golden State assignee Damian Jones (16 points, 10 rebounds) also grabbed a double-double. Winston Shepard (13 points) and Damion Lee (11 points, five rebounds) also scored in double figures for Santa Cruz.
Bryant’s productive night (28 points, six rebounds, five assists, two blocks) paced the Lakers while Branch (15 points, 12 rebounds) and Machado (15 points, seven rebounds, 11 assists) each grabbed a double-double for South Bay. Gary Payton II (23 points, seven assists) and Wear (20 points) had strong performances to go along with double-digit scoring from Demarcus Holland (10 points) and Andre Ingram (13 points).
The South Bay Lakers will return home for the second leg of a back-to-back when they host the Texas Legends on Monday, February 12 at 7:00 from the UCLA Health Training Center.
