EL SEGUNDO – The South Bay Lakers fell to the Reno Bighorns, 135-124, on Friday night. The Lakers (26-16) were led by Alex Caruso and James Southerland, who both picked up double-doubles and led the team in scoring. Aaron Harrison paced the Bighorns (23-17) with 29 points off the bench as Reno shot 52.5 percent from the field and 51.5 percent from three-point range to take the win.
The Bighorns got out to a slight 32-29 lead through one, behind 10 points from JaKarr Sampson. Caruso and Southerland combined for 16 points to keep the Lakers within striking distance. Harrison came alive with 17 points in the second quarter alone as the Bighorns took a 71-63 halftime lead. Caruso scored 13 more in the second to reach 20 first half points as he kept the Lakers close.
The Lakers cut the lead to two after three, 104-102, as Caruso and Scott Machado each scored nine points. Marcus Williams scored eight points in the third to lead the Bighorns. David Stockton scored 10 points off the bench in the fourth as Reno pulled away to take the season series, 3-1, from South Bay.
Harrison’s 29 points led the Bighorns off the bench and Sampson added 24 points before fouling out and being thrown out of the game after picking up two technical fouls. Matt Jones and Stockton each scored 17 points, while Jack Cooley (16 points) and Williams (13 points) also finished in double figures for Reno.
Double-doubles from Caruso (35 points, 10 assists) and Southerland (27 points, 10 rebounds) paced the Lakers, while Machado added 24 points off the bench. Birthday boy Demarcus Holland scored 14 points as the only other Laker to score in double digits. Despite the loss, the Lakers made a season-high 32 free throws on a 91.4 percent clip.
The South Bay Lakers will look to bounce back tomorrow night when they host the Oklahoma City Blue on Saturday, March 3 at 7:00 from the UCLA Health Training Center.
