South Bay Drops Home Battle to Delaware

The South Bay Lakers (1-4) were defeated by the Delaware Blue Coats (5-1) 103-99 Tuesday night in El Segundo. The Lakers came back from a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter but were unable to sustain the lead through the final buzzer.

In his third start and appearance of the regular season, Lakers two-way forward Armel Traoré posted his first double-double of the campaign with 18 points and 15 rebounds to go with three assists. Guard Sir’Jabari Rice tallied his fourth double-digit point performance with 17 points off the bench along with six rebounds, one assist, two steals and one block. Rice played the entire fourth quarter and notched seven points in the frame, including a pullup shot to take the lead with 10:24 to play. Guard Jordan Goodwin tallied 16 points, four rebounds, five assists and one block off the bench. Guard DaJuan Gordon rounded out the offense with 16 points, five rebounds, one assist, two steals and two blocks while guard Devonte’ Graham had 14 points along with eight assists, four steals and one block in his first home game with South Bay.

Blue Coats forward Isaiah Mobley recorded a game-high 28 points to go with seven rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block. Guard Jared Brownridge tallied 23 points, three assists and one steal while guard Judah Mintz posted a 19-point, 10-assist double-double with three steals. Guard Thierry Darlan’s layup in the fourth quarter ignited the Blue Coats’ 6-0 run to procure the road victory. Darlan finished the game with 11 points, six rebounds and one block.

The South Bay Lakers will hit the road for their next three contests as they take on the Stockton Kings Jan. 10, Indiana Mad Ants Jan. 14 and the Kings once more Jan. 22. The Lakers will then return home to play the Rip City Remix Jan. 24 at 7 p.m. at UCLA Health Training Center. Fans can click here to purchase tickets.