South Bay Drops Home Contest to Oklahoma City

The South Bay Lakers (3-10) fell to the Oklahoma City Blue (8-8) 105-101 Monday night at UCLA Health Training Center. Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James, currently on assignment, scored 16 points while adding three rebounds, five assists, three steals and one block.  

The Lakers dominated the first period, outscoring the Blue 33-16 while grabbing a season-high 17 boards in a quarter. South Bay stayed aggressive through the half, finishing up 14 points with guard Quincy Olivari leading the pack with 11 points off the bench. Forward Miller Kopp ignited Oklahoma City’s comeback in the second half, tallying 12 of the Blue’s 31 points in the third period. With over 10 minutes to go in the final quarter of play, the Blue narrowed in on the Lakers and trailed by just four as the Lakers aimed to split away. South Bay responded and extended the lead to 14 points as Olivari drained a three from deep followed by a dunk by two-way forward Armel Traoré with 6:38 to go in regulation. A 15-3 run by the Blue secured the victory as Kopp landed a 3-pointer with 26.7 seconds on the clock. 

Olivari scored a team-high 23 points to go with six rebounds, six assists and one steal. Two-way center Trey Jemison recorded his second straight contest in double-figure scoring with 12 points to go with five rebounds and one steal. Guard Jordan Goodwin tallied his 10th regular season outing in double-figure scoring with 14 points, nine rebounds, three assists and one steal while two-way forward Armel Traoré finished in double-figure boards with 10 rebounds to go with nine points and three assists. 

Oklahoma City guard Jahmi’us Ramsey dropped a game-high 26 points off the bench with five rebounds, three assists and one steal. Kopp finished with 20 points, five rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block. Forward Malevy Leons notched a 14-point, 12-rebound double-double with six assists and two steals. 

The South Bay Lakers next play the Stars in Salt Lake City before returning home to play the Valley Suns at UCLA Health Training Center Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. Fans can click here to purchase tickets.