South Bay Falls Just Short of Comeback Win

The South Bay Lakers played their eleventh game of the season against the Santa Cruz Warriors as they fell, 117-119, on Friday night. Scotty Pippen Jr. and Bryce Hamilton led the Lakers (7-4) in scoring with 20 points each. Moses Moody paced the Warriors (5-7), scoring 26 points.

The opposition got off to a quick start behind a trifecta of Moses Moody three-point shots. After trailing by six mid-way through the quarter, a quick seven points in just a minute of play from Scotty Pippen Jr. helped the Lakers get back into the game. South Bay trailed 34-39 going into the second period. Missed opportunities on the offensive end, coupled with a season-high seven turnovers in the quarter, made the second frame one to forget. A late three-pointer from Javante McCoy cut the Warriors lead down to 11 going into the break, 56-67. Pippen Jr. and McCoy both put up 12 points in the half. For Santa Cruz, Moody and Lester Quinones scored 15 and 14 points respectively.

South Bay got back to the basics at the start of the third, defensive stops enabled them to get out in transition, while offensive rebounds gave them much needed second chance points. After a short flurry from Santa Cruz, a defensive possession with three blocks from Jay Huff and one from Nate Pierre-Louis that turned into an alley-oop from the pair on the other end, seemed to give L.A. all the momentum towards the end of the quarter. However, a pair of threes from Santa Cruz right after South Bay had taken the lead helped them regain control. South Bay trailed, 87-94, going into the final period.

The Lakers had very little margin for error going into the fourth quarter. With their shooting woes continuing, shooting just 15% from distance heading into the period, something needed to change. A 10-3 run sparked by consecutive Cole Swider three’s cut the Warriors lead down to three with seven minutes left. The final stretch was tension filled with both team’s neck and neck. Down 112-116, Pippen Jr. hit a step back three to cut the lead to one, on the following defensive possession, Shaq Harrison forced a steal and finished with layup on the other end to give South Bay only their second lead of the game. With South Bay up 117-116, Jordan Schakel hit a corner three-point shot to give Santa Cruz the win, 117-119.

Pippen Jr. put together a final line of 20 points four rebounds and seven assists. Hamilton added 20 points, and seven rebounds. Jay Huff contributed 13 points a, season high fourteen rebounds, and five blocks. McCoy put up 18 points, 10 rebounds and five assists off the bench. For the Warriors, Moody scored 26 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Quinones scored 20 points of his own while Ryan Rollins contributed 18 off the bench.

South Bay’s next game is a rematch against the Warriors on Sunday, January 29 at 5:00pm from the UCLA Health Training Center.