South Bay Falls to Oklahoma City

The South Bay Lakers (3-9) fell to the Oklahoma City Blue (7-8) 126-92 Saturday night at UCLA Health Training Center. Forward Solomon Young led South Bay with 20 points, seven rebounds, one steal and one block in his first 20-point game of the regular season.

Oklahoma City controlled the paint in the first half of play, outscoring the Lakers 28-16 in the paint while outshooting South Bay by a 53.5 to 40.0 percent margin. The Blue took a 62-49 lead into the break. A third quarter push by the Lakers fell short as Oklahoma City outscored South Bay 32-20 to extend its lead to 25. The Blue widened the gap to as many as 42 points in the final period, sealing the victory behind guard-forward Buddy Boeheim, who drained his 10th three-pointer with over seven minutes to play.

Lakers two-way forward Armel Traoré posted his fifth double-digit scoring game of the regular season, finishing with 16 points, nine rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block. Guards Jordan Goodwin and Quincy Olivari each added 10 points, with Goodwin recording a game-high four steals. Oklahoma City dominated offensively, outshooting South Bay from the field by a 54.8 to 35.4 percent margin while draining 15 three-pointers over the Lakers’ 10 from deep.   

Boeheim led the Blue, recording a game-high 30 points off the bench while adding four rebounds, one assist and one steal. Guard Javonte Cooke posted 18 points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal, while center Noah Starkey notched a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double off the bench to go with five assists, one steal and a game-high three blocks. Oklahoma City Thunder guard-forward Dillon Jones, currently on assignment, finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

The South Bay Lakers play the Oklahoma City Blue once more at home at UCLA Health Training Center Feb. 3 at 5 p.m. Fans can click here to purchase tickets.