South Bay Lakers Close Out Regular Season

The South Bay Lakers fell to the Mexico City Capitanes by a 120-108 final tally Saturday evening at UCLA Health Training Center, in their regular season finale. Bryce Hamilton paced South Bay in scoring with 33. Ethan Thompson led the way for Mexico City with 42.

Similar to the night before, the Lakers slow start found them behind by double digits early on. However, instead of waiting to till the second half to mount a comeback, South Bay quickly fought all the way back to take a lead of their own. Vincent Valerio-Bodon led the Lakers with 11 in the period, the Lakers were ahead 29-27 after one.

The second quarter was back and forth, with both teams clamping down on the defensive end. Capitanes guard Ethan Thompson led the way at the half with 16 points and eight rebounds. Hamilton scored nine in the half for the Lakers, who trailed at the break, 53-56.

The second half continued to be very competitive, but a 11-2 Capitanes run near the end of the third period saw Mexico City build their first significant cushion since the opening frame. South Bay trailed 75-86 going into final frame. Down by as many as 14 in the fourth, South Bay put together a 17-6 run to bring the game to within two. South Bay was unable to get over the hump in the final minutes, eventually falling 120-108.

Hamilton finished with 33 points, three rebounds, two assists, and four steals in 45 minutes, while Shaq Harrison added 16 points and 14 assists in 44 minutes. Damion Baugh tallied 19 points to go along with 11 boards, six assists and five steals.

For the Capitanes, Thompson registered 42 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out nine assists, while Iverson Molinar posted 23 points, brought down four rebounds and shelled out five assists.