South Bay Victorious Over Santa Cruz in Home Finale

The South Bay Lakers (15-17) defeated the Santa Cruz Warriors (18-14) 134-130 Tuesday night at home at UCLA Health Training Center. Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James, currently on assignment, tallied 17 points, six rebounds, a team-high nine assists and two steals. 

Warriors forward Blake Hinson led Santa Cruz to a 42-37-point lead in the first quarter, scoring 14 of his own while Lakers guard Sir’Jabari Rice tallied 11 points for South Bay. The Warriors outshot the Lakers from beyond the arc in the second period by a 66.7 percent to 44.4 percent margin to finish the half nine points ahead. South Bay overtook Santa Cruz with less than five minutes to play in the third period, but the Warriors fought back to enter the fourth period with a 104-100-point lead. In a back-and-forth final quarter with nine lead changes, the Lakers drained 13 baskets from deep over the Warriors’ six made threes to secure their final home game of the 2024-25 season.

Lakers guard Quincy Olivari scored a game-high 33 points with eight rebounds, eight assists and one steal. Rice notched a regular-season high 28 points with two rebounds, one assist and one steal off the bench. Guard Jhonathan Dunn tallied his third 20+ point regular-season game with 20 points, five rebounds, two assists and one steal, draining six 3-pointers made on nine attempts. Center Kylor Kelley contributed 14 points, eight rebounds, one assist and two blocks while forward Stanley Johnson added 13 points, seven rebounds, six assists, a team-high three steals and one block.

Warriors two-way forward Jackson Rowe scored a team-high 22 points to go with seven rebounds and one block. Hinson finished with 21 points, four rebounds, five assists, one steal and a game-high three blocks. Two-way forward Braxton Key registered 21 points, seven rebounds, five assists, one steal and two blocks. Forward Javan Johnson recorded 19 points, three assists and one steal while two-way guard Taran Armstrong added 15 points, six rebounds, nine assists, one steal and one block off the bench. Guard Yuri Collins coupled 12 points and 13 assists with one rebound and one steal.

The South Bay Lakers finish out the 2024-25 season in a back-to-back at the Iowa Wolves March 28 and March 29 at 4:30 p.m. PST. Fans can click here to watch.