South Bay Wins Fourth Straight

The South Bay Lakers played their ninth game of the season against the Salt Lake City Stars as they won, 125-120, on Tuesday night. Scotty Pippen Jr. led the Lakers (6-3) in scoring with 35 points. Tyler Cook paced the Stars (4-6), scoring 32 points.

South Bay got off to a quick start, opening an early 20-10 lead in the first quarter. Salt Lake City quickly responded with a 7-0 run of their own to stifle South Bay’s early charge. However, strong guard play from Shaq Harrison and Scotty Pippen Jr. helped South Bay extend their lead, carrying a 34-21 advantage into the second period. Rawle Alkins led Salt Lake City in first quarter scoring with six points. Both teams traded buckets in the second frame. Pippen Jr. and Harrison continued to lead the way for South Bay, scoring 14 and 11 points respectively in the first half. Salt Lake City center Tyler Cook provided 14 of his own for the Stars. The Lakers took an eleven-point lead into the break, 60-49.

Quarter three was tightly contested with South Bay narrowly edging the period 38-36. Devin Cannady and L.J. Figueroa came alive for the Lakers scoring nine and seven points each. Figueroa was able to grab two offensive rebounds, converting both into baskets, giving South Bay several second chance opportunities. Frank Jackson led the way for Salt Lake City in the third with eight points, while Jeenathan Williams and Alkins both added six off the bench. The Lakers led 98-85 going into the final period.

The fourth quarter started with Pippen Jr. scoring 9 points in the first three minutes to extend South Bay’s lead to 15. Salt Lake City then went on a 22-8 run during the next seven minutes to cut the Lakers lead down to a single point with two minutes left. However, a key Figueroa floater gave the Lakers the cushion they needed to close the game out 125-120.

Pippen Jr. put together a final line of 35 points, four rebounds, and two assists. Harrison added 25 points, six assists and three steals while L.J. Figueroa contributed 16 points and 10 rebounds, his fourth double-double of the season. For the Stars, Cook put up 32 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Alkins and Jackson added 23 and 20 points off the bench.

South Bay’s next game will be a rematch against Salt Lake City on Thursday, December 1 at 7:00pm from the UCLA Health and Training Center.