Warriors Beat Stars In Overtime, 109-104

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ORLANDO, FL – The Santa Cruz Warriors (4-3) beat the Salt Lake City Stars (1-6), 109-104, in overtime Saturday night. Golden State Warriors assignment guard Jordan Poole scored 15 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and overtime and Santa Cruz was perfect from the line (21-21 FT including 9-9 in overtime) to earn their third straight win (2-0 in overtime this season).

With 1:51 left in the fourth, the Stars regained the lead for the first time since the 4:01 mark in the first quarter. The two teams went back and forth the final 90 seconds and were tied (96-96) with 5.1 second to go. Stars guard Malik Benlevi missed a three at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.

The Stars jumped out to an early 8-0 lead after the Warriors missed their first six shots of the game. Despite committing 15 first half turnovers the Warriors took a three-point lead into the half, 50-47.

The Warriors were without three starters Saturday night: guards Jeremy Lin and Nico Mannion along forward Dwayne Sutton. Santa Cruz had six players score in double-figures and forward Axel Toupane returned from injury to score 17 points and nine rebounds. Guard Isaiah Reese dished out seven assists and seven points in his first start of the season. Guard Nate Hinton and forward Kaleb Wesson each added 13 points off the bench.

The Stars scored 32 points on 24 Warriors turnovers. Tonight’s game marked the first time the Stars have scored over 100 points this season. Guard Yogi Ferrell led all scorers with 28 points including 4-of-9 from beyond the arc.

Santa Cruz will face the Agua Caliente Clippers on February 22 at 4:00 p.m. (PST) on NBC Sports Bay Area. For more information on the Santa Cruz Warriors, visit santacruzbasketball.com or call (831) 713-4400.