Santa Cruz Warriors Look to Get Even with Texas Legends

The Santa Cruz Warriors go into Saturday looking to avenge Friday’s loss to the Texas Legends.

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The Santa Cruz Warriors were unable to get the win Friday night at Kaiser Permanente Arena against the Texas Legends, losing 115-108. The Sea Dubs move to 4-4 on the season as they prepare for Saturday night’s rematch against Texas.

Verdell Jones III paced Santa Cruz on Friday, posting 26 points and five rebounds going 8-of-14. Elliot Williams tallied 24 points, seven rebounds, and nine assists to follow Jones, and rookie Jarred Shaw added in 17 points and eight rebounds.

Texas Legends starting guard Tu Holloway led all scorers with a game-high 36 points, six rebounds and nine assists. Right behind Holloway was Legends starting forward Brandon Ashley, who dropped in 23 points and five rebounds, while Micheal Eric recorded a double-double on the night with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

It was an incredibly exciting game in Surf City as Santa Cruz and Texas would exchange baskets for much of the game. Texas would start out on a 10-point lead in the opening quarter, which would be erased in the second quarter and replaced with a 5-point lead for the Warriors.

The second half would open with Santa Cruz battling to retain the lead, which the Warriors would keep going into the fourth following a 4-point play from Verdell Jones late in the quarter. Unfortunately, the Warriors would let the game get away from them, allowing Texas to go on a 12-4 run with just about four minutes left in the game.

Something to note for Santa Cruz: starting forward Darington Hobson and starting guard Ronnie Brewer have been out of commission for at least the past couple games, which has forced head coach Casey Hill to utilize a small rotation of eight players. Coach Hill spoke to the media on the matter after the game.

“It’s a good learning experience for all of us, not just for me, but for the team,” Hill said. “It’s important that we manage a time like this both emotionally and physically with a good sense of perspective, and it’s important that we keep that perspective when we communicate with each other during frustrating times…and I think they’re doing that.

“I thought they fought their hearts out tonight, and I think they should have won.”

Not using the small rotation as an excuse, however, Coach Hill also spoke on how disappointed he’s been with the team’s defense, comparing Santa Cruz’s transition defense to “seventh grade basketball.”

“We have an issue with defense right now. We don’t have much of a desire to play it, and that’s gotta start in practice,” said Hill.

“We traded baskets with them (Texas) all night. You can’t do that in this league.”

In addition, Hill talked about how frustrated he’s been with the team in practice, adding in that even he’s had to “literally put uniforms on” to practice with the team due to Santa Cruz only having eight players available.

“The other thing is this group doesn’t practice well either,” Hill said. “They’re not a very good practice team, and I’ve told them that a multitude of times.”

“We gotta get better in practice. And if we get better in practice, we’ll get better on the court.”

The Santa Cruz Warriors will have their rematch against Texas Legends on Saturday night at KP Arena at 7:00 PM/PT. Fans can watch the game on the NBA D-League’s YouTube channel, or on KOTR Channel 11/Channel 187 in Santa Cruz on Comcast.

If you missed Friday’s game against the Texas Legends, you can watch that game by clicking the video below: