Santa Cruz Warriors Fight Their Out of A Jam vs. Bakersfield

The Santa Cruz Warriors move to 9-4 after defeating the Bakersfield Jam 99-93.

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — The Santa Cruz Warriors took the 2-1 regular season series lead over the Bakersfield Jam on Friday night, winning 99-93 at Kaiser Permanente Arena.

More from Warriors News

• 3x champion may come to regret forgoing Golden State Warriors reunion
• Golden State Warriors: History shows USA may need Stephen Curry for more than the Olympics
• Golden State Warriors villain pours on more pain to end USA’s World Cup
• Golden State Warriors: Stephen Curry continues philanthropic efforts off the court
• The Dream starting 5 for the Warriors 5 years from now

It was an incredibly close game for much of the night, as both teams continually exchanged baskets right down to the final five minutes of gameplay. It was at that time that Santa Cruz veteran Darington Hobson was able to get a dagger three-pointer to go, giving Santa Cruz a six-point lead.

Speaking to the media after the game, Hobson talked about his fourth quarter play, saying that it was simply a change in attitude that pushed him to be the scorer the team needed late.

“First half, I just looked to get my teammates involved; in the second half, I tried to become more aggressive,” Hobson said. “That’s all it was, just trying to be more aggressive.”

Hobson had eight points of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, also adding in nine rebounds and six assists on 8-for-16 shooting (50 percent). Elliot Williams was the leading scorer for the Sea Dubs, recording a double-double with 23 points and 11 assists to go with his six assists. Verdell Jones finished with 17 points on 5-for-11 shooting (45.5 percent).

Earl Clark, best known for his contributions to the Los Angeles Lakers and formerly of the Brooklyn Nets this past year, paced the Jam on Saturday with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Xavier Munford was also impressive for Bakersfield, tallying 24 points, while his backcourt mate, Renaldo Major, had 15.

The final box score of the game doesn’t accurately depict just how great of a game this was, with each team trading off in what seemed like every single possession. Santa Cruz owned Bakersfield in both the second and fourth quarters, each time shooting better than 50 percent from the field while holding the Jam to under 20 points. The real struggle was in the first and third quarters, as Santa Cruz allowed Bakersfield to shoot nearly 60 percent.

Santa Cruz head coach Casey Hill summed up the game for the media afterwards, focusing on his team’s stellar fourth quarter execution.

“We’ve kind of proven that this team is kind of a fourth quarter team.” said Hill. “If you look at our fourth quarters over the last couple games, we’ve been pretty efficient, and pretty good defensively, as well. So it’s always nice to know you have that in your back pocket I guess, but I don’t want to rely on it for too long.”

When asked to elaborate on Santa Cruz being a fourth quarter team and whether it was a case of specific defensive adjustments or simply the case of being more “locked in” in the fourth, Hill quickly and confidently affirmed the latter.

“I didn’t make many adjustments defensively tonight,” Hill said. “We did a couple things on the ball screens and then we switched a couple times, but for the most part, we stayed the same.”

“Our sense of urgency was way higher in that fourth quarter. That’s why they (Bakersfield) only scored 17 points.”

Coincidentally, the Golden State Warriors were being forced to lock in during their fourth quarter at Oracle Arena, resulting in a 121-112 comeback win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

And speaking of the fourth quarter, it was at the 6:29 mark in the fourth that Daniel Orton — who finished with 10 points and a game-high four blocks — was subbed out after suffering what appeared to be an ankle injury. Coach Hill assured the media that it wasn’t too serious.

“He’ll be fine,” said Hill. “I don’t think it’s anything to be super concerned over.”

But as great of a performance Santa Cruz put on in Friday’s comeback win, it was UFC Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold that really stole the show. A Santa Cruz native, Rockhold was honored with a small ceremony at halftime, during which he was presented with a declaration from the city’s mayor, Cynthia Mathews, stating that December 18 would be known as “Luke Rockhold Day” in Santa Cruz.

“It was unreal,” Rockhold said when asked about the halftime ceremony. “To have my own day in Santa Cruz…it’s pretty awesome.”

Rockhold also had some time just to chat with the media, recalling his love for basketball and even stating that he can still dunk a basketball. Though a mixed martial artist by trade, there was a time that Rockhold had thought he’d follow in the footsteps of his father, Steve, who played professional basketball in Europe.

When asked about what’s next on the list for him, Rockhold replied with the most logical answer: defending his belt. And the opponent he wants to face most? Vitor Belfort.

“[It’s] time to defend my title, just like the Santa Cruz Warriors and the Golden State Warriors,” said Rockhold. “It’s our time, it’s the Bay Area’s time.”

The Santa Cruz Warriors will play the Idaho Stampede on Saturday night at Kaiser Permanente Arena as part of a back-to-back. Idaho is also on the back end of a back-to-back, coming off a loss to the Los Angeles D-Fenders Friday night.

If you missed Friday’s game in Santa Cruz, you can watch the entire game recorded below: