After falling to the Texas Legends on Friday, the Santa Cruz Warriors came out and dominated the Legends on Saturday night at the Kaiser Permanente Arena.
Today’s edition of TimeOut will be a brief overview of the Santa Cruz Warriors vs Texas Legends battle on Friday night. With Juan Toscano-Anderson out with Team Mexico, Will Cherry joined the Friday’s starting lineup that included Darius Morris, Deyonta Davis, Marcus Derrickson and Michael Gbinije.
First half
The loss to the Agua Caliente Clippers was in the rearview mirror as the Santa Cruz Warriors started the back to back duel on a high note. Two-way player Marcus Derrickson scored the Sea Dubs’s first six points as the Texas Legends. (Dallas Mavericks G-League affiliate) tried to find their groove offensively.
It was neck and neck as the quarter progressed where the Sea Dubs and the Texas Legend traded field goal for field goal, dunk for dunk. The Legends went on to make twenty-eight points and to gain a one-point advantage over the Sea Dubs going into the second quarter.
After Kendrick Nunn grabbed the defensive rebound, the Darius Morris went on to turn the ball over and to miss the layup to start the second quarter. The Sea Dubs on some possessions were making too many passes and either turning the ball over or giving the opposing team the chance to grab steals.
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The Legends gained momentum over the Warriors not only from the field but from the free throw line. Despite not getting the lead in the second quarter, Kevin Young was getting buckets and ensuring the lead was at arm’s reach. Also continuing his streak was Derrickson taking care of business on both sides of the ball.
Although the Warriors tried to close in on the Legends, they managed to end the half with a 56-49 lead. To begin the third quarter, the Santa Cruz Warriors had a 0.1% advantage from the field against the Legends.
Second Half
An engaged Warriors team cut the lead to five with less than ten minutes as the Legends had a few sloppy possessions to start the third quarter. The Warriors was doing a great job at keeping the game close despite the Legends making the majority of their shots.
A Kendrick Nunn dunk gave the Sea Dubs 69-68 led. However, the lead was short-lived with a pair of free throws from the Legend’s Warney. The Legends quickly gained a seven-point led with less than three minutes in the third quarter. A pair of free throws from Will Cherry made the Warriors within four.
After a slow start offensively and defensively for the Sea Dubs, Kendrick Nunn’s three-pointer and Darius Morris’s and one gave the Warriors a one-point lead with less than four minutes in the game. It eventually became a Darius Morris takeover game.
He did a great job keeping the team in the game although the Warriors ended up losing. A foul call on Daryl Macon sealed the 104-102 victory for the Texas Legends.
Stats-wise, the Warriors had a decent night turning over the ball eleven times along with thirty-three assists and forty-one rebounds. Leading the Santa Cruz Warriors in points and rebounds was Marcus Derrickson with 22 points and eleven rebounds. Darrius Morris led the team in assists with twelve assists.
The Warriors had little time to wallow on Friday’s loss as they returned to Kaiser Permanente Arena to battle the Texas Legends for the second night in a row.