Iowa Energy at Erie BayHawks (Santa Cruz, CA) 3:45 p.m. Los Angeles D-Fenders at Delaware 87ers (Santa Cruz, CA) 6:30 p.m. Rio Grande Valley Vipers at Reno Bighorns (Santa Cruz, CA) 6:30 p.m.
The Maine Red Claws, presented by Unum, fell to the Santa Cruz Warriors 101-88 in the first game of a back to back double-header against the Warriors at the Portland Expo. The loss drops the Red Claws to 15-4 on the season and 0-4 all-time against the Warriors. Aaron Craft led the way for Santa Cruz with a career high 22 points, higher than any point total in his career, both in the D-League and in college at Ohio State. The Red Claws were out-scored by the Warriors in each quarter during tonight's game, with the Warriors tallying their biggest lead of 19 points in a strong first quarter. On defense, the Red Claws struggled to grab rebounds recording only 25 defensive rebounds, compared to the Warriors 43. Three pointers were the Red Claws strategy going into tonight's game, but they struggled to convert three point attempts, making only 12 of 36. Chris Babb (18 points, 1 steal) led the Red Claws in the first quarter, with 11 of his total points in the period. Babb led all scorers in the first quarter, but was closely followed by Aaron Craft (22 points, 5 assists, and 4 steals) who netted 8 points in the first quarter. Craft scored a career high 22 points, which led all scorers on the night. Rodney McGruder made his first career D-League start for the Red Claws tonight after being out all season with a groin injury, suffered in pre-season. McGruder had an immediate effect in his first minute on the court, assisting a Chris Babb three pointer. He finished with two points and one assist on the night during 15:23 on the court. The Warriors had five players scoring in double-digits. Led by Craft's 22 points, James Michael McAdo (17 points, 1 assist, and 4 blocked shots) and Sean Kilpatrick (17 points, 5 assists, and 1 steal) followed Craft's scoring. Also in double-digits for the Warriors were Ognjen Kuzmic (12 points, 3 assists, and 3 blocked shots), on assignment from the Golden State Warriors, and Taylor Griffin (12 points, 1 assist, and 2 steals). Second-time NBA D-League Performer of the Week, Tim Frazier (23 points, 8 assists, and 4 steals), led all scorers on the night with 23 points. Frazier was followed by three other Red Claws who scored in double digits tonight. Chris Babb's strong first quarter performance led to 18 total points on the night, with 2 assists and 1 steal. Omari Johnson (14 points, 1 assist, and 1 blocked shot) and Asauhn Dixon-Tatum (11 points) also finished in double digits tonight. The Red Claws will have a chance to redeem themselves and break the winless streak against the Warriors tomorrow night with a 7pm tip-off at the Portland Expo. Press release from the Maine Red Claws
The Rio Grande Valley Vipers held off the Reno Bighorns for a 160-153 victory to wrap up the fourth day of action at the 2015 NBA D-League Showcase in Santa Cruz, Calif. Read more http://www.rgj.com/story/sports/2015/01/19/bighorns-rally-falls-short-league-showcase/21983623/
The Los Angeles D-Fenders defeated the Delaware 87ers 116-96 tonight in Santa Cruz, CA. Vander Blue paced the D-Fenders (8-17) with 34 points, connecting on 13-of-25 field-goal attempts, as well as handing out 10 assists and grabbing eight rebounds. Jabari Brown followed suit with 29 points, three rebounds and two assists. Roscoe Smith recorded his league-leading 18th double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Andre Ingram tallied a season-high 14 points and nine rebounds. Keith Appling also reached double figures with 13 points, five rebounds and four assists. Jared Cunningham led the 87ers (8-13) with 18 points, followed by Victor Rudd with 17. DJ Seeley (16 pts, three rebounds), Drew Gordon (13 points, 12 rebounds) and Melvin Johnson (12 points) also scored in double digits for Delaware. Los Angeles was firing on all cylinders early in the contest, outscoring the 87ers 33-20 in the first quarter behind 11 points from Brown and nine from Blue. The second quarter was a similar story, with the D-Fenders outscoring the 87ers 30-18 and taking a 63-38 lead into the halftime break. At the half, Brown led all scorers with 19 points, followed by Blue with 15 and Smith with 10 points and seven rebounds for L.A. Cunningham was the lone 87er in double-figures with 12 points. The 38 points for the 87ers was an opponent first half low for the D-Fenders, who held Delaware to 32.6% shooting in the half. Delaware started the third quarter on a 13-3 run, but Los Angeles would finish strong and outscore the 87ers 27-25 on the quarter. Lee was hot for Delaware, scoring 10 points in the third, while Blue finished with eight for the D-Fenders. The 87ers would put up a fight in the fourth quarter, shooting 61.9% and outscoring the D-Fenders 33-26. The late rally would come up short however, as Los Angeles held on to a convincing 116-96 victory. Blue was the difference in the second half for Los Angeles, finishing with 19 points, five rebounds and five assists on the half. Los Angeles shot .500 on the night, compared to .420 for Delaware. The D-Fenders hit 22-of-26 FTA's, while the 87ers tallied 12-of-19. Los Angeles would grab 50 rebounds compared to 35 for Delaware. The 38 points scored by Delaware in the first half is an opponent season-low for L.A., as is the 96 total points. Press release from the Los Angeles D-Fenders
