The Santa Cruz Warriors can finally breathe a sigh of relief. They’re going to the playoffs.
Third-quarter woes almost did the Warriors in again, but fierce rebounding and smart play in the final minute against the Salt Lake City Stars delivered them a 128-123 victory Monday night. More importantly for Santa Cruz, it put the Warriors out of reach of Sioux Falls for the Western Conference’s fourth and final playoff spot.
Santa Cruz (30-19), entered Monday with a 1 1/2 game lead on the Skyforce, will join the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the Oklahoma City Blue and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers from the Western Conference in the playoffs. The D-Fenders and the Blue will take the top two seeds as winners of the Pacific and Southwest divisions, respectively. Santa Cruz is only one game behind RGV for the No. 3 seed with only its home finale to play Friday against the D-Fenders at Kaiser Permanente Arena. The Vipers, meanwhile, have two games remaining: at home against Texas on March 30 and on the road against Iowa on April 1.
Santa Cruz held a 68-59 lead at the half against the Stars, but saw it disappear, as it has often this season, in the third quarter. SLC went on an 8-1 run in the period and outscored the Warriors 38-26, gaining as much as an eight-point advantage. Santa Cruz battle back in the fourth, however, and took the lead back. Alex Hamilton’s layup with 6:22 remaining gave Santa Cruz a 111-110 lead, and the Warriors never trailed again.
Hamilton came off the bench to score 15 points with seven assists. Jabari Brown, fresh off being named the D-League Player of the Week on Sunday, led Santa Cruz with 31 points and four assists, while James Southerland turned in a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds. Damian Jones (18), Phil Pressey (11) and LaDontae Henton (13) also finished in double digits for Santa Cruz.
Quincy Ford led the Stars (14-34) with 25 points, while Sundiata Gaines had 11 rebounds and seven points.
Santa Cruz Warriors playoff tickets will go on sale to the general public Wednesday at 4 p.m. Fans can visit www.santacruzbasketball.com, call 831-713-4400 or stop by the front office at 903 Pacific Ave STE 101 to purchase their tickets. To receive early presale access, fan are encouraged to visit www.santacruzbasketball.com and sign up for Warriors Insider alerts. This will guarantee access to playoff tickets before they are released to the general public. Call 831-713-4400 for details.
