Warriors Ride Backcourt to 114-105 Win

The Santa Cruz Warriors continued their hot streak away from home as they pulled out a tough win against the Reno Bighorns, 114-105.

They were guided by the length and athleticism of their back-court lead by 6'5" Travis Leslie and 6'7" Darington Hobson.

Leslie made his return to the starting line-up after a scoring 31 points and 15 points in his last two games. He scored 22 points on the night and shot an efficient 9 of 13 from the field. 

Darington Hobson helped the cause and flirted with a triple-double tallying 20 points, 14 rebounds and 8 assists. Like Leslie, Hobson broke through and made his way into the starting line-up. Since being inserted into the lineup he's made a difference in both the scoring and rebounding departments, averaging 12 points and 8 rebounds. Stefhon Hannah also added 21 points. 

The game was only in question in the final minutes as the Warriors took the lead to start the game off with a 7-0 run. They would stretch their lead to as big as 16 points during the third quarter; however the Bighorns would make a run in the final minute of the game to cut the lead down to three points. 

The Warriors weren't fazed by the run though, as they finished the game with a 7-1 run. 

The Reno Bighorns had all seven active players in double-figures on the night as they attacked the Warriors defense all game. Dar Tucker lead the team with 21 points he also added 7 rebounds. 

The Warriors(18-9) now set their sights on another struggling D-League West Division team, the Idaho Stampede(8-18). Former Warriors guard Carlon Brown has flourished with the Stampede since the trade at the end of last year. He's averaged 11.8 points and has had a game high 21 points on two separate occasions. The Warriors will start the two game series with the Stampede this Saturday. 

With the win the Warriors also inched to just a half a game back of first place in the D-League trailing the Bakersfield Jam(19-9).