Warriors Run by D-Fenders, 82-74

The Santa Cruz Warriors kept their perfect home record, now 7-0, as they ran all over the Los Angeles D-Fenders, 82-74.

Cameron Jones took the game into his hands while making his sixth straight start in place of Travis Leslie, who is out with a groin injury. He finished his night with a season high 22 points, but he showed up big in the third quarter when the Warriors went on a 14-2 run to take a 20 point lead. 

He started off by hitting two free throws with 9:09 remaining in the third. He followed that up with a strong drive to the bucket and a silky smooth jump shot to make the score 53-39. After Taylor Griffin converted two free throws, Jones continued his hot night by nailing a three to extend the lead to 17. 

“Cam’s playing with a lot of confidence,” said Coach Nate Bjorkgren. “What’s good about Cam is he’s mixing it up, he’s taking it to the rim a little bit, he really runs in transition and he’s knocking down the perimeter shots as well.”

 Johnson said that he has taken a new approach because of the push from coach Bjorkgren.

“I just came out really aggressive," he said after the game. Coach has been challenging me to play better and last couple games I’ve been picking my offense up, being more efficient on offense.”

“It feels good. I’m just happy we got the win. I’m doing what I can while Travis is out, trying to pick up his scoring.”

The Warriors defense flexed its muscle all game long and held the D-Fenders to just 35 percent shooting from the field. Stefhon Hannah did a number on opposing guards recording three steals on the night. He also did a nice job of shutting down Courtney Fortson who is averaging a 19.9 points per game this season. Hannah held him to just 13 points on 6 of 16 shooting. 

“That’s what Stef wants to do, he wants to step up and guard the opposing point guard and he takes a lot of pride in his defense, and I thought he did a really nice job defending him(Fortson),” said Bjorkgren.

The defense also lead to many transition baskets, as the Warriors scored 23 fast-break points compared to the D-Fenders 7.

The Warriors newest addition, Hilton Armstrong, played just over 14 minutes, but he scored 7 points and grabbed four rebounds. Bjorkgren said that he is “really smart” and that it was just a “matter of time” before he gets his legs under him. 

The addition of Armstrong comes with the news of center Chris Johnson missing today's game because of a workout with an undisclosed NBA team. 

The Warriors now stand at 13-7 and will meet the Erie Bay Hawks, who are sitting at 11-8 after a win against the Idaho Stampede on Thursday. They are just half a game back of the Bakersfield Jam for first place in the NBA D-League.