Santa Cruz, Calif. –
The Santa Cruz Warriors overcame 15 first quarter fouls, then held on late Thursday night to defeat the Canton Charge (score) in their opening game of the 2015 D-League Showcase.
Point guard Aaron Craft helped to seal a Warriors victory by scoring 6 of the Warriors final 7 points, including a 4-4 mark from the line.
Craft finished the game with 15 points, tied for team best with Ognjen Kuzmic, who also had 13 rebounds to secure a double-double.
Kuzmic, who was designated for assignment by the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, shined on the offensive end, hitting 6 of his first 7 field goals including a couple elbow jumpers.
As hosts of the Showcase, Head Coach Casey Hill said the days leading up to the tournament have been pretty hectic, but he told his players to take 15 seconds of silence before the game to take a deep breath and clear out any distractions.
Santa Cruz led by as many as (23) after a slow start that included seven turnovers and five players with at two fouls through just one quarter.
Hill said recovering from the rough beginning to the game meant telling his guys not to worry about foul trouble and just play their game.
“The important thing is that we kept getting calls, but it didn’t affect our aggressiveness on the defensive end,” Hill said. “We continued to contest shots and box out physically on rebounds and I think that was wonderful.”
Canton big man Arinze Onuaku, who finished with 24 points and 19 rebounds, drew 13 opportunities from the line in the opening period, but finished with just 15 in the game with non coming in the second half.
James Michael McAdoo said that even though he fouled out, he thought the team, and especially Kuzmic, did a great job adapting to Onuaku and the way the refs were calling fouls.
“You just have got to realize certain guys and their tendencies. We tried to force him into hard shots, not getting the ball down too low,” McAdoo said. ”
Despite giving up a number of free throws attempts, the Dubs managed to keep it close thanks to poor shooting from the line by Canton.
The Charge made just 11 of their 19 tries, while the Warriors hit all 12 of their chances at the charity stripe in the first.
After regaining control in the second and leading 48-38 at halftime, the Warriors poured it on in the third quarter, opening up the second half on a 20-7 run.
Forwards Mychel Thompson (11 points), who is also the older brother of Golden State Warrior Klay Thompson, said it was about getting back to their style of basketball.
“We’re a running team, so we were trying to get out on the break a lot,” Thompson said. “We were trying to take advantage of our quickness and get to the basket because they were kind of a bigger team.”
Kuzmic and McAdoo also played pivotal roles during the run, combining for 16 points and 8 rebounds on 7-9 shooting in the quarter.
Canton closed the gap in the fourth quarter with a strong defensive performance and timely baskets from Onuaku (24 points) and former St. Mary’s guard Stephen Holt (11 points).
The Warriors lead was as small as 4 points in the game’s final minute, but the Dubs hit five of six free throws to hold on late.
The win moved the Warriors into the semifinal round of the NBA D-League’s inaugural Showcase Cup Championship Tournament, where they fill face the Grand Rapids Drive Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
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