After a week off, the Austin Spurs returned to their winning ways on Sunday afternoon, defeating the Idaho Stampede, 103-89, in front of 3,938 people at the Cedar Park Center.
For the Spurs, Orlando Johnson returned to action, leading the team with 21 points. Johnson also managed to add five rebounds, three assists and a steal in his 39 minutes of action. Point guard Nick Johnson had an impressive showing as well, with 18 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals. Deshaun Thomas added in 16 points and seven rebounds, while Cady Lalanne and Keifer Sykes had 15 points apiece.
Leading the way for the Stampede would be forward J.J. O’Brien with 24 points in 41 minutes. Corey Hawkins chipped in 20 points and four rebounds, while his backcourt partner, Treveon Graham, had 17 points, four rebounds and two assists.
The Spurs jumped on Idaho early, leading by nine points midway through the first quarter. But a 16-5 run by the Stampede, sparked by Corey Hawkins, would help push Idaho to an early 26-24 lead after one. Austin managed to keep pace throughout the second quarter with Keifer Sykes hitting a go-ahead three pointer to end the first half with the Spurs up 51-50.
Defense would be the Spurs calling card in the second half. After the Stampede shot 8 of 12 from beyond the arch in the first half, the Spurs held the perimeter on lockdown, with Idaho going 0 of 12 from three in the second half. Ten third quarter lead changes ended in the Spurs finishing with a one point lead heading into the fourth quarter. A 16-3 run to start the final quarter would put the Spurs up double-digits for the rest of the game as Austin would hold on for a 14 point win.
Coming up next for the Austin Spurs (23-14) is a date against the Bakersfield Jam (18-21) on Tuesday, March 8th. Tipoff is at 9 p.m. CST from the Dignity Health Event Center.
