DES MOINES – It took another late comeback to make the game interesting, but the short-handed Austin Spurs fell once again, losing to the Iowa Wolves 110-106.
San Antonio Spurs two-way player Darrun Hilliard led the way for Austin with a game-high 33 points to go along with six rebounds and four assists. Nick Johnson had 15 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Olivier Hanlan notched 13 points and six rebounds before fouling out. And Jaron Blossomgame finished with 11 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals.
For Iowa, Elijah Millsap had 23 points on 4-for-4 shooting from beyond the arc. Millsap also had eight rebounds, five assists and two steals. Melo Trimble had 19 points, six rebounds and seven assists. Former Baylor standout Perry Jones had 18 points and seven rebounds in 18 minutes. And finally, Amile Jefferson absolutely dominated the glass with 16 points and 17 rebounds.
The Wolves put the game out of reach early with an 18-3 run in the first quarter, fueled by Perry Jones who was perfect from the field with 10 points.
Despite a better shooting second quarter, Austin’s defense was non-existent heading into halftime as the Wolves shot 62 percent from the field to take a commanding 62-40 lead into the break.
The Spurs performed better in the third quarter, shooting 50 percent as a team. Austin managed to shoot, rebound and defend better in the second half, but shot 58.3 percent from the free throw line for the game, blocking any chance of a comeback victory.
In the fourth quarter, Iowa pushed their lead to as much as 20 points before Hilliard began chipping away to bring the Spurs back.
As the Spurs cut Iowa’s lead to single-digits, both Hanlan and Blossomgame eventually fouled out leaving Hilliard and the bench unit to attempt the epic comeback. Unfortunately missed 3-pointers and free throws came back to haunt the silver and black, resulting in the 4-point loss.
Up next for the Austin Spurs (8-6) will be a fun matchup versus the Santa Cruz Warriors (9-5). The game will tipoff at 8:30 p.m. CST from the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park while also being nationally televised on ESPN U.
For free tickets to the game, click here while supplies last.
