The Santa Cruz Warriors scored 74 points in the first half in the 123-103 victory against the Austin Toros.
The Warriors closed the first quarter on a 22-5 run in the last eight minutes, finishing with 41 points and a 25-point lead entering the second quarter. They tacked on 32 in the second, stretching the lead to 30 points.
Austin scored 60 in the second half, outscoring the Warriors in consecutive quarters, but they could not mitigate the Warriors’ first half damage.
Santa Cruz is 3-0 against Austin this season, outscoring the Toros by 53 points in the three contests (17.8 per game). Santa Cruz, the eighth ranked offense in the D-League, is averaging 122.1 points per 100 possessions against the Toros — 10 points better than the Rio Grande Valley Vipers’ top-ranked offense (112.9).
Six Warriors registered at least 15 points, led by Seth Curry’s 21 points. Joe Alexander and Cameron Jones accounted for 37 of the Warriors’ 52 bench points.
Courtney Fells scored a season-high 32 points on 13-of-24 shooting. Fells is averaging 20.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.3 3-pointers, 2.1 assists and 45.8 percent shooting in February. Four of the nine active Toros finished in double-figures.
Austin is 14-20 overall and 5-10 in their last 15 games; the Toros have been outscored by 4.9 points per 100 possessions in this span and their defense has dipped to 11th.
The Toros are 5.5 games behind the eight-seeded Sioux Falls Skyforce with 16 games remaining. Their next trek is a back-to-back on the road against the Springfield Armor.
