No. 4 Warriors Advance To Western Conference Semifinals, Outshine No. 5 Stars 113-111

SANTA CRUZ, CA – The Santa Cruz Warriors (21-14) beat the Salt Lake City Stars (20-15), 113-111, on Tuesday evening at Kaiser Permanente Arena in their first home playoff game since the 2018-19 season.  

Two-way guard Pat Spencer came off the bench to lead Santa Cruz in scoring with 20 points, six rebounds, and six assists. Two-way center Usman Garuba followed closely with a double-double, notching 18 points and 19 rebounds to set a new franchise record in postseason rebounds. Forward Javan Johnson added 18 points and guard Kendric Davis finished with 14 points and 11 assists.   

Forward Darius Bazley, on assignment from Utah, led both teams in scoring with 30 points, adding 12 rebounds and five assists. Center Kenneth Lofton Jr., also on assignment from Utah, followed with 19 points, and two-way guard Johnny Juzang added 18 points and seven rebounds. 

Santa Cruz opened the contest with back-to-back threes to take an early lead before the Stars found their footing and built a 21-10 advantage. The Warriors offense narrowed the gap late in the frame to close the quarter trailing 25-20. The Sea Dubs carried their offensive momentum into the second quarter as three three-pointers from Johnson gave Santa Cruz a 37-32 advantage. The Warriors maintained the lead throughout the remainder of the half to enter the break leading 52-46.  

Salt Lake City cut the deficit early in the third quarter, tying the game at 59 and pushing ahead to own a 63-59 lead. The Sea Dubs quickly responded with eight points from Rowe and back-to-back three-pointers from Davis to lead by as many as 12 points before closing the frame with an 85-76 advantage. The Stars came out strong in the fourth quarter, clawing back with an 8-0 run to regain a 90-89 lead with less than eight minutes remaining. Back-to-back three-pointers from Spencer helped the Sea Dubs take a 112-106 lead down the final stretch. Salt Lake City fought to close the gap to two points with 40 seconds remaining in the contest, but the Warriors hung on to secure a 113-111 first-round playoff victory. 

The Santa Cruz Warriors will now travel to Stockton to take on the Kings in the Western Conference Semifinals on Thursday, April 4 at 7 p.m. (PT), with the contest streaming on Tubi. Stay up to date with the latest Santa Cruz Warriors news, scores, and exclusive content by downloading the official Santa Cruz Warriors app for iOS and Android.