Warriors Squeak Out Win Over Big Horns, 94-90

The Warriors(21-12) rode the three-headed monster of Travis Leslie, Cameron Jones and Darington Hobson in the final minutes to come away with a 94-90 win over the Reno Bighorns(13-19). 

The Warriors put their big boy pants on in the final three minutes of the game and outscored the Bighorns 5-1 to pull out the nail bitter. 

Cameron Jones had a season-high 30 points and was clutch hitting a late layup to give the Warriors the lead with just 1:03 left. He also added five rebounds, two assists and three steals. 

"I was running really hard, getting rebounds and pushing it up the court," said Jones. "Shots looked good and I was shooting them. I just wanted to play with confidence." 

This is also the fourth game in a row that the 6-foot-4 guard, from Northern Arizona, has been in the starting five. In those four games he has averaged 19 points and has also added to the defensive presence of the Warriors.

"First, I always try and go in and play good defense, if you don't play good defense you're not going to get to play."

The Warriors used that defense during their final run that was kicked off by a breathtaking up and under layup from Leslie, who finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Leslie then stole the ball and started the fast break that was finished at the rim by Hobson, who had with 14 points.

The Bighorns would not give up and tied the game at 89 with a Samardo Samuels dunk. After the dunk Samuels would also hit a free throw, but that would be the final point the Bighorns would score as the Warriors defense tightened up.

"Our defense starts everything that we're doing," said Warriors head coach Nate Bjorkgren. "Whether it's transition or our half-court offense. Defense is what you can control. You can control how hard you play defense every night and that was the key there."

Bighorns center Samardo Samuels finished with 26 points and 19 rebounds giving him his 11th straight double-double. Ronald DuPree dropped in 14 points and added six rebounds. Tajuan Porter and Dar Tucker both had 12 points. 

This was the first game of a two game series. The season series between the two teams now stands at 4-1 in favor of the Warriors. 

The win also improves the Warriors record to 11-1 at Kaiser Permanente Arena, and puts them just two games back of the Bakersfield Jam for first place in the West Division. 

The Warriors are back in action tomorrow Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. in Kaiser Permanente Arena in a rematch against the Bighorns.