Warriors defeat Idaho Stampede

Kiwi Gardner puts together best performance at home this season.  

The Santa Cruz Warriors (9-4) hosted the Idaho Stampede and D-League top prospect Pierre Jackson Sunday night, defeating the top team in the West Division 95-91.  The Stampede (8-3) have now lost three consecutive games after opening the season with eight consecutive wins. 

With Seth Curry officially working out with an NBA team, the Warriors looked for an answer on offense and found it in Kiwi Gardner, who scored 18 points in just 27 minutes of work.  He nearly had a double-double, snatching eight rebounds for the Warriors. 

Dewayne Dedmon finished with his eighth consecutive double-double for Santa Cruz, scoring 13 points and grabbing an impressive 19 rebounds to go along with six blocked shots. 

The tempo of the game started slow with the Warriors establishing a half-court rhythm as opposed to pushing the ball in transition.  Mo Baker took control at the helm for the Warriors in the first quarter, helping them find their identity early without Curry in the lineup.

"I needed to start off with some veteran leadership in Mo Baker because I knew he'd be a steady hand," coach Casey Hill said, "Once the game had a personality, that's where Kiwi Gardner came in."

Gardner started the second quarter at point guard for the Warriors and put on a show for the fans in attendance.  He pushed the pace on the floor and ignited the team's offense after the team only scored 19 points in the first quarter.  Gardner finished the first half with nine points and helped the Warriors build a 13-point lead going into halftime. 

"Coach (Hill) told me, 'With great opportunity comes great responsibility,'" said Gardner, who was up to the challenge to put together a tremendous game against the D-League's top prospect. 

"He was hungry for it," coach Hill said of Gardner's performance, who prepared his team for Jackson before tonight's game, who finished with 18 points on 5-of-18 shooting.

"(Jackson)'s another player, he's scoring a lot of points, but he's another player we have to defend," said Hill.  "We just kind of approached him like any other player."

Reggie Hearn led the Stampede with 21 points on 7-of-16 shooting. 

The second-half saw the Stampede make a run late in the third quarter, cutting the Warriors deficit to as little as four points.  Hill put Gardner back in the game and allowed the Warriors to extend their lead back to double-digits, including a three-pointer from the corner with Jackson in his face.

"That one felt good," said Gardner.

The Santa Cruz squad shared the scoring load without Curry in the lineup.  Six of the nine players in uniform for tonight's game scored in double figures, including Cam Jones, who scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half. 

The Warriors shot a season worst 2-for-16 from three-point range, and found success when the team attacked the basket, scoring 52 points in the paint. 

Coach Hill was elated after the game when discussing his team's defense, which held their opponent to under 100 points for the first time this season.

"It was a big thing for me all week," said Hill, "We used that experience (from previous home game against Los Angeles) to our advantage and held them."

Both teams played in front of New Orleans Pelicans GM, Dell Demps.  He was in town as the Pelicans play in Sacramento against the Kings tomorrow night, and the team owns the draft rights to Jackson. 

"It was good to get out there to watch (Jackson) play and watching his development," Demps said.

His first visit to Kaiser Permanente Arena, Demps was impressed with what he saw, "I've been to a lot of D-League games, this is probably the best set-up," said Demps, "Now I got an excuse to come to California."

Demps watched the game from the sideline and watched Kiwi Gardner, who shot nearly 70 percent from the field (7-for-11). 

"(Gardner) had a great impact on the game I liked his attitude, his effort and everything he brought to the table tonight," Demps said.  "He's fun to watch."

Game Notes:

Mo Baker was called for a flagrant (1) after plowing into Pierre Jackson sending him into the first-row of fans.