Warriors Defeat Sioux Falls Skyforce

Will Buford scores season high 18 points as Seth Curry sits.  

The Santa Cruz Warriors (12-9) were searching for an answer to replace the inactive Seth Curry, and they found it in the name of Will Buford.  Buford scored a season-high 18 points and grabbed five rebounds as the Warriors defeated the visiting Sioux Falls Skyforce (14-8), 99-90.

Curry was out with a quad injury, but that didn't matter to the Santa Cruz squad, who found contributions from its bench, who helped lift the team to victory.  The team came off a crucial loss to first-place Idaho Stampede where they lost in the final seconds after an errant inbounds pass led to a Stampede layup and victory in overtime.  Warriors coach Casey Hill knew the importance of getting the bad taste of the loss out of the team's mouth with a victory tonight.

"After a loss like that, teams have a tendency to go one of two ways," said Hill, "It can really screw a team up and mess them up."

The Warriors led by as many as 12 points and the Skyforce were able to chip away at the lead, reducing it to a single possession numerous times late in the game, but the Warriors never gave up the lead after obtaining it late in the first quarter. 

"We focused on correcting the mistake was made," Hill continued, "They won a team game tonight. It's good to see these guys bouncing back and coming together."

Buford attributed his significant contributions to a change in attitude, making the most of his opportunities with the basketball.

"Just staying aggressive, my teammates were able to find me in the spots I was comfortable in and I was fortunate to knock (the shots) down," said Buford.

The Skyforce's top D-League prospect, DeAndre Liggins, finished with 15 points and 6 rebounds.  Tre Kelley led all scorers in the game with 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting.

The Skyforce made a statement early deciding to live on the outside perimeter.  The Skyforce shot 5-of-11 from three-point range in the first quarter, but that didn't worry Warriors coach Casey Hill.   

"They're not typically a good three-point shooting team," said Hill.  "It didn't scare me, but if they continued making those threes I would've made an adjustment at halftime." 

Late in the first quarter saw the Warriors change their fortunes around as they went on a 10-to-2 run of their own with the help of Mychel Thompson in the last three minutes of the opening frame scoring six points of his own.  Thompson finished with nine points and put on a performance in front of his own brother, Golden State Warriors Klay Thompson, who was in attendance this evening.

Cam Jones couldn't find a rhythm early in the game for the Warriors as he only managed to score two points in just under 12 minutes of playing time.  He finished with only eight points on 4-of-10 shooting from the floor. 

The Warriors and Grind Out Hunger honored outgoing Santa Cruz Mayor Hilary Bryant with a halftime presentation, presenting her with her own Grind Out Hunger jersey.  The ceremony commemorated Bryant's time in office that saw her lead the city through troubling times.  Bryant was at the forefront after officers Loran 'Butch' Baker and Elizabeth Butler were killed in the line of duty last year.

The Warriors and Skyforce matched bucket-for-bucket in the third quarter, but Buford made the difference for the Sea Dubs.  He was 3-for-3 from the field including a half-court heave that went in just before the buzzer sounded to end the third quarter as the crowd at Kaiser Permanent rose to their feet and cheered.

"In a game, it was my first time making one," said Buford of his spectacular shot. 

In the fourth quarter the Warriors feasted on the offensive glass, finding numerous second-chance opportunities.  Dominic McGuire finished with a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds as he repeatedly found his way to the ball off the boards. 

Hilton Armstrong chipped in as well with 14 points and 8 rebounds as well.  The Warriors cleaned up the glass, outrebounding the Skyforce 49-to-29. 

Kiwi Gardner came alive for the Warriors late in the game as he scored five of his 11 points in the final frame, finishing 5-for-5 from the field including a three-pointer, two assists and one block.

"Kiwi did exactly what we really wanted him to do," said Hill.  "He continued a high-level of play, the energy was there, he guarded the basketball decent and was able to get in the lane.  Tonight was very beneficial for him in terms of what we're trying to do for him."

Despite the hot hand, Hill took him out of the game late in the fourth-quarter, choosing to go back to the steady hand of Scott Machado. 

"I thought taking (Gardner) at the time that we did was the right decision," said Hill.

Buford complimented the play of Machado who made his regular season debut at home tonight.  Machado quietly scored 11 points and handed out seven assists. 

"He's a great point-guard with great court vision," said Buford of his teammate Machado, "We tell (Machado) to stay aggressive and play as hard as he can."

On assignment from Golden State, Ognjen Kuzmic scored six points and grabbed six rebounds but was in foul trouble early, limiting him to just over 16 minutes of playing time. 

The Warriors hit the road for a pair of back-to-back games, visiting the Tulsa 66ers on Friday and the Texas Legends on Saturday.