The Santa Cruz Warriors earned a wire-to-wire victory Thursday night, defeating the Rio Grande Valley Vipers 135-104 in Game 1 of the NBA D-League Semifinals. Santa Cruz was paced by Cameron Jones, who scored 24 points. Ognjen Kuzmic, currently on assignment from the Golden State Warriors, scored 23 points and grabbed a game-high 18 rebounds, while Lance Goulbourne had 14 points, 16 boards and eight assists. Seth Curry scored 22 points, and Stefhon Hannah chipped in with 15. Rio Grande Valley was led by Isaiah Canaan, currently on assignment from the Houston Rockets, who scored a game-high 25 points. Darius Morris scored 16 points and dished out eight assists, while Robert Covington, also on assignment from Houston, scored nine points. The Warriors began the game on a 6-0 run and never looked back, building a 20-point lead in the first quarter. Santa Cruz scored an all-time postseason record 73 first half points, and the Warriors extended their lead to 35 late in the fourth quarter on the way to securing the 31-point victory. Rio Grande Valley was held to its lowest scoring output this season. The Warriors held the edge on field goal percentage (52.0%-42.7%), rebounds (59-41), assists (31-21), steals (14-8) and blocks (9-2), while committing fewer turnovers (15-19). The Vipers had more second chance points (21-20) and each team scored 56 points in the paint. The Santa Cruz Warriors travel to Hidalgo, Texas, for Game 2 of the three-game series, which tips off on Saturday, April 19 at 5:00 p.m. Pacific. Fans can listen to the broadcast live on the Santa Cruz Warriors flagship station, KION 1460AM/101.1FM, or watch it on tape delay at 8:00 p.m. Pacific on CBS Sports Network Press release from the Santa Cruz Warriors
