Santa Cruz Warriors Split Series With Rip City Remix

SANTA CRUZ, CA – The Santa Cruz Warriors (6-2) fell to the Rip City Remix (5-5) on Friday night at Kaiser Permanente Arena.

Two-way guard Lester Quinones led the Warriors with 28 points and four assists. Center Jayce Johnson and forward Gui Santos both notched double-doubles to end the night – Johnson with 10 points and 17 rebounds, and Santos with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Guard Kendric Davis added 14 points in Santa Cruz’s lowest-scoring effort of the season.

Rip City was led by guard Quinton Rose with 23 points off the bench. Forward George Conditt IV added 17 points and 13 rebounds, and guard Rayan Rupert, on assignment from the Portland Trail Blazers, contributed 16 points and six rebounds to the Remix win.

The Remix pulled ahead early in the game, building a nine-point advantage behind eight first quarter points from Rupert and ending the quarter with a 26-17 lead. Rip City’s momentum carried over into the second quarter, and the visitors went on an 11-0 run to extend their lead by as many as 19 points. Despite a Quinones buzzer-beating three-pointer to end the frame, the Sea Dubs entered the break with a 56-45 deficit.

A strong offensive showing from Santa Cruz allowed the Warriors to close the gap to within three points of the Remix in the third quarter. However, Rip City countered, and after a back-and-forth effort from both teams, the Remix managed to maintain their lead and head into the fourth frame ahead 83-74. Both teams continued to battle, and after a closely-contested final quarter, Rip City managed to come away with a 102-95 win, handing the Warriors their first home loss of the season and evening the series at one win each.