EL SEGUNDO, Calif -- The South Bay Lakers (15-17) ended their last home game of the regular season on a high note after sweeping the two-game series against the Santa Cruz Warriors (18-14 ) with a 134-130 victory Tuesday, March 25 at the UCLA Health Training Center.
The offensive onslaught of a game was South Bay’s highest scoring match of the season and improved the Lakers to a 9-2 record in March.
The game began as a tight affair. Throughout the first quarter, neither team held more than a two-possession lead, with the Warriors leading 42-37 at the close of the quarter.
Santa Cruz then stormed ahead in the second with a massive 13-0 run to improve their lead over South Bay 55-37.
South Bay had failed to score in the first three minutes of the second quarter, ending their drought with a three-pointer by Laker guard Sir’Jabari Rice, the very first Laker play after head coach Zach Guthrie called a timeout to regroup with his squad.
Rice was an offensive leader for the Lakers, scoring a season-high 28 points in the game.
Robert Talamantes- The Sporting Tribune
South Bay Lakers G Sir' Jabari Rice (15) attacks the rim and scores in a game against the Santa Cruz Warriors on Tuesday, March 25, 2025 in El Segundo, Calif.
The Lakers gained some ground with an 8-0 run of their own to cut the Warriors lead down to 12, but, the Lakers' progress was undercut right away when the Warriors answered back with a 7-0 run to put their lead right back 67-50 with 3:48 remaining in the second quarter.
Santa Cruz carried their lead through the rest of the second and finished the first half leading the Lakers 76-67.
The Warriors were firing on all cylinders offensively in the first half, shooting 62% from the field and netting 21 assists as a team. Santa Cruz guard Blake Hinson led the hot Warriors offense with 21 in the game while shooting 7-17 from the field, including five triples.
Santa Cruz truly distanced themselves from South Bay with their effort beyond the arc. The Warriors shot 14 three-pointers in the first half, scoring most of their 76 points from three.
South Bay rallied all the way back in the third to take the lead from the Warriors with a layup by Laker forward Solomon Young to put South Bay ahead 96-95 with 2:44 remaining in the quarter.
The Lakers outscored the Warriors 33-28 to close the distance in the third, but Santa Cruz still finished the quarter ahead 104-100 after outshooting the Lakers over the last two-and-a-half minutes of the quarter.
South Bay kept up their offensive momentum through the fourth, battling with Santa Cruz in a back-and-forth exchange that mirrored how the game began, with neither team able to break away from the other after South Bay closed the distance.
The Warriors found themselves ahead by just one possession, 130-127, with 1:23 left in the game. South Bay guard Bronny James fired the ball to fellow guard Quincy Olivari at the top of the arc, who pulled up for a three-pointer to tie the game at 130 apiece.
Olivari led the Laker offense in the win with a game-leading 33 points while also having six rebounds and nine assists. Olivari was one of three Lakers with over 20 points scored, alongside Rice and guard Jhonathan Dunn.
Just a few plays after taking the lead, South Bay center Kylor Kelly leaped up to save a stuffed South Bay layup and shoved the ball in for a dunk to give the Lakers a 132-130 lead with 26 seconds left in the game.
Robert Talamantes- The Sporting Tribune
South Bay Lakers C Kylor Kelley (50) has a put back dunk in a game against the Santa Cruz Warriors on Tuesday, March 25, 2025 in El Segundo, Calif.
Olivari drew a foul with nine seconds left and hit two dagger free throws to keep the game out of reach for Santa Cruz and secured the South Bay sweep of the Warriors with a 134-130 win after trailing most of the game.
The victory marked the end of the regular season at home for the Lakers. They next travel to Wells Fargo Arena to face the Iowa Wolves for the last series of the season, beginning with a game Friday, March 28 at 4:30 pm PT.