AUSTIN -- In their first trip to Texas this season, the South Bay Lakers succumbed to old habits on their way to a pair of losses against the Austin River Dragons, formerly known as the Spurs.
Austin jumped on South Bay from the start on Friday night, and fought off a late comeback attempt, winning the game 111-99. On Saturday, it was the Lakers that jumped out to an early lead, but the River Dragons flipped the script in the fourth, edging South Bay out 107-106.
Kobe Bufkin was undoubtedly the biggest bright spot for the Lakers, leading all scorers with 61 points over the weekend, including game-highs of 37 and 24 points respectively. Even with his efforts, South Bay’s lack of a consistent second option was a main reason for their late-game struggles.
Saturday night’s contest, despite ending in a loss, showed the heart this South Bay team possess even while missing some key pieces.
River Dragons’ two-way guard David Jones García caught fire early, with 16 points in the first. Chris Mañon led the way for the purple and gold with eight first quarter points, along with five from Bufkin and guard Arthur Kaluma, as the Lakers led by one at the end of one, 29-28.
The second quarter brought more neck-and-neck action until the Lakers took off on a 15-8 run in the final 3:22, featuring a trio of triples from R.J. Davis, Bufkin, and Mañon, giving them a commanding 61-52 lead at the break.
Things would get chippy in the third with both teams frustrations from the weekend coming to a head, which led to a a flagrant two foul from Jones García after he shoved Laker Anton Watson on the back. García was ejected with 22 points on the evening.
They would keep the lead at nine until the River Dragons responded, closing the period out on a 10-4 run sparked by guard Trey McGowens’ aggressiveness. His six points, including four from free throws and two more from a nifty lay brought his team back into the game, as they only trailed by three points at 83-80 going into the final frame.
In an anti-climactic turn of events, despite trailing for the majority of the game, Austin would take the lead with 10:50 remaining in the fourth, and never trail again for the remainder of the game.
Kaluma and Bufkin’s seven point quarters were not enough to bring South Bay back, especially when Austin guard Kyle Mangas was dialed, scoring 14 himself in the quarter, with a mix of mid and long-range bag work and clutch free throw shooting.
Led by Bufkin with 24, Mañon with 19 and Kaluma with 18, regardless of the loss, Saturday’s effort for South Bay was a huge step up from that of Friday.
The River Dragons dominated from the opening tip in their Friday night victory.
Leading by 11 at the end of one, and 19 at the half, they put the game out of reach quickly. Bufkin’s 23 point second half was enough to get South Bay within seven points late, before Austin pulled away for good.
The back-to-back losses for South Bay brings them to 4-3 overall in the regular season.
For a team missing many of its heavy hitters, notably Bronny James and Drew Timme, who have been with the team the most of the two-way players, South Bay fought hard in Austin, giving coach Zach Guthrie something to fly back to California happy with.
They almost notched a comeback Friday, and lost by one on Saturday, while having lackluster performances from guys like RJ Davis and Tevian Jones, who are usually among their best.
They do have some problems defensively, as they lost two games to a River Dragon team that only shot a combined 13/64 from beyond the arc.
South Bay will have a few days off before they look to rebound on Wednesday against the San Diego Clippers, a game in which they will likely bring some reinforcements from the parent team to help out.
Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. at the UHTC.
