Iowa’s Winning Streak Snapped Wednesday Night at Santa Cruz

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - The Iowa Wolves had its two-game winning streak snapped as Santa Cruz claimed a 111-102 victory Wednesday night in NBA G League action at Kaiser Permanente Arena. The two teams will meet again Friday night at 9 p.m. CT inside Kaiser Permanente.

Santa Cruz (11-17) stopped a five-game losing streak as all five of its starters each scored 13 or more points led by Jerome Robinson who had 21 points and added 11 assists.

Iowa (13-15), which is fighting for one of the final Western Conference playoff spots, was paced by Chris Silva’s game-high 28 points. Silva added a team-high 15 rebounds. Isaiah Miller scored 24 points off the bench.

The Wolves are now one game back of sixth-place Birmingham, which defeated Sioux Falls tonight. The Squadron are scheduled to play Iowa on March 29 at Wells Fargo Arena. The top six teams based off winning percentage qualify for the playoffs in the Western Conference.

Santa Cruz opened the game Wednesday on a 16-0 scoring run until Miller’s floater off the bench. The Wolves weathered that large deficit and trailed by seven points after one quarter as the Warriors led 31-24.

Iowa, which was down by five points going into the fourth, got within three points on several occasions in the final period. However, Santa Cruz scored or forced a costly turnover to maintain its lead. In the game, the Wolves left points at the free throw line going 15-of-21, missing several one free throw opportunities for two points.

Miller helped close the gap to just two points early in the second quarter with a short jumper after starting the period with a deep three. The jumper forced a Warriors’ timeout, but Miller came right back out of the timeout and knocked down a go-ahead three-pointer that gave Iowa its first lead at 34-33. The Wolves later led by seven before Santa Cruz closed the half well and trailed by just one point 63-60.

The Warriors went on a 9-0 run out of the halftime break and later led by as many as nine in third. Iowa battled back and trailed by two late before Santa Cruz closed period strong and held a five-point lead at 86-81 going into the fourth.