EL SEGUNDO – The South Bay Lakers fell behind by 15 points early but were able to come back and grab a big win as they beat the Memphis Hustle, 125-116, on Wednesday night. Scott Machado scored 23 points off the bench and Michael Holyfield tallied his second consecutive double-double as the Lakers (26-15) outhustled Memphis, outscoring them 32-14 in fast break points. Memphis (16-26) was led by Omari Johnson and Marquis Teague, who both notched double-doubles in the loss.
The Hustle started out strong, leading 34-21 after one, behind nine points off the bench from Chance Comanche. The Lakers fought back in the second to take a 62-55 lead as Robert Heyer scored 11 of his 13 first half points in the period and Machado pitched in 13 points in the second.
South Bay extended their lead in the third as Alex Caruso and James Southerland combined for 23 points, to give the Lakers a 101-85 lead going into the final quarter. Heyer and Andre Ingram each hit a pair of threes in the fourth as the Lakers put the finishing touches on another impressive win.
Johnson (29 points, 10 rebounds) and Teague (28 points, 10 assists) kept the Hustle in the game, but could not make up for their lack of depth. Comanche scored 17 points off the bench and Jeremy Morgan tallied 13 points as the only two other Memphis players to reach double digit scoring.
Machado’s 23 points and nine assists off the bench guided the Lakers to the win, while Holyfield grabbed season highs in both points (14) and rebounds (14) as he dominated the paint. Caruso scored 20 points on his 24th birthday and Southerland continued to play well for the purple and gold with 18 points off the bench. Heyer scored a career-high 19 points and Demarcus Holland also reached double figures with 10 points.
The South Bay Lakers will host the Reno Bighorns on Friday, March 2 at 7:00 from the UCLA Health Training Center in the final meeting of the year between the two division rivals.