EL SEGUNDO – The South Bay Lakers suffered their fourth loss of the season as they fell to the Westchester Knicks, 119-113, on Friday night. Westchester (13-5) was led by 34 points from Trey Burke in the win. The Lakers (11-4) were guided by Thomas Bryant’s 32 points and 10 rebounds, but Westchester shot 51.6% (16-31) from beyond the arc to steal a road victory.
Westchester’s backcourt of Burke and Xavier Rathan-Mayes combined for 25 points in the first quarter to give the Knicks a 32-25 lead after one. Travis Wear pitched in nine of his own, but South Bay shot only 1-7 from deep in the first quarter. The Knicks continued to pile it on in the second behind 14 points from Nigel Hayes as they took a 67-51 lead into the half. Westchester shot 68.8% from three in the first half to take the 16-point lead.
South Bay got back in the game in the third quarter as they outscored the Knicks 31-16 behind nine points from Bryant. The Knicks missed all seven of their three pointers in the third but took an 83-82 lead into the fourth. South Bay gained a slight three-point lead in the fourth quarter, but could not contain Burke, as he scored 16 points in the final frame to grab the win for Westchester.
Burke (34 points, three rebounds, seven assists, three steals) led the way for the Knicks, while Hayes pitched in 24 points on 6-7 from three and Rathan Mayes added 26 points, seven rebounds and 11 assists.
Bryant’s double-double paced the Lakers, but South Bay only shot 35.7% (10-28) from three in the loss. Wear nearly grabbed a double-double himself with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Alex Caruso (14 points, 12 assists) and Stephaun Branch (10 points, six rebounds) also scored in double digits. Vander Blue scored 12 points off the bench and Scott Machado added 11 points of his own for the second unit.
The South Bay Lakers return to action when they face the Memphis Hustle on Sunday, December 17 at 5:00 from the UCLA Health Training Center.
The NBA G League’s South Bay Lakers, the first franchise in G League history to be owned by an NBA team (Los Angeles Lakers), returns for its 11th season of competition in 2017-18. The Lakers franchise has established itself as a top producer of NBA-ready talent, totaling 26 NBA Call-Ups and developing 19 Lakers assignment players since the inaugural 2006-07 season. Last season, the Lakers returned to the playoffs for the third time in the last four years and produced the league MVP in guard Vander Blue. The Lakers have claimed three division titles and have twice competed in the NBA G League Finals, most recently in 2015-16.
