BIGHORNS SHUTDOWN THE STARS

RENO, Nev. ---- The Reno Bighorns (21-16) defeated the Salt Lake City Stars (12-29) 133-114 Wednesday night at the Reno Events Center.

Jakarr Sampson led the Bighorns with 27 points and six rebounds while Matt Jones scored 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Jack Cooley had 21 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Naz Long paced the Stars with 31 points, seven rebounds and two assists while Diamond Stone notched 24 points and 11 rebounds.

The teams kept the score close opening the first frame tying twice and alternating the lead eight times by the 6:00 mark. Reno had a one-point edge over Salt Lake at the mid-way point before Reno went on a late run after a triple from Jones to hold an eight-point advantage over the Stars entering the second frame.

Reno expanded their lead to as many as 26 points in the second quarter behind a 48.0% shooting effort in the frame. The hosts went into the locker room with a 10-point cushion.

The Bighorns continued to execute their offense in the third quarter, shooting 66.7% from behind the arc and outscoring Salt Lake City 35-25. Salt Lake rallied to cut the deficit to single digits at the 2:00 mark before Reno went on a 14-3 run to have a 20-point lead entering the final frame.

Isaiah Cousins opened up the fourth quarter scoring six points in under two minutes to make it a 16-point game. The Bighorns kept the Stars at bay rebuilding their advantage to as many as 26 points in the frame to secure a 133-114 victory against Salt Lake City.

The Bighorns will next travel to Memphis to take on the Hustle on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 10 a.m. PDT.

--bighorns--