D-Fenders Take Top Spot from Stampede

Los Angeles 105, Idaho 100

EL SEGUNDO, CA, April 2 – Los Angeles forward Sean Banks scored a game-high 26 points and had a key block with 13.9 seconds remaining to propel the D-Fenders to a 105-100 victory over the Idaho Stampede Wednesday at Staples Center.

 With the win, Los Angeles improved to 32-14 and moved half-a-game ahead of the Stampede for first place in the West Division.  The Stampede dropped to 31-14, second best in the D-League, on the season. 

The D-Fenders' Darren Cooper came off the bench to score 15 points in the second half. Wendell White chipped in with 14, Jelani McCoy added 13 points, 10 boards and seven assists. Brandon Wallace was big on the defensive end, with 11 rebounds and four rejections.

D-League leading assist-man Randy Livingston led the way for the Stampede, dropping 24 points and dishing out 11 assists. Cory Violette added 20 points to go with 14 rebounds. Roberto Bergersen also reached the 20-point plateau for Idaho, 12 of them on 3-pointers.

The D-Fenders broke an 86-86 tie with 6:52 left in the fourth quarter with a 15-6 run to go ahead by nine.  Idaho cut the lead to three, but Banks’ block prevented the Stampede from getting any closer and preserved the win.   

 “The ball kind of bounced our way a little bit,” said D-Fenders head coach Dan Panaggio.  “We got a great lift from some of our bench players.  Darren Cooper was outstanding; Brian Morrison did a good job coming in off the bench in the second half.”

“We just made plays when we had to and the missed a few shots.” Panaggio added.  “We snuck out with a win.”

Idaho came out of the halftime break trailing 50-46, but went on a run to take the lead, extending it to as many as 11 with a Brent Petway alley-oop dunk from Livingston with 3:46 remaining in the quarter.

The D-Fenders travel to Anaheim for a Saturday night showdown with the Arsenal.  Idaho will head north to face off with the Bakersfield Jam on Friday.