D-Fenders Hang On To Beat Skyforce

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SIOUX FALLS, SD – A Sioux Falls Skyforce (26-20) comeback came up short as they fell to the Los Angeles D-Fenders (32-13) tonight at the Sanford Pentagon.

The Skyforce ended the first half on an 11-0 run to take the 62-57 lead into halftime. The momentum swung to the D-Fenders in the second half as they outscored the Skyforce 36-18 in the third quarter. Sioux Falls led a comeback fueled by Bubu Palo (22 points, nine assists and eight rebounds), and Patrick Miller (19 points, five assists and three rebounds).

The Skyforce outscored Los Angeles 31-22 in the fourth quarter, but wasn’t able to complete the comeback in the closing minutes, resulting in a 115-111 defeat.

Keith Benson recorded his league-leading 29th double-double with 21 points, 10 rebounds, while Greg Whittington also recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Jabril Trawick and Henry Walker combined for 22 points off the bench to round out the scoring for Sioux Falls who saw six players score in double figures in the loss.

Andre Ingram led the way for Los Angeles making seven of 11 three-point attempts for a total of 28 points, while Troy

Devries contributed 25 points of his own in the win. Josh Magette (11 points, 10 assists and five rebounds) and Travis Wear (14 points and 10 rebounds) each recorded double-doubles, and Kenneth Smith pitched in 11 of his own points off the bench.

The D-Fenders outrebounded the Skyforce by a margin of 56-45 in the contest, and Sioux Falls is now just 6-17 when being outrebounded by opponents this season. Much of the Skyforce production came from beyond the three-point line, as the team tallied 18 made three-pointers on 50 attempts in the game.