College Article Feature: Memphis Hustle Topple Salt Lake City Stars in Overtime

Written by Will Naughton | Weber State University

The Salt Lake City Stars could not make it two NBA G League wins in a row and suffered a 117-116 home loss in overtime to the last-placed Memphis Hustle at the Maverik Center on Jan. 21. 

The Stars (5-8), returning from a double-header of mixed results at the Sioux Falls Skyforce in South Dakota, welcomed center Mo Bamba and guard Dereon Seabron back to the team after the former had his non-guaranteed contract waived by the Toronto Raptors and the latter opted to cut his time in China with the Beijing Royal Fighters short.

In spite of the loss, Bamba led the way for Salt Lake with his 11th double-double of the season, managing 24 points (9-18 FGM, 3-6 3PM) and 15 rebounds (6 OR, 9 DR) in addition to a season-high and game-high six steals. 

With the hosts leading 9-8 at 5:20 in the first quarter, Seabron announced himself to the home crowd with a running, finger-roll layup that extended Salt Lake’s lead and kicked off a 17-9 scoring drive that Bamba finished with an alley-oop dunk off an assist by point guard Sean East II at the end of the period for 26-17.

In the second frame, SLC stretched their scoreboard margin to 15 points when guard Justin Harmon stepped up to the line and sank his 1-for-2 free throw for 40-25 at 8:03. Memphis (2-10) responded with a game-changing run of 28-7 spearheaded by center Abou Ousmane’s tip dunk at 3:53 that brought the score to 47-45. The Hustle kept their offense hot and went into the locker room leading 61-56.

The visitors came out of the break reenergized and continued their scoring form in the third frame, with power forward Nate Hinton and guard DeJon Jarreau knocking down eight points each en route to two separate 16-point leads. Despite the efforts of the home side, Memphis set the stage for the fourth quarter at a 93-77 margin. 

After their mid-game slump, the Stars roared back to life in the fourth quarter and outscored the Hustle 33-17 as Bamba, Max Abmas, and Justin Harmon posted 7 points a piece. Unfortunately for SLC, Memphis point guard Jahmai Mashack’s driving layup with 12 seconds remaining leveled the score at 110-110 and sent the game into overtime.

With the target score set at 117, the Stars and the Hustle went blow-for-blow as the stadium pulsed with excitement. Salt Lake shooting guard Matthew Murrell drained a three-pointer to electrify the 1504 home supporters and bring his team within one point of the target score, but Ousmane’s improvised finish proved decisive for Memphis as the game finished 117-116.

In total, six Stars players scored in double figures: Bamba (24), East II (14), Murrell (13) and John Tonje (11) achieved the feat from the starting five while Abmas (19) and Harmon (14) added support from the bench.

East II once again exhibited his vision and playmaking with a team-high six assists. 

Visitor scoring was led by Hinton with 21 points, complemented by Ousmane’s 19 as a substitute.

After this defeat, the Stars sit 12th place in the Western conference ahead of their away matchup with the 8-4 Stockton Kings on Jan. 24.