College Article Feature: Stars Triumph at Delta Center Again

Written by Will Naughton | Weber State University

The Salt Lake City Stars got back to winning ways after successive overtime losses in the NBA G League with a 126-113 victory over the Santa Cruz Warriors at the Delta Center on Jan. 26, improving their regular season record to 6-9 through a 25-point game from two-way Utah Jazz player John Tonje and double-doubles from center Oscar Tshiebwe and forwards Matthew Cleveland and Cameron McGriff.

SLC made their intentions known early when point guard Matthew Murrell knocked down a crowd-lifting three-pointer from the wing to open the scoring just 15 seconds into the opening 12 minutes. The Warriors (8-6) struggled to respond to the free-flowing Stars’ offense and ended the first quarter in a 15-point deficit at 35-20, with Cleveland leading the way for Salt Lake with seven points.

The scoreboard cushion initially got bigger for the Stars in the second quarter. A layup on 8:17 from guard Sean East II, who was named to the 2026 NBA Rising Stars game, extended the margin to 24 points at 50-26 for Salt Lake’s biggest lead of the night. However, Santa Cruz was able to cut that down to just 7 points when a lapse in defensive concentration from the hosts allowed shooting guard Desmond Cambrdige to set up power forward Ja’Vier Francis for a slam dunk that closed the second frame’s scoring at 58-51.

Following the halftime break, the Warriors traded baskets with Salt Lake as the home side’s edge fluctuated between five and nine points in the early stages of the third period. But, once the Stars regained their rhythm, they were able to stretch their advantage to 17 points through big performances from East II, Cleveland and Tshiebwe, who scored six points each. Despite a steady consistency of scoring from Santa Cruz, they never managed to take the lead and the third quarter came to an end with the Stars leading 94-77.

The Warriors showed character in performing as they did with only seven players available, but it was not enough to keep pace with the Stars and the final buzzer sounded off with a score of 126-113. The win saw Salt Lake stay perfect at the Delta Center and assume 10th place in the Western Conference.

Five SLC players scored in double figures on the night as Tonje (25), Cleveland (19) and Tshiebwe (17) featured in the starting lineup while East II (17) and McGriff (10) added support from the bench. Tshiebwe also got up for a game-high 16 rebounds while shooting guard Dereon Seabron made nine assists.

Power forward Jack Clark led Warriors scoring with 25 points, followed by point guard Franco Miller Jr. with 21.

Up next for the Stars is a trip out west for a doubleheader against the 6-6 South Bay Lakers in El Segundo, Calif., with the opener set for Jan. 29.