College Article Feature: Stars Unable to Maintain Early Lead in Home Loss to Rip City

Written by Will Naughton | Weber State University

The Salt Lake City Stars opened 2026 with a 138-124 loss to the Rip City Remix at the Maverik Center on Jan. 2, bringing their record in the NBA G League regular season to 3-1 at the top of the western conference in game one of their double header against the Oregonian unit. It was their first home loss of the 2025-26 season.

The Remix (3-3) traded the edge back and forth with the hosts in the early stages of the opening frame until Stars guard Sean East II pulled up to sink a mid-range jumpshot and reclaim the advantage for Salt Lake with 5:36 remaining in the first quarter. SLC kept their scoring rhythm as the first half progressed, leading by as many as 14 points when point guard Elijah Harkless knocked it down from the line with 4:13 on the clock in the second quarter. It was all Rip City could manage to cut the deficit to 49-43 before the halftime buzzer.

The Stars faltered coming out of the gate in the third quarter as the visitors went on a 10-point scoring surge to reclaim the lead at 59-58, with shooting guard Blake Hinson grabbing an offensive board before sinking his shot at 9:36. East II drained a 3-pointer that briefly restored the home side’s scoreboard cushion, but the Remix kept the offensive pressure on and led by as many as 20 points en route to victory.

East II accounted for a team-best 25 points as a substitute as five additional Stars followed suit with double figure scoring: John Tonje (13), Cameron McGriff (21) and Elijah Harkless (22) started the game while Matthew Murrell (12) and Max Abmas (14) joined East II in making an impact from the bench. Abmas also showed his vision with nine assists as Harkless flashed his physicality in getting up for a game-high 12 rebounds.

The home side shot 43-91 from the field, 12-30 from behind the arc and 15-21 from the line. These numbers show a downgrade from their win over the Memphis Hustle on Dec. 31 when they managed 47-88 FGM, 16-34 3PMM and 17-18 FTM.

Hinson led Rip City’s scoring with a game-high 35 points while forward Dillon Jones, a former Weber State University Wildcat, recorded a triple-double with 20 points, 11 rebounds and a game-high 12 assists as the 1003 home fans extended him a warm welcome back to Utah.

SLC now face a turnaround of under 24 hours and will look to settle the score with the Remix when they host them again at the Maverick Center on Jan. 3.