The Santa Cruz Warriors pulled ahead early and never looked back en route to a 112-101 victory over the Iowa Wolves at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines on Tuesday evening.
Two-way center Quinten Post led the charge with a career-high 30 points for the Warriors, who maintained their perfect record at 5-0 to begin the 2025 regular season.
Post shot 78.6 percent from the floor, including 5-of-7 on 3-point shot attempts along with nine rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals. Guard Yuri Collins had 17 points, eight assists and three rebounds, while forward Blake Hinson recorded 16 points and made 4-of-6 shot attempts from behind the arc.
Forward Kevin Knox II—who was named NBA G League Player of the Week on Dec. 7—earned his third double-double of the regular season, scoring 12 points and grabbing a game-best 11 rebounds.
Forwards Javan Johnson and Jackson Rowe rounded out the scoring effort for Santa Cruz, scoring 12 points and 10 points, respectively.
Iowa guard Trevor Keels and forward Nojel Eastern both finished the contest with a team-high 23 points. Eastern added five rebounds, five steals, and three assists.
Two-way guard Tristen Newton recorded 14 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals in his first appearance for the Wolves.
Two-way center Jesse Edwards contributed 10 points and eight rebounds, and guard El Ellis capped off Iowa’s offense with 11 points, four assists and two steals.
The Warriors overwhelmed Iowa for a majority of the first quarter, holding them to single-digit scoring while converting on the offensive end to take a 27-9 advantage with a little more than two minutes remaining in the opening stanza.
A pair of 3-pointers from Post and Johnson in the final minute of the first quarter gave the Sea Dubs a 37-21 lead heading into the second period.
Santa Cruz held the Wolves to 33.3 percent shooting in the second quarter to curtail Iowa’s efforts at shrinking their deficit. A putback layup from center Seth Maxwell gave the Sea Dubs a 67-43 lead going into halftime.
Post stayed perfect through 24 minutes of action, making 8-of-8 shot attempts from the floor and hitting four 3-pointers to score 20 points in the first half—which tied a team record for most points in a half this season.
Santa Cruz’s offense stalled in the second half, scoring just 18 points and were responsible for 11 turnovers in the third quarter. Iowa opened the fourth quarter with a 12-5 run that cut the deficit at 90-84, which was the smallest lead for the Sea Dubs since the 7:58 mark in the first quarter.
Collins provided some much-needed stability for the Warriors, scoring or assisting on 14 of Santa Cruz’s final 22 points in the fourth quarter.
Santa Cruz travels to Arizona for a back-to-back series against the Valley Suns on Jan. 12 and 13. The Sea Dubs return to Santa Cruz for their regular-season home opener against the Mexico City Capitanes on Jan. 17 at 7pm at Kaiser Permanente Arena.
