SANTA CRUZ >> The Warriors didn’t look like a team deserving of sitting atop the G League’s Pacific Division standings in their 117-112 loss to visiting Reno on Wednesday night.

So they won’t.

Santa Cruz shot 62.5 percent from the free-throw line (15 of 24) and committed 20 turnovers in their third loss this season to the Bighorns, much to the chagrin of 2,476 fans packed into Kaiser Permanente Arena.

“I don’t know how many shots we shot that were bad shots,” Warriors coach Aaron Miles said, “Some we made, some we didn’t. Bad shots are turnovers also. … It wasn’t pretty.”

The Warriors (16-12) were unable to take advantage of division leading South Bay (16-11) getting crushed by Iowa on Wednesday night and remain a half game behind the Lakers, as do the Bighorns (15-11).

Santa Cruz hopes to tighten up its game Friday, when it hosts Iowa (14-11) in the second game of a six-game homestand,

“We got our hands full, but I think we’re ready,” said Warriors two-way player Quinn Cook, who led Santa Cruz with 26 points, though he was 2 of 10 from beyond the arc.

Terrence Jones, returning from a three-game hiatus, scored 18 points after coming off the bench.

Center Damian Jones, on assignment from Golden State, and guard Alex Hamilton each scored 13 points and two-way forward/center Chris Boucher scored 11 in his pro debut.

“He brings a presence that we need,” Cook said of Boucher.

Reno took it to Santa Cruz from long range in the first half and worked the ball inside in the second half as two-way players JaKarr Sampson (22 points), a forward, and center Jack Cooley (18 points) made their presence felt.

The Bighorns kept Santa Cruz at arm’s length for much of the second half.

Miles said his team didn’t match the Bighorns’ intensity.

“On loose balls, they’re diving for them and we’re reaching for them,” the Warriors coach said.

Sampson was a thorn in the Warriors’ side.

“He’s a real mobile four,” Miles said of Sampson. “He plays like a three. And he plays with a high motor.”

It was the Warriors’ first home game since Dec. 26. In their longest road trip of the season, the short-handed Warriors went 4-2. They welcomed back three players against the Bighorns: Boucher (knee), Michael Gbinije (calf) and Terrence Jones (shoulder), who missed one game with a shoulder injury and two others to mourn the passing of a family member.

And it was the second game without forward Georges Niang, who was signed to a two-way contract by Utah on Sunday. Niang averaged 18.4 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists in 26 games with Santa Cruz.

“I’m just so proud, so happy for him,” Cook said. “I know he’s going to stick with Utah. He was one of my closest friends on the team. … It means a lot to me seeing him where he wants to be.”

Boucher, a former University of Oregon standout, made his profession debut after tearing his ACL in the Pac-12 Conference Tournament semifinals March 10.

Boucher entered late in the first quarter and got hot in the second quarter, scoring seven of his eight first-half points. He played 15:25 minutes, a total Miles promised with increase moving forward.

Cook led the Warriors with 10 points at the break while Miles took advantage of the new-found depth on his bench.

The Bighorns, aided by nine 3-pointers in a see-saw first half, led the Warriors 54-52 at the break.

Guard Cody Demps, a Sacramento State alum, led the way with 12 points with three 3s and guard David Stockton, whose father John was a 10-time NBA All-Star, had 11 points with three 3s.

Stockton finished with 21 points and Demps and reserve Will Davis each scored 14. Michael Bethea Jr. added 12 off the bench for the Bighorns.

“They’re physical and they’re tough,” Miles said of the Bighorns. “You got Jack Cooley, who is physically tough. But then you got Stockton, who’s small in stature but he’s a tough cat. They got that tough competitiveness to them. They’re fighters.”

Contact Jim Seimas at 831-706-3256.