Despite trailing by as many as 11 points in the second half, the Santa Cruz Warriors rallied to defeat the host Agua Caliente Clippers 103-97 in Ontario on Friday night.

Two-way forward Marcus Derrickson drilled a 3-pointer with 7:56 remaining in regulation and the Warriors never trailed again, outscoring the Clippers 33-21 in the final stanza to improve to 3-0 on the early season.

Derrickson led the Warriors with 23 points on 9-of-19 shooting, including four triples, to go along with four rebounds. Antonius Cleveland contributed 14 points, five rebounds and three blocks.

Santa Cruz’s bench, which came into the game leading the G League in scoring, totaled 48 points. Alen Smailagic led the reserves by depositing 16 points, while Darius Morris and Kendrick Nunn each came off the bench to contribute 15 and 13 points, respectively.

The Warriors didn’t really find their offense until the second half. Trailing 50-42 at the break, Santa Cruz fell behind by 11 points twice early in the third quarter after Johnathan Motley made a pair of free throws and later after Jamel Artis sunk a jump shot with 10:33 left in the quarter.

But a Cleveland layup and a Derrickson 3-pointer in response to the deficit kickstarted a 9-0 run by the Warriors, who went into the fourth quarter down 76-70.

Another 3 by Derrickson four minutes into the fourth supplied Santa Cruz its first lead since the opening minutes, while Smailagic scored five straight points to give the Warriors a cushion.

Morris’ step-back jumper with 27.3 seconds left in regulation secured the win.

Motley led the Clippers (0-2) with 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting to go along with 16 rebounds. Jerome Robinson, the Los Angeles Clippers’ 2018 first-round pick who is currently on assignment with Agua Caliente, had 21 points, while reserve forward Anthony Bennett provided 21 points and eight rebounds.

The Warriors shot 39 percent (34 of 88) from the field, connecting on six 3-pointers. The Clippers were slightly better, shooting 42 percent (36 of 85), but they made only four 3’s.

Will Cherry pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds for the Warriors, who will have their first back-to-back of the season Saturday when they host the Iowa Wolves at Kaiser Permanente Arena.

The Score

Warriors 103, Clippers 97

Up Next: Iowa at Warriors

When: Saturday, 7 p.m.

Where: Kaiser Permanente Arena, Santa Cruz

TV: NBSBA+