SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — Warriors two-way forward Marcus Derrickson hit a fourth-quarter three to give Santa Cruz their first lead since the opening minutes, and Santa Cruz never trailed again to beat the Agua Caliente Clippers 103-97 tonight in Ontario, California.

Derrickson led the Santa Cruz Warriors (3-0) with 23 points and four of the team’s six three-pointers tonight (4-of-8 3FG), with swingman Antonius Cleveland chipping in 14 points, five rebounds and three blocks. Santa Cruz’s bench, who came into the night leading the NBA G League in scoring, had 48 points tonight including 15 from veteran guard Darius Morris.

Forward Jonathan Motley led the Agua Caliente Clippers (0-2) with 23 points on 9-of-18 from the field to go with 16 rebounds. Los Angeles Clippers 2018 first round selection Jerome Robinson, currently on assignment with Agua Caliente, had 21 points and reserve forward Anthony Bennett chipped in another 21 points with eight boards for the Clippers.

Santa Cruz opened the game shooting 32.6% in the first half (15-of-46 FG), keeping the score close with 11 second chance points, including 4 gritty offensive boards from 6-1 guard Will Cherry. Motley and Bennett controlled the action with 26 points and 11 rebounds combined to give the Clippers a 50-42 first half lead.

With the deficit growing to 11 in the third quarter, Derrickson led a 9-0 Santa Cruz run with back-to-back three-pointers off passes from Cherry. After Derrickson’s three in the fourth quarter gave the team its permanent lead, Morris ended an Agua Caliente comeback attempt with a step back fadeaway jumper with 27 seconds remaining to secure the win.

The Warriors will now return to Santa Cruz to play the Iowa Wolves, the NBA G League affiliate of the Minnesota Timberwolves, tomorrow night at Kaiser Permanente Arena. All fans in attendance tomorrow night will receive a Warriors 2018-19 schedule magnet, courtesy of Lloyd’s Tire and Auto Care. Tickets for Saturday night and all Warriors home games are available at santacruzbasketball.com or by calling (831) 713-4400.