SANTA CRUZ, CA –Santa Cruz Warriors two-way stars Damion Lee and Marcus Derrickson combined for 46 points tonight on 18-of-25 (72.0 FG%) from the field, helping the Warriors beat the Northern Arizona Suns 118-104 tonight in their season opener in Prescott, Arizona.

Lee controlled the offense for the entirety of his 30 minutes of playing time tonight, scoring a game-high 27 points on 11-of-15 from the field (73.3 FG%) to go along with six rebounds and three steals. Derrickson, in his first NBA G League game, scored 20 points on 7-of-10 from the floor, including four-of-five from deep.

Northern Arizona forward George King had a team-high 22 points on 9-of-14 from the field (64.3 FG%) in 43 minutes. Sunsguard Peter Jok had 19 points on a game-high five made threes (5-of-10 3FG), while seven of the eight Suns who saw the floor tonight scored in double figures.

Santa Cruz started the game with a 23-9 lead thanks to Derrickson’s 10 early points and Lee scoring seven. Northern Arizona then went on a 15-2 run in a three minute stretch to end the quarter 29-28. Lee continued slashing into the lane in the second period to collect nine more points, but Northern Arizona took an eight point lead into halftime.

With the score tied at 76 in the third, Santa Cruz ended the period on a 15-0 run to take the lead for good, thanks to reserve guards Darius Morris (17 for the night), Kendrick Nunn (14 points) and Juan Toscano-Anderson (nine points). Santa Cruz collected 15 steals on the night, including five in the fourth quarter, to secure the 118-104 win.