SANTA CRUZ >> Quinn Cook’s monster game couldn’t save the Santa Cruz Warriors.

The 6-foot-2 guard scored a season-high 43 points, but the Warriors saw their 16-point lead slowly evaporate in a 116-113 loss to Iowa on Friday night in the teams’ NBA G League game at Kaiser Permanente Arena.

“Stats are irrelevant when you lose,” Cook said. “We got to get better at closing games.”

Elijah Milsap banked a shot to tie the score at 111 and the Wolves made several free throws in the game’s waning minutes, including a pair awarded on a technical foul after the Warriors called for a reset timeout. The Warriors were out of timeouts, officials ruled after a meeting, and assessed a technical foul and lost possession of the ball.

The Wolves made 22 of 25 free throws, much to the dismay of the capacity crowd that headed for the exits grumbling after the final buzzer sounded.

Cook, a two-way player who entered the game third in the league in scoring (23.1 points per game), matched that total at the half. He scored 19 points in the second quarter, staking his team to a 58-48 lead at the break.

Among his second-quarter highlights were three 3-pointers and a successful finger-roll from his waist in traffic.

He finished five points shy of the franchise’s single-game mark of 48, set by Elliot Williams in an overtime game on Jan. 23, 2016 against Rio Grande Valley. Cook’s previous season high of 35 points came in a 138-135 overtime loss to the South Bay Lakers on Nov. 4, the second game of the season.

Cook finished with a double-double. He also had 11 assists and just one turnover.

“Phenomenal. Amazing,” teammate Avry Holmes said. “He’s doing his thing right now. He’s a two-way player, hopefully he gets called up.”

The Warriors finished with 11 turnovers, good by their oft-sloppy standards. They also shot 55 percent from the field (44 of 80) with 10 3-pointers.

Forward Damion Lee added 21 points and seven rebounds for Santa Cruz. Center Damian Jones, on assignment from Golden State, had 16 points and six rebounds and Avry Holmes was a huge spark off the bench, scoring 16 points with three 3-pointers in 25 minutes.

Two-way forward Chris Boucher, a former University of Oregon standout who tore his ACL in the Pac-12 Conference Tournament semifinals March 10, didn’t suit up after scoring 11 points in 15 minutes in his professional debut Wednesday.

With the loss, Santa Cruz (16-13) drops to third place in the Pacific Division, a game and half behind leader South Bay (17-11).

The Wolves (15-11) move into a tied for first place in the Midwest Division with Oklahoma City (16-12).

Iowa finished with seven players reaching double digits in scoring. Guard Anthony Brown, a two-way player, scored a team-high 22 points with two of his team’s 16 3-pointers. Milsap scored 20 points with three 3s in 25 minutes off the bench.

Two-way player Amile Jefferson, a 6-9 forward out of Duke, finished with 17 points and nine rebounds — four below his league-leading average of 13. Center Justin Patton, on assignment from Minnesota, added 10 points and five rebounds.

Contact Jim Seimas at 831-706-3256.