LEGENDS TRIO LEADS TAKEDOWN OF WOLVES

DES MOINES, IA, (Jan. 1, 2023) - The Texas Legends (2-1) used another power performance from Grant Riller, Tyler Hall, and Yudai Baba to take down the Iowa Wolves (1-2) 138-126 on New Year’s Day.  The trio that combined for 79 in the previous game, had 98 of the team’s total Sunday afternoon.

The Wolves opened on a seven-point run before Yudai Baba put Texas on the board.  Baba finished the first with 12 points, but the team was off to a slow start with Iowa holding a 34-29 edge at the buzzer.  The Wolves opened the second with six points in less than a minute to make it a double-digit deficit, but Texas responded with an 18-5 run to take the lead.  The two stayed close and exchanged leads five times, but Riller had the final word from outside to put Texas up 62-61 at the break.

Texas’ shooting heated up in the second half as the visitors took control.  An 18-4 run to open the fourth gave the Legends their largest lead of the night (+19) and put them outside striking distance of the Wolves’ comeback attempts. 

The Legends finished the night shooting 42% outside, led by Tyler Hall with a team season-high 10 threes to give him a career-high 35 points.  Riller ended with a career night of 39 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists.  Baba finished with 24 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals.  Josh Nzeakor added 15 points, 7 rebounds, and Todd Withers tagged on 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.  Amauri Hardy came off the bench for 10 points, 4 rebounds while Tra-Deon Hollins dished out a game-high 10 assists. 

DJ Carton led the Wolves’ efforts with 24 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 4 blocks.  Josh Minott came off the bench for 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks, and Wendell Moore Jr. added 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists. The Legends finish their road trip Tuesday in Sioux Falls at 6:30pm CT.  Fans can catch all the action live at www.TexLegends.com or on the Legends Facebook page.