Ayer gets career-high 31 in third straight rout
Housman adds 28; Four L.A. players post double-doubles
Chris Ayer scored 20 of his career-high 31 points in the third quarter on Sunday night as the Los Angeles Lightning topped the USA All-Stars 154-112 in an IBL pro basketball game at Cal Lutheran.
Ayer, a 6-11 forward/center from Loyola Marymount, hit 9-of-15 from the field and 13-14 from the charity stripe to help the Lightning (9-2) sweep the three-game series with the All-Stars. They won by 33, 27 and 42 points and moved into a first-place tie atop the Continental Division.
“I got a couple of quick buckets (in the third period), then Fred (Vinson) and Bryon (Russell) started iso-ing me in the block,” said Ayer, who blocked six shots and grabbed five rebounds. “They’d been pressuring me a lot and that gave me good opportunities to spin off and make aggressive moves to the basket.”
Point guard Drew Housman drained 12-16 from the field, including 4-5 from 3-point land, and scored a game-high 28 points for L.A. He also had nine assists.
Trayvon Lathan and Vinson came within two assists each of a triple double. Lathan had 26 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists while Vinson collected 16 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Ja’Shon Hampton (19 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists) and Travis Pinick (16 points, 11 rebounds) also had double-doubles for the Lightning.
Housman poured in 18 points in the second quarter as L.A. outscored the visitors 45-28 to build a 74-49 halftime lead.
Kreston Martin led the Stars with 27 points and seven rebounds while Mike Adams had 14 points and 10 boards.
The Lightning hit 58.5 percent of their second-half shots and held the All-Stars to 36.2 percent. Juaquin Hawkins had 15 points, seven rebounds and three steals for the Lightning.
L.A. won the board battle 77-62 and set a new team record for rebounds for the second time in three nights, beating the previous mark by one. The 154 points were the second-highest of the year and missed the all-time team record by six.
The Lightning led 29-21 after one quarter, then took control with a 24-8 run to open the second period.
The Lightning have four home games remaining in the regular season – June 11-12 against the Nevada Pride at Cal Lutheran and June 18-19 against the Arizona Raptors in benefit games at Royal and Agoura High Schools.
