Hustle bomb Birmingham Squadron
The Memphis Hustle (11-5) defeated the Birmingham Squadron (4-16) 129-99 on Tuesday night before 539 fans as the Hustle continue their four-game home stand.
Kenneth Lofton Jr. led the Hustle with 20 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists to secure his first career triple-double. Dakota Mathias scored 20 points, making five of his seven attempts from beyond the arc. On assignment from the Grizzlies, Ziaire Williams scored 16 points in his G League debut. Justin Bean scored 14 points off the bench. Jacob Gilyard had his ninth game with double-digit assists as he scored nine points and 10 assists.
Dereon Seabron and Feron Hunt each scored 20 points to lead the Squadron, with Javonte Smart scoring 16 points off the bench. James Kelly Sr. finished with a double-double, scoring 10 points to go along with 10 assists. Zylan Cheatham finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.
The Squadron led by as many as 10 points early in the second quarter, but the Hustle rallied to take a 58-48 lead at the halftime break. Memphis outscored Birmingham 44-22 in the third period, pushing their lead up to 32 in the frame. The Hustle extended their lead to as many as 38 points in the fourth quarter.
Memphis scored 31 points off 22 Birmingham turnovers. The Hustle shot 48.9% from the field and 39.5% from deep while limiting Birmingham to just 15.6% shooting from beyond the arc. The Hustle dished out 32 assists on 46 made field goals.
The Hustle will wrap up their home stand against the Mexico City Capitanes at 10:30 a.m. CT on Thursday, Feb. 9, at Landers Center to wrap up the regular season series. The Hustle defeated the Capitanes 128-113 in the first meeting.
