Salt Lake Stars Get Their First Win

By Spencer Wixom

The Stars got their first win of the season against the Texas Legends and former BYU star Kyle Collinsworth.  “We haven’t found our offensive flow yet” said coach Dean Cooper Prior to the 129-100 blowout,  “You never know what’s going to break the seal”.  The Stars broke that seal tonight shooting 19-31 from three and scoring over 100 points for the first time in the season.

There were great match-ups to watch across the board in this game.  Collinsworth is the player most Stars fans will recognize from his time at BYU.  J.J. O’Brien played against Collinsworth four times in college and got to go up against him once more.  The two are versatile players that do a little bit of everything.  Both players led their teams in assists tonight.

Jermaine Taylor led all scorers with 30 points by shooting 4-4 from three and getting to the free throw line ten times.  The forward has been coming off the bench for the Stars and has thrived in his role as the sixth man this year averaging 17.7 points per game on 53.2% shooting from the field and 39.1% from three.  Taylor is fun to watch and is becoming a fan favorite so when asked about what fans should call him he said “probably Smooth, that’s what a lot of people call me”.  So, at the next Stars game, there better be some “SMOOTH!” chants after Taylor’s baskets.

Marcus Paige had his best game of the season shooting 5-7 from three. “We were getting open shots on the weak side and I think that was a big plus for us with our big guys putting pressure on the rim”. The team was unselfish and had five players score in double figures.  The Stars will look to keep this trend alive in their next game as the travel to Texas for a rematch against the Legends on November 26th.