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DETROIT (BVM) 鈥� Two of the best teams in the NBA G League鈥檚 Eastern Conference faced off on Wednesday night. The Motor City Cruise (18-7, Detroit Pistons鈥� affiliate) played host to the Capital City Go-Go (15-8, Washington Wizards鈥� affiliate). This was a big game as teams geared up for the playoffs, both hoping to continue to string wins together.聽

There was a familiar face on the visitor鈥檚 side by the name of Cassius Winston. Arguably the biggest ovation of the night was when he first checked in, even as a member of the visiting team. Winston spent four seasons playing for Michigan State and is from Detroit, and his hometown crowd made sure to make him feel welcomed while returning home.聽

Not only did he feel welcomed, Winston flourished. He finished with 24 points, 11 assists, four rebounds, and two steals. He looked as if he was on the court at U of D Jesuit High School or at the Breslin Center, because the game went at his pace. He got defenders on his back, he drew fouls, he made his floaters and layups. He also was hitting transition threes and finding the open man, everything fans from the state of Michigan have grown so accustomed to watching.聽

What made the homecoming game even more interesting was that the Cruise鈥檚 leading scorer was Luka Garza, former National Player of the Year at Iowa. Garza finished with 28 points, seven rebounds, two assists and a block. It felt as if this was a Michigan State battle against the Hawkeyes from a few years ago, with Garza and Winston trading blows.聽

鈥淧eople ask me who’s the hardest player I鈥檝e ever played against, hardest person to beat, I say Cassius Winston every time,鈥� Garza said postgame. 鈥淚n fact, I never beat him in college. Today was my first win against him. He was the ultimate winner at Michigan State, controlling the tempo and pace, he鈥檚 a hell of a player and I respect him as much as any player I鈥檝e gone up against.鈥�

Garza knew it wouldn’t come easy going up against a player of Winston鈥檚 caliber. It was a back-and-forth battle all game, with the Cruise leading by six at half. Contributions from Trayvon Palmer on the boards 鈥� who had 13 rebounds to go with his eight points 鈥� and a bench spark from Cheick Diallo who had 17 points allowed the Cruise to withstand a stretch where Winston was unstoppable on the offensive end. In front of friends, family, and hometown fans, Winston was getting anything he wanted in the second quarter and loving every second of it.聽

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In the second half, though, the Cruise were able to take control. Saben Lee finished with 25 points and 13 assists, and there were other scoring contributions from Jamorko Pickett (20 points), Cassius Stanley (11 points), and Jaylen Johnson (12 points). This balanced scoring attack was able to fend off Winston鈥檚 attempt to be a hero in his hometown game, with everything seeming to click for the ex-Spartan.聽

While Winston was great, the Go-Go just had no answer for Garza. Whether that was a pick-and-pop for a three, a post feed, or beating everyone down the floor in transition for an easy layup, he was getting anything he wanted on the offensive end. When he was on the bench, nobody was cheering louder for his teammates than Garza, and nobody was hustling harder than him when he was on the floor. His effort, attitude, and scoring ability helped the Cruise take home the win, 125-111.聽

A lot of that can be credited to his father, Frank Garza. Frank has been Luka鈥檚 right-hand man his entire basketball life. He has coached him forever, trains with him in the offseason, and makes it a priority to travel to every single one of Luka鈥檚 games, even with the move to Detroit.聽

鈥淚t means a lot,鈥� Frank said of watching his son live out his NBA dream. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been watching him evolve at every stage of his career, and it鈥檚 been such a pleasure to watch him this season. Every level requires new skills and that鈥檚 what he鈥檚 learning, so it鈥檚 been great to see him grow and adjust his game. This has been a fabulous experience for him to learn how to play at this level.鈥�

Even when Luka was attending Iowa, Frank was still working with him on his game. There have been so many fantastic coaches and mentors that Luka has had the pleasure of working with throughout his career, but his dad had a lot to do with his development.聽

鈥淲hat Fran [McCaffrey] did for me was allow me to work with my son during the summer,鈥� Frank said. 鈥淚 was so grateful that he allows that freedom of development, that players can pursue training from outside of the program. Then Fran would take it, mix it up, and make it better.鈥�

Speaking of Iowa, Luka was absolutely thrilled to see his alma mater take home the Big Ten Tournament championship last weekend.聽

鈥淲e鈥檙e the hottest team in the country,鈥� Luka said. 鈥淲e got Keegan Murray, the best player in the country, who was inexplicably left off first team All-American by the NACB. That was a mistake, as he鈥檚 clearly the most dominant player in college right now. I look forward to him continuing that domination in the NCAA Tournament.鈥�

Iowa is a No. 5 seed and matches up with Richmond to start the tournament. If Keegan Murray can string together performances like his ex-teammate did Wednesday night for the Motor City Cruise, you may want to adjust your brackets accordingly.