SANTA CRUZ — Someone get Kendrick Nunn a Big Mac.

His shot-clock-beating field goal might not have made the cut for those retro Michael Jordan-Larry Bird “nothing but net” McDonald’s commercials. But, much to the delight of his teammates, he did bank a 3-pointer off the glass to help complete Santa Cruz’s 109-103 come-for-behind win over Iowa on Saturday night.

“Yeah, that was a good one,” Nunn said. “End of the shot clock I put it up. The key was to hold the follow through. And it ended up going down for me …

“It happens. When you get it going, banks shots like that … bank closed, but it was open at the time.”

It was one of those nights. Nunn came off the bench and finished with a season-high 32 points on 15-of-27 shooting after exploding for 17 points in the fourth quarter.

A former Oakland University star who was second in scoring in NCAA Division I play last season, Nunn scored 25 points in the second half Saturday. He also had seven of the Warriors’ 29 assists.

“I feel like that every time I step on the floor,” Nunn said. “That’s the type of player I am. If I see one go in, I know I can rack some up.”

After a see-saw first quarter, the Warriors jumped out to a 10-point lead in the second quarter, only to go ice cold in the third and trail by eight. But Nunn heated up late in the stanza and his teammates rode the hot hand in the fourth quarter to post their first 4-0 start in team history.

Santa Cruz Warriors' Alen Smailagic, a 6-foot-9, 240-pound 18-year-old from Serbia, takes the ball the length of the court for a field goal during Saturday night's game against the Iowa Wolves. (Dan Coyro -- Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Santa Cruz Warriors' Darius Morris tries to get his shot past L.G. Gill of the Iowa Wolves early in Saturday night's game. (Dan Coyro -- Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Santa Cruz Warrior Antonius Cleveland drives arond C. J. Williams of the Iowas Wolves in Saturday night's game. (Dan Coyro -- Santa Cruz Sentinel)



Santa Cruz Warrior Deyonta Davis spins around his Iowa Wolves defender to score in Saturday night's matchup. (Dan Coyro -- Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Santa Cruz Warrior Kevin Young is fouled driving to the basket against the Iowa Wolves Saturday night. (Dan Coyro -- Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Santa Cruz Warrior Michael Gbinije tries to get over Iowa Wolves defender L.G. Gill during their matchup Saturday night. (Dan Coyro -- Santa Cruz Sentinel)



“It’s great,” Nunn said. “It’s always great to win. I know how to win and hopefully, we can continue it.”

The Warriors look to extend their stellar start Tuesday when they travel to Prescott, Arizona, to face host Northern Arizona (1-3) at 5:30 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.

As hot as Nunn was, the Warriors — playing without two-way players Marcus Derrickson and Damion Lee, who were recalled by Golden State — again showcased their depth. After going three games without producing a double-double, Santa Cruz saw guard Darius Morris go for a triple-double and forward Antonius Cleveland and reserve forward Kevin Young produce double-doubles.

Morris finished with 25 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Cleveland, who got into foul trouble in the second half and played 24 minutes, scored 11 points in the first quarter and finished with 16 to go along with 10 rebounds. Young had 10 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. Guard Will Cherry added 14 points, five rebounds and three assists.

“The thing I love about it is, they support one another and they enjoy each other’s success,” Warriors coach Aaron Miles said. “Kendrick got it going and it wasn’t like any of the other players said, ‘Well, it’s my turn.’ We kept going to him, they kept feeding him.”

Morris confirmed as much: “It’s great to be a part of that and be able to feed him the ball. I was happy for him. You know he’s capable of doing that based off what he did in college. For him to do it as a professional today is really big, especially being a rookie. It’s good.”

Cleveland said Nunn has similar outings at practice.

“It was no surprise to us,” he said.

Santa Cruz outrebounded the Wolves 58 to 37.

Forward Keita Bates-Diop and guard Darius Johnson-Odom each scored 20 points to pace Iowa (0-4). Johnson-Odom made all eight of his free-throw attempts as the Wolves were awarded 25 attempts from the charity line.

The Warriors had just seven attempts.

It was the second game in as many nights for the Warriors, who rallied for a 103-97 win over Agua Caliente on Friday night. And without their two two-way players and having guard Jacob Evans recalled by Golden State, the true character of the team emerged.

“Our team has a lot of grit,” Miles said.

The Score

Warriors 109, Wolves 103

Up next: Warriors at Northern Arizona

When: Tuesday, 5:30 p.m.

TV: ESPN+