Harris' Huge Night Pushes Vipers Past Dakota In Overtime
January 17, 2010 - NBA G League (G League)
Dakota Wizards News Release
BISMARCK, ND, January 17, 2010 - Two days after watching the Eastern Conference leading Iowa Energy leave town, the Dakota Wizards welcomed the Western Conference leading Rio Grande Valley Vipers to the Bismarck Civic Center. Michael Harris had a huge game for the Vipers, scoring 48 points and grabbing 24 rebounds to help Rio Grande Valley notch the win in a game that went into overtime.
With Romel Beck still sidelined because of a back injury, David Bell and Renaldo Major were asked to once again shoulder more of the scoring load for Dakota. Bell came out hot, going 3-for-3 from the field en route to nine points in the first quarter. Rio Grande Valley's Harris also came out gunning, shooting 8-of-11 and scoring 16 points in the stanza to help stake the Vipers to an early 35-28 lead.
Dakota started the second quarter on a 13-2 run to take a four point lead with 8:47 remaining in the half. The Wizards turned up the defensive intensity in the second, limiting Rio Grande Valley to 33.3% shooting. A balanced Dakota offensive attack also kept the Vipers on their heels. Nine different Wizards scored in the period on a combined 14-of-22 shooting. Dakota went into the locker room at halftime with a 61-56 lead.
The two teams battled back and forth in a third period that saw four different lead changes and two ties. With the Wizards focused on Harris, Rio Grande Valley's Ernest Scott stepped up, scoring nine points in the quarter. Renaldo Major made his presence felt in the final three minutes of the third, first hitting two free throws and then blocking a Harris layup on the defensive end. A few moments later, Major brought the Civic Center fans to their feet after running the floor and throwing down a dunk off of a David Bell alley-oop.
Rio Grande Valley used a 13-4 run early in the fourth quarter to jump out to a nine point lead. Dakota began to chip away, but it seemed as though Michael Harris hit a big basket every time the momentum swung in the Wizards' favor. Dakota finally turned it on in the final two minutes of the game. Down eight points, Darren Cooper hit a pair of big free throws, David Bell sunk a free throw and a three from the corner to cut the lead to two, and Cheyne Gadson scored on a reverse layup with 4.8 seconds left to tie the game at 108. Both teams had a chance to win in regulation but were unable to convert, sending the game into overtime.
As was the case for most of the game, the two teams went back-and-forth for the first two minutes of overtime. With the game tied at 113, Rio Grande Valley went on a 13-3 run to ice the ten point victory. The Vipers were 4-of-5 from the field and 9-of-10 from the free throw line in the extra frame, while Dakota could only manage 3-of-11 shooting. Rio Grande Valley also hit eleven three-pointers in the contest.
Along with Harris' big game, Ernest Scott also scored 20 for the Vipers. Will Conroy put up a double-double for Rio Grande Valley with 18 points and 15 assists. Renaldo Major had another strong game for Dakota, scoring 23 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Cheyne Gadson also scored 17 points and dished out seven assists for the Wizards.
These two teams will meet again on Tuesday night at the Bismarck Civic Center. Tipoff is at 7:00pm.
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