PCL1 Reno Aces

Bighorns Fall To Vipers, 110-94

Published on April 10, 2010 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Reno Aces News Release


RENO, Nev. - Despite a dominant 20-20 effort inside from Rod Benson, struggles at the foul line and beyond the three-point arc sent the Reno Bighorns to a 110-94 loss to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the first round of the NBA D-League Playoffs Saturday afternoon in the Reno Events Center.

With the win, Rio Grande Valley takes a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three opening round. The series will now move to Texas for games two and three, if necessary.

The Bighorns finished the day shooting 13.8 percent (4-for-29) from three-point range and 67.9 percent (36-for-53) from the foul line. Reno turned the basketball over 24 times, though the Bighorns did manage to out-rebound the Vipers 54-to-40.

The loss spoils a career-day for Benson, who recorded 22 points, 20 rebounds and two blocked shots. D.J. Strawberry added 19 points and four assists off the bench, Doug Thomas hit all five of his tries from the floor en route to 14 points, and Will Blalock dished-out seven assists.

Jonathan Wallace paced the Vipers with 22 points. Will Conroy collected 17 points and 11 assists, while Antonio Anderson recorded 19 points and 10 assists of his own.

The Bighorns led by eight points after one period of play, but from that point forward the game belonged to Rio Grande Valley. Reno trailed by just a bucket entering the final quarter of play, but the Vipers would outscore the Bighorns 29-15 in the fourth to cruise to the victory.

The Bighorns and Vipers will now move forward to game two of the series on Monday night. Tip-time is set for 6 p.m. PT in Dodge Arena. The game can be seen live on Versus, and the brand-new Freight House District will play host to a live Bighorns Watch Party on Monday night.

Check out the Reno Aces Statistics



Pacific Coast League Stories from April 10, 2010


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central