T-Birds Lose To Vipers
December 10, 2009 - NBA G League (G League)
New Mexico Thunderbirds News Release
HIDALGO, TEXAS, Dec. 10, 2009 - Kevin Pittsnogle scored a season high 21 points for the Albuquerque Thunderbirds, but the team lost its third consecutive game, losing to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers 135 - 112 on Thursday night.
Rio Grande Valley jumped out to a 38-27 lead at the end of the first quarter, and led 69 - 52 at the half. Albuquerque outscored the Vipers 38 - 29 to close the gap to eight heading into the fourth, but the Vipers pushed the lead back to double digits early in the final period and coasted to a 23 point win. The 135 points is the most that Albuquerque has allowed this season.
Keith McLeod led Albuquerque with 23 points and seven assists. Carlos Powell (17), Antoine Agudio (15), Yaroslav Korolev (14), and Tony Danridge (10) also scored in double figures for the T-Birds. Chad Toppert added eight in his first start of the season.
Mike Harris notched a season high 32 points while Garrett Temple added 23, including seven threes, to lead the Vipers. Jonathan Wallace (19), Joey Dorsey (18), Stanley Asumnu (14), Julian Sensley (12) and Antonio Anderson (12) also scored in double figures for Rio Grande Valley.
The game featured five lead changes and six ties, all in the first half. Rio Grande Valley shot 65.9% for the game, while also connecting on 15 threes. Albuquerque shot 52.6% from the field. The Thunderbirds fall to 2 - 4 on the season, while Rio Grande Valley improves to 5 - 1.
The Thunderbirds will be in action on Dec. 12 when they again take on the Vipers in Hidalgo, Texas. The game will start at 6:30 pm MT, and can be heard on 1050 KTBL or seen on NBA Futurecast.
You can bring your group out to a Thunderbirds game for as low as $4 per ticket. Call 505.265.3865 or visit www.abqtbirds.com for more information.
• Discuss this story on the NBA G League message board...
NBA G League Stories from December 10, 2009
- Armor Suffer Hard Loss To Tulsa - Springfield Armor
- T-Birds Lose To Vipers - New Mexico Thunderbirds
- Vipers Hit Franchise-Record-Tying 15 Three-Pointers To Win Fifth Straight Game - Rio Grande Valley Vipers
- Utah Flash Make Roster Moves - Utah Flash
- Tickets Released For Sunday - Maine Celtics
- Armor Acquire Almond And Cummings - Springfield Armor
- Mayor Declares BayHawks Weekend - Erie BayHawks
- NBA D-League Daily Developments - G League
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.
