Vipers Fall in Double OT
Published on February 18, 2012 under NBA G League (G League)
Rio Grande Valley Vipers News Release
HIDALGO, TEXAS - The Rio Grande Valley Vipers suffered a 135-132 double overtime loss to the Canton Charge Saturday evening at the State Farm Arena. Marcus Morris led the Vipers with a double-double 31 points, 16 rebounds, and Manny Harris led the Charge with 36 points.
The Vipers started the game with two shots from the line by Marcus Morris, who was fouled by the Charge's Manny Harris. Canton's Dante Milligan started their offense with a layup, followed by a 3-point shot from Antoine Agudio. Morris responded with a layup for the Vipers to bring their deficit to 5-4, but a dunk from Milligan sent the Charge on a run that would put Canton ahead 22-12 with 6:13 remaining in the first quarter. The Vipers fought back to cut their deficit. Will Conroy sunk two free throws and a three-point shot. Then a layup from Marshall Brown brought the score to 22-19. However, it was not enough to stop the Charge who held the 37-27 lead at the end of the quarter.
Morris connected with a jump shot and Lee Humphrey sunk a shot from behind the arc to start the second quarter. A 25' 3-pointer from Kelvin Lewis closed the Vipers' deficit to 39-38 with 8:00 left on the clock, but the Vipers were not able to build on the momentum. TJ Campbell responded with a jump shot plus one at the line, and the Charge reclaimed the double-digit lead. With 1:19 left in the half, Canton held the 64-45 advantage. Brown made a 3-pointer and a layup to send the Vipers on a scoring run. Conroy followed with a layup and one free throw to set the Vipers behind 64-53 at the half.
The Vipers fought to take the lead throughout the third quarter. A 3-point shot from Damian Saunders helped the Vipers get within 3 points of the Charge, 71-68 at the 8:58 mark. However, Canton once again broke away and took a 93-78 lead on a jump shot from Antonio Graves. Stanley Asumnu helped the Vipers work their way closer to the Charge on a shot from the line and a layup. Saunders made back-to-back shots to end the third quarter with the Vipers trailing by 3 points, 94-91.
The game started to turn around for the Vipers in the fourth quarter. A shot from downtown by Humphrey put the Vipers within 2 points, 97-95. Canton tried to take back control, but held its largest lead of the quarter, 104-96, with 8:32 remaining in the game. The Vipers offense found its rhythm with Conroy, Lewis and Humphrey connecting from behind the arc to close the gap to 108-107 at the 5:56 mark. The Vipers stole the 113-11 lead on a 3-point shot by Lewis. The score tied three more times before Kyle Gibson sunk a jump shot for the Charge to take the 119-117 with 0:34.6 on the clock. Conroy responded with a layup to send the game into overtime with the score at 119.
Morris started overtime with a layup for the Vipers to put them ahead 121-119, but Harris drove a layup to tie at 121. Humphrey responded with another layup to take the 123-121 lead. However, Harris sent the game to double overtime with a layup that tied the game at 123.
With 0:46.6 left on the lock in the second overtime, Canton held the 129-124 lead. The Vipers fought to regain the lead, coming within 2 points, 133-131 with 0:11.2 remaining. Franklin Hassell shot two from the line to put the Charge up 135-131. Conroy sunk one more free throw for the Vipers, but the Charge claimed the 135-132 win.
The Vipers saw seven players record double digits this evening. Morris led with 31 points, followed by Humphrey with 17 points. Conroy tallied 17 points, 18 assists.
Canton also saw seven players total double digits. Harris led the way with 36 points, followed by Campbell with 26 points and Agudio with 22 points.
The Vipers will hit the hardwood again Sunday, Feb. 19 when they host the Texas Legends in a 5 p.m. matchup.
NBA G League Stories from February 18, 2012
- Stampede Stay Hot with Win Against Reno - Idaho Stampede
- Vipers Fall in Double OT - Rio Grande Valley Vipers
- BayHawks give valiant effort but come up short - Erie BayHawks
- Legends Win Third Straight in Front of Rambunctious Crowd - Texas Legends
- Skyforce Nearly Stuns 66ers with Huge Comeback - Sioux Falls Skyforce
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.
