G League Rio Grande Valley Vipers

Vipers Outhustle Memphis in Home Opener

Published on November 3, 2018 under NBA G League (G League)
Rio Grande Valley Vipers News Release


EDINBURG, Texas (November 3, 2018)- The Rio Grande Valley Vipers (1-0), the NBA G League Affiliate of the Houston Rockets, opened the 2018-19 season with a 119-103 win over the Memphis Hustle (0-1) on Saturday night at the brand-new Bert Ogden Arena. Rockets assigned player, Zhou Qi put the first bucket of the game.

Both teams started off the contest firing away, the RGV Vipers found a hot point in the match when newcomer Brandon Sampson scored three consecutive 3-pointers in a one-minute span during the first quarter placing the Vipers ahead by 9. The Hustle was on pace during the first quarter keeping the RGV within striking distance. Memphis' guard Brandon Goodwin led the scoring effort with 10 total points, closely followed by forward Tanner McGrew who tallied 7 points.

At the start of the second quarter the Vipers began to pull away from the Hustle, leading by as many as 20 points by the end of the period. The offense for the RGV Vipers was led by Brandon Sampson (17) and returner Danuel House (16). The Hustle was led in the first half by Goodwin with 17 points and 3 rebounds, Tanner McGrew tallied 9 points and Javon Carter (7) also contributed. On the defensive end for the Hustle Kyle Casey totaled 6 rebounds, 4 defensives. The Vipers' rebound leader was the Brazilian native Bruno Caboclo with 9 boards.

More of the same continued on the offensive side for the home team RGV Vipers. They went on to extend their lead to 22 points at the end of the third quarter. In the late segments of the game the Memphis Hustle began to close the gap limiting the Vipers to 29 points. The Hustle answered with 35 of their own points to keep the game manageable but the early runaway efforts of the home Vipers proved to be too much for the Hustle to overcome.

Sampson led the Vipers with 10 field goals, five 3-pointers, six rebounds and a total of 27 points. Goodwin led the Hustle with 13 field goals, eight rebounds, five assists, and a total of 29 points.

The Vipers play their next game against the Hustle on the road on November 9 at 7 p.m. on Facebook Live.

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