G League Rio Grande Valley Vipers

Vipers Take 2-1 Series Lead with Win Over Energy

Published on February 1, 2011 under NBA G League (G League)
Rio Grande Valley Vipers News Release


HIDALGO, TEXAS - The defending NBA Development League champion Rio Grande Valley Vipers passed the Iowa Energy for the second-best record in the league with a 135-128 victory on Tuesday at State Farm Arena in front of a crowd of 5,408.

The Vipers now lead the four-game series two games to one.

The Energy (20-9) opened the second quarter on an 11-0 run to take a 36-27 lead at the 8:43 mark. Jeff Adrien responded with a basket to break the run. After a technical free throw, Mouhammad Faye hit a three-pointer and adidas Player of the Game Jerel McNeal hit a basket to bring the Vipers (19-8) within 37-34 at the 7:13 mark. The Energy built their lead to 48-38 after Othyus Jeffers hit a lay-up at the 4:49 mark, but the Vipers went on a 22-7 run, capped by a three-pointer from McNeal, to reclaim the lead at 56-54 with less than one minutes remaining in the quarter.

McNeal finished with a game-high 27 points on 8-of-17 shooting, including 4-of-8 from behind the arc to go with six rebounds and seven assists.

Jeffers led the Energy in scoring with 26 points and 10 rebounds while Chicago Bulls-assignee James Johnson narrowly missed a triple-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. The Energy shot 53-for-112 (47.3%), setting a Vipers franchise record for field goal attempts for opponent while tying for the second-most field goals made.

Patrick Sullivan hit the first two three-pointers of his career (he was 0-for-1 from behind the arc in his first 26 games) during the third quarter while the Vipers outscored the Energy 43-31 to take a 102-87 lead. It was his first ever multi-three pointer game (he was 1-for-5 in four years at Southeastern Louisiana, with all of those attempts coming during his senior season of 2009-10).

The Vipers led 119-106 midway through the fourth quarter, but the Energy went on a 12-0 run to pull within one point before Faye hit a three-pointer at the 3:17 mark to end the run. Stefhon Hannah hit a pair of free throws to pull the Energy back within two, but Houston Rockets-assignee Ish Smith responded with a lay-up. After another free throw, Adrien hit a basket to give the Vipers a 126-121 lead with under two minutes remaining. Hannah hit a lay-up to make it a one-possession game, but Adrien hit another lay-up and then forced a turnover on the other end to put the game out of reach.

Smith scored 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting with a career-high tying six rebounds, seven assists, two steals and a career-high four blocked shots.

The Vipers and Energy play game four of this four-game series on Double-Win Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. at State Farm Arena. If the Vipers win, all fans in attendance will be able to receive free tickets to the next Vipers home game. Fans can take advantage of concessions specials including hot dogs, popcorn and soda for $1.00 each as well as beer for $1.50. Every donation of four non-perishable food items at the door to benefit the Hoops Against Hunger food drive, presented by Action 4 News and Clear Channel Radio (KTEX 100.3, Wild 104, The X 105.5, Hot Kiss 106.3 and Classic Hits 1700 AM), will be rewarded with one free ticket. Doors open at 6:00.

The Rio Grande Valley Vipers are the NBA Development League affiliate of the NBA Houston Rockets. The NBA Development League, founded in 2001, is the NBA's official minor league and features 16 teams with direct affiliations to NBA teams. 63 former NBA Development League players were on 2009-10 NBA start-of-season rosters, amounting to almost 15 percent of NBA players, and the league continues to develop coaches, referees, and front office staff for the NBA and its teams. In fostering the league's connection to the community, its teams, players and staff promote health and wellness, support local needs and interests, and assist in educational development through NBA Development League Cares programs. The NBA Development League also advances the game of basketball as the research and development arm of the NBA. Throughout the season fans can watch all NBA Development League games on NBA Futurecast, the free live Web-streaming initiative found at nba.com/futurecast.

Check out the Rio Grande Valley Vipers Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



NBA G League Stories from February 1, 2011


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