VIPERS SUFFER FIRST HOME LOSS AT THE HANDS OF MEMPHIS

Edinburg, Texas (Nov. 19, 2022) – The Rio Grande Valley Vipers (2-2) fell 127-116 to the Memphis Hustle (3-3) on Saturday night at Bert Ogden Arena in game two of a two game series. 

The Vipers went off on a 7-0 run to take control of the game. Memphis came back from the seven-point deficit and managed to tie the game 12-12 after a layup from Memphis Grizzlies Two-Way player Kenneth Lofton Jr at the 7:52 mark. The Vipers then took back the lead but were quickly shut down after Memphis tied the game 17-17 with 5:58 left in the quarter. 

The visiting team then went on to score 11 points while only allowing RGV to score four points resulting in a 28-21 lead for the Hustle with 2:28 left on the clock. Through the remainder of the quarter Memphis continued to have possession of the game which resulted in a 34-31 lead for the visiting team at the end of the first. 

RGV was down by three points at the beginning of the second but a 3-pointer from Houston Rockets Two-Way player, Trevor Hudgins, tied the game 36-36. After only five minutes RGV scored 18 points while only allowing Memphis to score 13 points breaking the tie with a score of 55-49 in favor of the home team. RGV continued to increase its lead and sent the game into halftime with a 61-59 score. 

With only 30 seconds into the third quarter Lofton tied the game for Memphis but only for a short amount of time. After another 30 seconds the Vipers came back and took control of the team up until the time read 6:17. After that Memphis continued to dominate the quarter and took a 90-86 lead. 

Memphis continued with the lead in the fourth quarter up until the clock read 5:06 and the Vipers tied the game 101-101. The Hustle continued to fight for a win and came out victorious with a score of 127-116.  

Lofton led the game with a double-double 31 points and 14 rebounds. Jacob Gilyard hit 19 points and eight assists. Damien Jefferson also hit 19 points and eight rebounds. Dakota Mathias finished with 16 points and six assists. Romeo Weems scored 15 points off the bench. Justin Beam was short of a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds. 

Louis King was the top performer for the Vipers with 29 points. Houston Rockets Two-Way Player Darius Days followed with 22 points and eight rebounds. Houston Rockets assignee TyTy Washington Jr. had 16 points and seven assists. Hudgins put up 13 points and six assists. Cassius Stanley scored 12 off the bench and Willie Cauley-Stein finished the night with 11 points and six rebounds. 

The Vipers will travel to Mexico City to take on the Mexico City Capitanes on Monday, Nov. 21 at 7:00 p.m. at Mexico City Arena. Fans may stream the game via the nbagleague.com website.