Texas Border Business
Jarvis Threatt led RGV with 25 points
HIDALGO, Texas, December 20, 2014 – The Rio Grande Valley Vipers (5-8) fell 110-100 to the Canton Charge (9-6) tonight at State Farm Arena.
Jarvis Threatt led the Vipers with 25 points. Chris Johnson added 16 points, followed by Tony Bishop with 14 points. Akeem Richmond scored 13 points, and Akil Mitchell tallied 12 points.
Arinze Onuaku led Canton with a double-double 32 points and 17 rebounds. Michael Dunigan added 25 points. Justin Johnson scored 16 points. Stephen Holt added 11 points.
RGV put the first 8 points on the board with a three-pointer from Chris Johnson, and a layup and three-pointer from Bishop. Onuaku scored a shot at the line for Canton to put the Charge on the scoreboard 8-1. RGV responded with a 17-6 run to lead the Charge 25-27 midway through the first quarter. Canton cut its deficit to 31-22 by the end of the quarter.
With 8:47 remaining in the first half, Justin Johnson made a layup to close Canton’s gap to 35-30. The Charge was able to stay within 10 points of RGV until the end of the half. Threatt connected on a shot from beyond the arc and Mitchell followed with an alley-oop to give the Vipers a 62-49 advantage at halftime.
Canton outscored the Vipers 31-21 to close its deficit to 83-80 at the end of the quarter.
Holt stole the 95-94 lead for Canton with a three-pointer with 5:27 remaining in the game. Mitchell responded with a dunk to put the Vipers back up 96-95. Then, Onuaku made a dunk to give Canton a 97-96 advantage. The Charge led the remainder of the game.
The Vipers hit the road tomorrow for a four-game road trip. First RGV visits the Austin Spurs for a 5 p.m. (CT) matchup on Sunday, Dec. 21. Then, RGV travels to Iowa Dec. 23, Sioux Falls on Dec. 25 and Delaware on Dec. 27. Vipers fans can follow the action live all season on FOX Sports 1700 AM or watch games live at NBADLeague.com. For more information about the RGV Vipers 2014-15 season or to purchase season tickets, contact the Vipers at 956-972-1144.
