Vipers fall 126-120 in front of sold out Kids Day crowd
HIDALGO, Texas, [if supportFields]><b style=’mso-bidi-font-weight:normal’><span style=’font-size:10.0pt;font-family: “Arial”,”sans-serif”‘><span style=’mso-element:field-begin’></span><span style=’mso-spacerun:yes’> </span>DATE \@ "MMMM d, yyyy" <span style=’mso-element:field-separator’></span></span></b><![endif]December 18, 2014[if supportFields]><b style=’mso-bidi-font-weight:normal’><span style=’font-size:10.0pt;font-family: “Arial”,”sans-serif”‘><span style=’mso-element:field-end’></span></span></b><![endif] – The Rio Grande Valley Vipers (5-7) fell 126-120 to the Delaware 87ers (4-7) in front of a sold out Kids Day crowd today at State Farm Arena.
Jaron Johnson led the Vipers with 25 points, followed by Gary Talton with a triple-double 20 points, 20 assists and 10 rebounds. Talton became the second player in Vipers history to score a triple-double. Will Conroy previously scored four triple-doubles during the 2009-10 season. Chris Johnson scored 16 points in his return to the RGV. Akil Mitchell scored a double-double 15 points and 11 rebounds. Clint Capela and Tony Bishop each added 15 points.
Victor Rudd led Delaware with 22 points. DJ Seeley added 20 points. Melvin Johnson scored 16 points, and Malcolm Lee tallied 15 points.
Chris Johnson scored the first basket of the game with a shot from beyond the arc, followed by another three-pointer from Talton to give RGV a 6-0 lead. Seeley responded for the 87ers with a three-pointer, followed by another trey from Jones to tie the game at 6 points. RGV moved ahead and held its largest lead of the first half, 24-12 midway through the first quarter. At the end of the first, the Vipers were up 32-24.
With 9:01 on the clock in the second quarter, Gamble connected on a jump shot to close Delaware’s deficit to 39-37. Capela responded with a tip shot, and Melvin Johnson followed with a dunk to keep Delaware within two points, 41-39. Talton answered with a three-pointer that sent RGV on a 13-5 run to take a 54-44 lead with 4:50 remaining in the half. At the midway mark, RGV held a 67-56 advantage.
RGV held its largest lead of the game 84-66 with 7:20 on the clock in the third quarter. However, Delaware fought back, outscoring the Vipers 35-31 in the quarter. By the end of the third, the Vipers held a 98-91 advantage.
At the 5:22 mark in the fourth, a jump shot from Seeley tied the game at 110 points. He followed with a three-pointer to steal the 113-110 lead for Delaware, its first lead of the game. RGV was not able to reclaim control. The Sevens won 126-120.
The Vipers will host the Canton Charge Saturday, Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. (CT) at State Farm Arena. Game sponsor, AT&T, will give the first 1,500 fans in attendance a rally towel. Also, fans can bring a new, unwrapped toy in exchange for one free ticket to the game and one coupon from Whataburger. The Vipers and Whataburger will donate the toys locally to the Salvation Army.
