Vipers Smash Attendance Record in Win

HIDALGO, TEXAS – The defending NBA Development League champion Rio Grande Valley Vipers beat the New Mexico Thunderbirds 95-88 on Tuesday at State Farm Arena in front of a record sell-out crowd of 6,782 screaming children on kids day, believed to be the largest crowd to ever witness a basketball game in the Rio Grande Valley.

The Vipers’ (3-3) previous attendance record was 6,198, set during game two of the NBA Development League Finals on April 27. The Vipers drew a then-record crowd of 6,073 for kids day last season on January 28. The Vipers also welcomed 6,300 fans to State Farm Arena when the Houston Rockets played the Boston Celtics on October 7, 2009.

The Vipers are now winners of two in a row.

The Thunderbirds (4-2) hit just 3-of-15 shots (20%) in the second quarter as the Vipers outscored the Thunderbirds 31-13 to take a 51-37 lead.

The Thunderbirds, however, came back to tie the game at 64-64 when Alan Anderson hit a three-pointer with less than one minute remaining in the third quarter. Terrel Harris hit a jumper with 18.9 seconds left to give the Vipers the lead back at 66-64. The Thunderbirds hit 12-of-19 (63.2%) shots in the quarter while the Vipers were 6-for-20 (30%).

The Thunderbirds took their first lead of the second half at 73-72 with 8:17 remaining when Shane Edwards hit a layup.

Down 85-81 with 1:59 remaining, Houston Rockets-assignee Patrick Patterson emphatically connected on a slam-dunk and hit a free throw to bring the Vipers within one. 34 seconds later, Garrett Temple hit a three-pointer from the right corner to give the Vipers an 87-86 lead. Jerel McNeal hit a layup with 1:04 remaining to extend the lead to 89-86.

The Vipers were led in scoring by Mustafa Shakur, who finished with 19 points. Harris scored 16, Patterson had 16 points with 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season, McNeal had 11 points and Patrick Sullivan finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.

The Thunderbirds were led by Edwards, who scored 20 points with six rebounds. Jason Horton had a game-high 11 assists off the bench.

The Vipers and Thunderbirds play again on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. at State Farm Arena. The first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive Snake Charmers swimsuit calendars, courtesy of RGV Careers. Doors open at 6:00.