Vipers to Distribute Toys at the Salvation Army

December 15, 2010

WHO:The entire Rio Grande Valley Vipers roster and Vipers assistant coach Jai Steadman.

WHAT:The Vipers will be assisting with the distribution of toys collected throughthe Salvation Army Toy Drive.

WHERE:The Salvation Army

               1600 N. 23rd St.

               McAllen, TX 78501 

WHEN:Thursday, December 16, 2010

            2-to-4:00p.m. CT

Media are advisedto arrive 15 minutes prior to the start of the event.

Members of the generalpublic are welcome to attend.

Vipers Earn Series Split With Bighorns

RENO, NEVADA –The defending NBA Development League champion Rio Grande Valley Viperssplit the weekend series with the Reno Bighorns after a 126-122 victory onSaturday at the Reno Events Center.

After theVipers (5-4) took a 9-8 lead when AntonioAnderson hit a free throw, the Bighorns (7-2) went on a 7-0 over the powerof a lay-up and a three-pointer by D.J.Strawberry to take a 15-9 lead at the 8:10 mark.

The Bighornsled 18-12 with 5:34 remaining in the first quarter, but while the Vipers hit14-of-19 shots, the Bighorns hit 6-of-18 as the Vipers outscored the Bighorns40-22 until the 6:56 mark of the second quarter to take a 52-40 lead.

The Bighornsgot within 114-111 late in the fourth quarter, but Jerel McNeal hit 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to seal thevictory.

McNealfinished with a game-high, career-high and Vipers season-high 40 points withfive rebounds, two assists and four steals. McNeal hit 9-of-15 shots, including5-of-7 from behind the arc. He also 17-of-18 free throw attempts.

HoustonRockets-assignee Patrick Pattersonrecorded his fourth-straight double-double and fifth overall with 23 points, 14rebounds and three blocked shots. MustafaShakur scored 20 points with seven rebounds, eight assists and threesteals.

Patrick Ewing Jr. led the Bighorns with 24 points, eightrebounds and five blocks, Aaron Mileshad 23 points and 10 assists while Sacramento Kings-assignee Hassan Whiteside finished with 12points, seven rebounds and eight blocks.

The Vipers returnto action on Friday at 7:00 p.m. against the Bakersfield Jam on Hawaiian Nightat State Farm Arena. The first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive beach towels,courtesy of Lone Star National Bank. The Greeters of Honolulu will perform athalftime. Pepper’s at Uptown is hosting a free pre-game tailgate party in theparking lot. Fans are encouraged to bring new toys to donate to the SalvationArmy toy drive.

Patrick Ewing Jr. Too Much for Vipers

RENO, NEVADA –Patrick Ewing Jr. recorded a triple-double to help the Reno Bighorns defeatthe defending NBA Development League champion Rio Grande Valley Vipers 119-111on Friday at the Reno Events Center.

Ewing finishedwith 26 points, 10 rebounds (four offensive) and 11 assists. He hit 7-of-13shots and 11-of-12 free throws.

The Vipers(4-4) led 56-55 with 2:04 remaining in the second quarter after Marcus Landry converted a three-pointplay. The Vipers followed that by going on a 6-0 run as HoustonRockets-assignee Patrick Pattersonhit a pair of jumpers and PatrickSullivan hit one as well to give the Vipers a 62-57 lead. Ewing. hit a three-pointer at the buzzer tobring the Bighorns (7-1) within 62-60.

Patterson scored21 points and 12 rebounds, his third-straight double-double and fourth of theseason.

The Bighornsscored the first seven points of the third quarter before Antonio Anderson hit a three-pointer at the 10:14 mark to bring theVipers within 67-66. The Vipers climbed within 83-80 after a Garrett Temple lay-up, but the Bighornsscored the next five points to take an 88-80 lead.

Andersonfinished with 20 points while Temple scored 14.

The Viperstook the lead back at 95-93 with 9:32 remaining after Richard Roby converted a four-point play. The Bighorns respondedwith a 13-2 run to take a 106-97 lead. Roby hit a jumper at the 4:50 mark tobreak the run. 

Roby led theVipers with 24 points, including 3-for-6 shooting from behind the arc.

The Vipers andBighorns complete the weekend series on Saturday at 9:00 p.m.

Vipers Complete Sweep of Thunderbirds

HIDALGO, TEXAS – Houston Rockets-assignee Patrick Patterson recorded his third double-double of the season with a career-high 24 points and a career-high 14 rebounds as the defending NBA Development League champion Rio Grande Valley Vipers beat the New Mexico Thunderbirds 107-91 on Wednesday at State Farm Arena in front of a crowd of 3,788.

The Vipers (4-3) are now winners of three in a row.

The Thunderbirds (4-3) jumped out to an 11-0 lead in the opening 1:47. Antonio Anderson hit a free throw and Patrick Sullivan hit a lay-up under the 10-minute mark to get the Vipers (3-3) on the board for the first time in the game.

The Thunderbirds increased their lead to 17-5, and then 22-9, but Richard Roby hit a three-pointer at the 5:27 mark as the Vipers outscored the Thunderbirds 16-8 over the rest of the first quarter.

The Vipers opened the second quarter on an 8-2, capped by an alley-oop to Mickell Gladness that gave the Vipers their first lead of the game at 33-32 at the 10:07 mark.

The Thunderbirds responded with a 16-3 run to take a 48-36 lead mid-way through the second quarter. The Vipers closed the quarter on a 16-7 run to climb within 55-52.

Patterson hit a jumper to give the Vipers the lead back 58-57 with 9:31 remaining in the third quarter. It turned into a back-and-forth game from there, with Garrett Temple hitting a three-pointer early in the fourth quarter to give the Vipers the lead for good. Mustafa Shakur followed with a lay-up the next time down the court to make it 82-78 Vipers.

The Thunderbirds were led in scoring by Shane Edwards, who scored 33 points while hitting 17-of-21 free throws. Alan Anderson scored 19 points as well.

The Vipers return to action on Friday at 9:00 p.m. at the Reno Events Center when they face the Reno Bighorns.

Notes: Before the game, Antonio Anderson was honored with his 2010 NBA Development League championship ring.

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.