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The defending NBA Development League champion and third-seeded Rio Grande Valley Vipers completed the two-game sweep of the second-seeded Reno Bighorns with a 134-126 overtime win in Game 2 of the Semifinals on Wednesday at the Reno Events Center.
The Vipers (4-1) open the Finals on Sunday against the top-seeded Iowa Energy on Sunday at 7:00 p.m. at State Farm Arena. Tickets start at $7 and can be purchased by calling the Vipers at 972-1144, at the Vipers Pro-Shop, the State Farm Arena box office or through Ticketmaster. Game 2 will be on Wednesday, April 27 at 7:00 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. If necessary, Game 3 will be on Friday, April 29 at 7:00 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena.
All Finals games will be televised on VERSUS, which can be found on Time Warner Cable channel 314 (SD)/1314 (HD), Dish Network channel 151 and DirecTV channel 603.
When overtime began, the Vipers hadn't led since the first quarter. Patrick Sullivan converted a three-point play with 2:39 remaining in to put the Vipers up 124-121, and the Vipers held the lead for the rest of the game.
Sullivan scored 17 points with nine rebounds while hitting 7-of-9 shots. The Vipers were led in scoring by Jerel McNeal for the fifth-straight game. He tied for the game-high with 35 points, 18 of which came from the foul line on 20 attempts. Terrel Harris scored 27 points.
The Vipers led 5-2 after Mouhammad Faye hit a three-pointer in the opening minutes, but the Bighorns (2-3) scored the next six points on baskets by Donald Sloan, Doug Thomas and Bobby Simmons to take the lead for the rest of the first half.
The Vipers never went down by more than six in the first quarter, but the Bighorns led by as many as 10 during the second quarter, including at 56-46 after an Andre Emmett jumper with 2:44 remaining. The Vipers scored the next seven points to start a 9-1 run that saw the Vipers close within 57-55 on a McNeal jumper with 39.6 seconds remaining.
After Matt Janning converted a three-point play 26 seconds into the third quarter, to bring the Vipers within three, the Bighorns went on a 6-0 run to build their line to nine points. The Bighorns took a 14-point lead at 79-65 when Emmett hit a pair of free throws with 6:27 remaining, but the Vipers responded with a 17-3 run to tie the game at 82-82 on a Richard Roby three-pointer with 3:23 remaining.
The Vipers tied the game multiple times in the fourth quarter, including with 2.2 seconds left when McNeal hit a pair of free throws to make it 121-121 and force overtime.
Marcus Landry led the Bighorns with 35 points on 12-of-23 shooting.
The Vipers (4-1) open the Finals on Sunday against the top-seeded Iowa Energy on Sunday at 7:00 p.m. at State Farm Arena. Tickets start at $7 and can be purchased by calling the Vipers at 972-1144, at the Vipers Pro-Shop, the State Farm Arena box office or through Ticketmaster. Game 2 will be on Wednesday, April 27 at 7:00 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. If necessary, Game 3 will be on Friday, April 29 at 7:00 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena.
All Finals games will be televised on VERSUS, which can be found on Time Warner Cable channel 314 (SD)/1314 (HD), Dish Network channel 151 and DirecTV channel 603.
When overtime began, the Vipers hadn't led since the first quarter. Patrick Sullivan converted a three-point play with 2:39 remaining in to put the Vipers up 124-121, and the Vipers held the lead for the rest of the game.
Sullivan scored 17 points with nine rebounds while hitting 7-of-9 shots. The Vipers were led in scoring by Jerel McNeal for the fifth-straight game. He tied for the game-high with 35 points, 18 of which came from the foul line on 20 attempts. Terrel Harris scored 27 points.
The Vipers led 5-2 after Mouhammad Faye hit a three-pointer in the opening minutes, but the Bighorns (2-3) scored the next six points on baskets by Donald Sloan, Doug Thomas and Bobby Simmons to take the lead for the rest of the first half.
The Vipers never went down by more than six in the first quarter, but the Bighorns led by as many as 10 during the second quarter, including at 56-46 after an Andre Emmett jumper with 2:44 remaining. The Vipers scored the next seven points to start a 9-1 run that saw the Vipers close within 57-55 on a McNeal jumper with 39.6 seconds remaining.
After Matt Janning converted a three-point play 26 seconds into the third quarter, to bring the Vipers within three, the Bighorns went on a 6-0 run to build their line to nine points. The Bighorns took a 14-point lead at 79-65 when Emmett hit a pair of free throws with 6:27 remaining, but the Vipers responded with a 17-3 run to tie the game at 82-82 on a Richard Roby three-pointer with 3:23 remaining.
The Vipers tied the game multiple times in the fourth quarter, including with 2.2 seconds left when McNeal hit a pair of free throws to make it 121-121 and force overtime.
Marcus Landry led the Bighorns with 35 points on 12-of-23 shooting.
