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Legends' Hot Shooting Hands Vipers First Valley Loss

By Texas Legends Staff /December 14, 2021

The Texas Legends (7-4) shot 55% on the night to hand the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (8-3) their first loss on their home court 129-122.

The Vipers grabbed the lead briefly early in the first behind a long ball from Anthony Lamb.  Texas responded with a 16-2 run and held on through the final buzzer.  The Legends hit their largest lead of the half (+15) with five minutes remaining, but the home team found short streaks to cut the deficit to single digits heading into the locker room (66-59).

https://youtu.be/nZaygz4QXYc

The third quarter stayed close as the visitors’ shooting slowed to 52%.  RGV took advantage of the lull, hitting 57% and tying it up midway through.  Texas finished strong with an 8-2 run to lead 95-86 going into the final minutes.  The largest lead of the night (+17) came late in the fourth on a 13-2 streak, but the Vipers responded with a 12-point streak of their own to make it a two-possession game with under 1:30 to play.  Texas secured their spot at the free-throw line to fend off the comeback efforts.

Justin Jackson led all scorers with 29 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals.  Carlik Jones finished with 21 points, 4 rebounds, and JaQuori McLaughlin neared a double-double leading the boards with 11, 7 points, and 6 assists.  Feron Hunt added 20 points and tied the team’s season-high with 5 steals.  Loudon Love grabbed 18 points, 6 rebounds, and Olin Carter III came off the bench for 15 points (4-of-6 outside).

https://youtu.be/CL_hML90XkA

Daishen Nix powered the Vipers with 23 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, and 4 steals.  Trevelin Queen came off the bench to add 22 points, 4 assists, and 4 steals.  Lamb and Christian Vital added 18 each, while Tyler Bey and Usman Garuba put up 13 points, 8 rebounds apiece.

The in-state rivals will have a rematch Wednesday night at 7:30pm CT.  Fans can catch all the action live on www.TexLegends.com