A furious fourth quarter propelled the Rio Grande Valley Vipers to a lopsided 134-100 decision over the Sioux Falls Skyforce on Saturday night.

For the second straight night, the Vipers (4-3) took advantage of a depleted opponent with five Skyforce players unavailable for various reasons. Assistant Coach Anthony Carter says the imbalance cannot be ignored.

“We’re playing the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth guy on the roster, battling on back-to-back nights, then (Erik McCree) went out with back spasms. I would say being shorthanded made the most difference. It wasn’t anything they were doing. We were in the game until the fourth quarter. The game just went south during that time.”

Sioux Falls (3-4) was beaten soundly in both contests, but guard Matt Williams, Jr. says the effort was improved from Friday to Saturday.

“We were embarrassed the way we played Friday, so we had to show our fans and coaches that no matter the score, we were going to fight. In the fourth quarter, they started getting some stops and put on a run that we couldn’t withstand, but rest assured we are going to stay together and keep playing hard.”

R.J. Hunter and Danuel House each poured in 20 points apiece for the victorious Vipers. Monte Morris and Chris Walker each chipped in 16 points.

Rodney Prior led Sioux Falls with 19 points off the bench while Tony Mitchell finished with 18 points.

Rio Grande Valley will head back to south Texas for a Tuesday night contest with the Memphis Hustle. Sioux Falls will wait until Friday after Thanksgiving for a road date at Grand Rapids.


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