Harris, Conroy lead Vipers

HIDALGO — The numbers don’t lie.

The Rio Grande Valley Vipers are a championship caliber team with Mike Harris and Will Conroy in the lineup.

But maintaining a consistent roster in the NBA D-League – particularly with a talent-laden team like the Vipers have this season – is hardly a guarantee.

Luckily for the Vipers, both were in the lineup on Saturday at State Farm Arena, and they helped lead a 126-103 dismantling of Tulsa, winners of four-straight coming into the game.

Harris had 44 points on 16 of 18 shooting and had 12 rebounds. Conroy, fresh off his second 10-day stint with the Houston Rockets, recorded his fourth triple-double of the season with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

“It felt good coming back,” Conroy said. “We were able to get up and down the court. Everybody knows when I’m playing, we are going to run because I’m going to push the ball and get everybody shots. We had some fun out there tonight.”

Having Harris and Conroy in the lineup at the same time is a luxury these days. Both have been called up twice to the NBA this season. They are on plenty of NBA call up short lists, so their stays in the Valley remain day-to-day. Two other Vipers, Antonio Anderson and Garrett Temple, are currently on NBA rosters.

“I try to worry about what I can control,” Vipers coach Chris Finch said “I’m happy when they get opportunities at the other level, and that’s what we are here for. We really want to win games so we just focus on what can help us win if whether that’s Will on the point, Jonathan (Wallace) on the point or Kenny (Hasbrouck).”

Conroy helped get plenty of people involved on Saturday. Six Vipers recorded double-figures in scoring including Stanley Asumnu, who had a season-best 21 points. Jonathan Wallace had 14, Ernest Scott 11 and Julian Sensley 10.

“Mike and Will are both veterans,” Asumnu said. “They know how to get it done. We all know how to play our roles and take the opportunities as they come and try to continue to win ballgames and separate ourselves from the other teams in the West.”

The Vipers improved to 29-12 and now lead the Western Conference standings by 3 1/2 games over Austin and 5 1/2 over Tulsa, which dropped to 23-17. The same teams meet again at 5 p.m. today at State Farm Arena.

The Vipers never trailed and led by as many as 25 points. The game was tied four times in the early going. The RGV opened a 22-14 lead with a 10-2 run. After Tulsa pulled to within 37-35 at the 8:43 mark of the second quarter, the Vipers responded with an 11-3 run.

Tulsa cut the score to 48-44 with about five minutes remaining in the second quarter and the Vipers with a 21-10 going into halftime.

“I was a little worried, wondering if we’d come out with a little edge,” Finch said. “We have some people changing roles. We did a great job. Will a great player, but some of the other players had to adjust to being pulled off the ball a little bit.”

NOTES: Vipers guard Craig Winder, originally expected to miss the remainder of the season, will be out three weeks with a torn left meniscus…Vipers guard Garrett Temple signed a 10-day contract with the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday after completing a 10-day stint with the Sacramento Kings. He had a 10-day contract with the Houston Rockets before that.

David Hinojosa covers the Rio Grande Valley Vipers for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at (956) 683-4442.

Saturday’s Game

VIPERS 126, 66ERS 103

TULSA (126) — Washington 4-11 7-9 15, Hardin 0-2 2-2 2, Mullens 3-14 3-6 9, Owens 6-8 1-2 14, Skakur 9-17 4-6 25, Ehambe 10-16 2-2 26, Williams 4-7 2-2 10 Lewis 1-4 0-0 2.Totals 37-80 21-29 103.

RGV (100) — Asumnu 9-15 3-4 21, Harris 16-18 12-16 44, Sensley 5-10 0-0 10, Hasbrouck 4-10 0-0 9, Conroy 5-7 3-3 14, Gladness 0-2 0-0 0, Wallace 4-6 2-2 14, Scott 4-8 0-0 11, Humphrey 1-2 0-0 3 Totals 48-78 20-25 126. 

Tulsa                            24      29      24     26    — 103

RGV                              32      37      28     29    — 126

3-Pointers — Tulsa 8-18 (Washington 0-1, Mullens 0-1, Owens 1-1, Shakur 3-7, Ehambe 4-8); RGV 10-21 (Sensley 0-2, Hasbrouck 1-4, Conroy 1-1, Wallace 4-6, Scott 3-7, Humphrey 1-1). Fouled Out — None. Rebounds — Tulsa 21 (Williams 9), RGV 43 (Harris 12). Assists — Tulsa 19 (Shakur 13), RGV  28 (Conroy 10). Total Fouls — Tulsa 18. RGV 21. Technicals — Vipers coach Finch. Ejected — none. A — 5,525.