Vipers prove to be more than just Morris in victory over Wizards

HIDALGO – The Rio Grande Valley Vipers showed on Saturday they were more than just Marcus Morris and the boyz.

Morris, the Houston Rockets assignee playing in his second game with the Vipers, still tallied big numbers – 30 points and 12 rebounds. But, unlike Friday’s game, Morris had plenty of support, and the result was a Vipers 114-100 victory over the Dakota Wizards at State Farm Arena.

"I thought our rebounding, intensity and just our overall focus was at a super-high level tonight with some super talent," Vipers coach Nick Nurse said.

The Vipers had six score in double figures. Morris scored his 30 points on 11 of 19 shooting. The Vipers also got 18 points from Damian Saunders. Greg Smith had 15 points, Lee Humphrey 14, Kelvin Lewis 12 and 10 from Stanley Asumnu. And, they dominated the glass 46-35, including an 18-2 advantage in the first quarter in which the outscored the Wizards, 36-12. Saunders had 12 rebounds. Smith had six.

"We’ve got some big, long athletic dudes," Nurse said. "If they go at it like that, they do it. That was a good indication of what they are capable of."

The Vipers’ huge effort upstaged Saturday’s closing act, a show by rap/hip-hop group New Boyz, who performed for fans after the game at State Farm Arena.

Saturday’s game was a contrast to Friday’s when the Wizards recorded a 105-103 victory that snapped the Vipers’ three-game winning streak. Morris had 33 points and 16 rebounds on Friday, but the Vipers didn’t get much else.

"We took a hard loss (Friday)," said Smith, who was playing in his fifth game since joining the Vipers straight from Rockets training camp. "We came out with some energy and some fight. We fought hard. We wanted to come out with the first punch and the first hit. That set the scene tonight. We just played hard."

The Vipers led by as many as 31 points and never trailed past the 11:03 mark of the first quarter. The closest the Wizards pulled was 10 points and that was in the closing moments.

The Wizards were led by Edwin Ubiles’ 34 points. Maurice Baker had 20 points and Mike Anderson 13.

NOTES: The Vipers added guard Willie Warren, who starred at Oklahoma, and reacquired guard Ashton Mitchell on Saturday. They released guards Jay-R Strowbridge and Josh Tarver. Warren showed some flair in his Vipers’ debut. He had a leaning dunk late in the third quarter and a 3-pointer at the final buzzer as part of his seven point effort in 16 minutes. … Saturday’s game was the Vipers second-to-last home game in January. They will not return until Jan. 25 when they play Fort Wayne. Beginning Monday, the Vipers will play 12 of their next 13 games on the road.

David Hinojosa covers the Rio Grande Valley Vipers for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at (956) 683-4442 or via email at dhinojosa@themonitor.com