66ers Dominate New-Fangled Vipers

Tulsa 117, Rio Grande Valley 92

TULSA, Okla., Jan. 12 -- The 66ers made a strong third-quarter surge Saturday night to seal their fourth straight victory with a 117-92 win over the offensively challenged Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

Tonight marks the 66ers' first win back at home after returning from a three-game winning streak on the road.

Adam Harrington scored a game-high 27 points in just 25 minutes of action for the 66ers and was followed into double figures by four teammates as Tulsa shot 56 percent from the field.

By comparison, Rio Grande Valley sank only 37 of its 100 shots, still suffering the effects losing its top five scorers to call-ups and overseas buy-outs.

After averaging nearly 112 points per game through most of the season, good for second in the league behind the L.A. D-Fenders, the Vipers were hard put to match that feat Saturday as they debuted their 10th different starting lineup of the season, having lost C.J. Watson to Golden State, Steve Novak and Aaron Brooks to Houston and both Gabe Muoneke and Kenny Taylor to teams overseas.

The Vipers were also without starting point guard Quannas White, who left the team to deal with personal family matters.

“The Vipers obviously had a lot of new players and were not quite the same team,” said Tulsa coach Joey Meyer. “We had one great stretch that opened up the game -- Adam just got on fire and our guys did a great job of finding him.”

Harrington shot 6-for-7 from beyond the arc and missed just five shots in the game. Glen McGowan added 19 points off the 66ers' bench. Nick Fazekas, on assignment from the Dallas Mavericks, finished with 15, and Dwight Brewington chipped in 14. Ramon Sessions, from the Milwaukee Bucks, finished with 12 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

However off-kilter, the Vipers nonetheless made a game of it, trailing by just six at the half. But Rio Grande Valley was unable to come up with a consistent scoring threat in the second half. Formerly the best 3-point shots in D-League competition, the Vipers finished the night having made just two of their 18 3-point attempts.

Former 66er and one-time USC standout Desmond Farmer, signed by the Vipers on Friday, led his new team with 17 points. Jesse Smith added 14 and Craig Winder 13 in a Vipers offense so disjointed, it tallied just 13 assists to Tulsa's 35.

Shannon Brown, recently assigned from the Cavaliers, struggled to find his shot as he tallied just nine points on 4-for-20 shooting from the field.

The Vipers will play at Dodge Arena for the first time in 29 days as they face the Albuquerque Thunderbirds on Sunday night. The Thunderbirds are the only team in the D-League the Vipers have yet to face this season. The game time for Sunday has been changed to 7:00 p.m. from its originally scheduled 5:00 p.m. tip.

Tulsa travels to Boise on Wednesday to take on those same T-Birds at 2:45 p.m. in the D-League Showcase.