South Bay Lakers Sneak Past Rio Grande Valley Vipers

The South Bay Lakers (12-16) defeated the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (15-13) 109-108 Saturday afternoon at UCLA Health Training Center in their annual Taste of the South Bay game. Forward Cole Swider notched his seventh 20-point game of the regular season with South Bay, finishing with 25 points, five rebounds, one assist and one steal.

Vipers two-way forwards David Roddy and N’Faly Dante accounted for 26 of Rio Grande Valley’s 34 points in the first quarter to land a five-point lead over South Bay. The Vipers remained dominant, outshooting the Lakers by a 60.0-33.3 percent margin from the field to finish the second period with a 68-51 lead. South Bay came back from the break rejuvenated, tying the game at 78 points even with three minutes remaining in the third quarter. A 3-pointer by guard Quincy Olivari from 33 feet deep took the Lakers to a five-point lead as South Bay finished the quarter with an 85-80-point advantage. Although the Lakers found a nine-point gap, the Vipers reignited to take the lead with 3:45 to play. However, South Bay remained vigilant and took the game with 1:34 on the clock to close out the afternoon with a win.

Olivari tallied 25 points, eight rebounds, five assists, three steals and one block in his second consecutive 20+ point-scoring performance. Guard DaJuan Gordon recorded 13 points off the bench to go with five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Forward Stanley Johnson dropped 11 of his own points, along with eight rebounds, eight assists and one steal. Guard Sir’Jabari Rice rounded out the Lakers’ offense with 11 points and two rebounds off the bench.

Roddy coupled a team-high 24 points and 11 rebounds with two assists and one steal. Dante notched a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double with two assists, one steal and a game-high three blocks. Guard Markquis Nowell added 21 points off the bench with five rebounds, four assists and one steal while guard Daishen Nix contributed 18 points, four rebounds, eight assists, five steals and one block.

The South Bay Lakers next hit the road to take on the Sioux Falls Skyforce March 19 and March 21. They return home to play the Santa Cruz Warriors in a back-to-back March 24 and March 25 at 7 p.m. at UCLA Health Training Center. Fans can click here to purchase tickets.