On Saturday, the G League’s South Bay Lakers hosted the Rio Grande Valley Vipers at UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo for the second time in three days. They were looking for their sixth win in seven games, but early on, things didn’t look good for them.
They trailed 34-29 at the end of the first quarter, and they had to withstand the Vipers going through a hot streak in the second quarter, which resulted in them trailing 68-51 at halftime. But South Bay came out firing on all cylinders in the third quarter and outscored the Vipers 34-12 to take an 85-80 lead into the final frame. In the final minutes, it withstood the Vipers’ attempts to take control and ended up with a 109-108 victory.
Although rookie guard Quincy Olivari struggled with his shooting, he finished with 25 points, to go along with eight rebounds, five assists, three steals and one block. Forward Cole Swider was reliable throughout the game and scored 25 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field and 6-of-13 from 3-point range.
David Roddy, who last played in the NBA last month for the Philadelphia 76ers, led the Vipers in scoring with 24 points and also grabbed 11 rebounds.
