RGV Capsules: Scorpions begin 2012 season at home Thursday
It's opening day in January in Brownsville, where it already is baseball weather.
The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College begins its 2012 season at 6 p.m. Thursday at Scorpion Field against Doane College (Neb.), a team it faced in the opening round of the 2011 NAIA national championship.
The game is the first to be played at the collegiate level anywhere in the United States in 2012. There are several NAIA games scheduled Friday. NCAA schools do not begin play until February.
Both UTB-TSC and Doane are very similar in success. Each set and broke school records for victories in 2010 and 2011. Each received votes in the NAIA coaches top 25 poll, with Doane getting 14 and UTB-TSC six.
Each qualified for the opening round of the 2011 NAIA national championships. The Scorpions lost both of their opening round games, the first by a 9-2 score to Doane. The Tigers then lost their next two games at the opening round after beating the Scorpions.
Doane, a member of the Great Plains Athletic Conference, went 30-18 in 2010 and 37-19 in 2011 under Coach Jeremy Jorgensen.
Under coach Bryan Aughney, the Scorpions have improved their record from the previous year three straight times. The best year was 2011, when the Scorpions finished 35-26.
Doane made the 18-hour bus ride from Crete, Neb. to Brownsville on Sunday and arrived Monday. Doane students do not begin the spring semester until Monday, Jan. 30, so the Tigers' baseball players are not missing class. Jorgensen decided to bring the team early so that they could practice in the South Texas weather this week.
High temperatures in the eastern Nebraska city near Kansas City were in the 40s, with lows in the 20s. The Tigers will not play a home game until March 3.
UTB-TSC will play its first 11 games at home, and 18 of the first 21 at Scorpion Field.
Opening day highlights include a pregame singing performance by UTB-TSC student and country singer Nestor AnDress Trevino, and the ceremonial first pitch by a youth from the Brownsville community with special needs. Trevino will also sing the national anthem.
The Scorpions and Tigers will play three more games after Thursday. The two teams meet at 6 p.m. Friday for a single game and at 12 noon Saturday for a doubleheader.
Basketball
Vipers hold on against Mad Ants
HIDALGO – The Rio Grande Valley Vipers were outscored in three quarters. Luckily for them, they held an 18-point lead after the first one and that was enough to carry them to a 104-97 victory on Wednesday at State Farm Arena.
The Vipers (16-9) led 30-12 after the first quarter and extended it to as much as 23 in the first half before the Mad Ants (9-15) made it a game in the fourth quarter by closing to within four points at the 2:55 mark. The Vipers answered with an 8-0 run, and they secured their fifth-straight win, a season-best.
“They came back and played hard and fought,” said Vipers center Greg Smith, who had 17 points and 13 rebounds. That’s what good teams to. We tried to keep our composure and play hard for 48 minutes. We stayed into it. We kept the lead. At the end of the game, we showed up.”
The Vipers built their early lead with some strong 3-point shooting, by dominated the boards. They limited the Mad Ants’ second chances as the Vipers had 19 defensive rebounds compared to zero offensive rebounds for Fort Wayne in the first half. The Vipers also made 9 of 17 3-pointers in the first half.
“We showed some flashes of playing some pretty impressive basketball to start,” Vipers coach Nick Nurse said. “We were excited to play at home, and we got out of the gate, and then it into complacency mode. Our 3-point shooting really carried us tonight.”
The Vipers had four their four previous games on the road. They won’t return to State Farm Arena again until Feb. 10. Until then, the Vipers have back-to-back road swings at Texas, Austin and Idaho.
Guard Kelvin Lewis led all scorers with 22 points. He was 5 of 6 from the 3-point arc. The Vipers made 14 of 28 3-pointers total. Guard Lee Humphrey had 14 points and made 4 of 7 from the arc.
“Fort Wayne is a good team,” Lewis said. “They didn’t have it early, but they picked it up late, and we sustained their run at the end.”
Point guard Will Conroy, a member of the RGV’s championship team two seasons ago, made his Vipers debut. He had four assists in his first five minutes and finished with eight assists. He was held scoreless and took four shots.
“I really didn’t want to take any shots tonight,” said Conroy, who last played a game in the Turkish League last May. “I didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes and get everybody the ball. I’m not really here for stats right now. I’m just trying to get back in shape and get everyone going.”
The Mad Ants were led by Gilbert Brown’s 15 points. Sean Sonderleiter had 14 points.
David Hinojosa covers the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. You can reach him at (956) 683-4442 or via email at dhinojosa@themonitor.com
Vipers re-sign Conroy
McALLEN – The NBA Development League Rio Grande Valley Vipers announced the re-signing of guard Will Conroy on Wednesday.
Conroy was an integral member of the Vipers’ 2010 NBA D-League championship team. During the 2009-10 season, he averaged a double-double 16.45 points and 10 assists per game.
Conroy is also no stranger to the NBA. He has played for the Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies and was called up by the Rockets during his previous stint with the Vipers. Prior to his professional career, Conroy spent four seasons (2001-2005) at the University of Washington, where he averaged 9.2 points per game and is the all-time career leader in assists (515).
The 6-2 guard suited up for the Vipers’ home game against the Ft. Wayne Mad Ants on Wednesday night.
-- Vipers Services
