he D-Fenders beat the Rio Grande Valley Vipers 126-112 tonight in El Segundo, CA. Vander Blue paced the D-Fenders (17-14) with 39 points, his 12th consecutive 20-point outing. Justin Harper reached the 20-point plateau with 22 points, while Ryan Gomes (18 points, 7 rebounds), Robert Upshaw (16 points, 5 rebounds) and Andre Ingram (14 points) all scored in double-figures for Los Angeles. Jaron Johnson scored a team-high 30 points for the Vipers (15-15). K.J. McDaniels (21 points) and Chris Walker (21 points, 16 rebounds) reached the 20-point mark, while Will Cummings (14 points) also scored in double-digits for Rio Grande Valley. The first quarter was all Los Angeles, as the D-Fenders led 37-24 at the end of the first, behind 17 points from Blue. Rio Grande found their rhythm in the second quarter, outscoring the D-Fenders 36-28 behind 11 points from Johnson, while Gomes had nine for Los Angeles. At the half, the D-Fenders led 65-60 behind 22 points from Blue. Harper scored 10 points in the third quarter for the D-Fenders, who outscored the Vipers 31-26 in the period. Blue put the game away in the fourth quarter for Los Angeles, scoring 12 points and connecting on 7-of-8 free throws, to give Los Angeles the 126-112 wire-to-wire victory. The D-Fenders shot .484 from the field, compared to .432 for the Vipers. Los Angeles connected on 15-of-35 three-point attempts, while Rio Grande Valley finished 7-of-33. Los Angeles forced 22 turnovers, finishing with 11 steals as a team. Los Angeles heads to Idaho to face the Stampede on Monday, February 8th at 6:00pm PT. Press release
