The Capital City Go-Go were defeated by the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, 111-101, Sunday, dropping its record to 1-3.
The Vipers were led by forward Danuel House, whose hot-shooting from three (6-11) gave him a season-high 33 points. Four other Vipers scored in double figures as the team shot 16-36 (.444) from deep. Michael Frazier, 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Zhou Qi, 15 points and 11 rebounds, each tallied double-doubles in the contest.
Leading 64-59 with 10:22 left in the third quarter, Capital City suffered from a 19-2 Vipers’ run that put them behind 78-66 late in the third. The Go-Go were able to trim the lead to six with a Tiwian Kendley layup just before the quarter buzzer, but were unable to get any closer as the Vipers stretched their lead to as many as 15 in the fourth. Kendley finished the night with 17 points and four rebounds. The Go-Go were led by Chasson Randle’s 24 points and seven rebounds, after Randle had spent the previous week with the Wizards during their three-game road trip.
The Go-Go will be back in action next Friday the 16th as they travel to Oshkosh, Wisconsin to face the Herd. The Vipers will travel to Austin to face the Spurs on Tuesday morning.
GO-GO HEAD COACH JARELL CHRISTIAN
On the Go-Go defense tonight:
“Coming into this game, we knew that they were transition heavy. That was one of the emphasis. I wasn’t disappointed, per se, in the first half. Obviously, I think the second half our transition defense was a lot worse. So compared to that I thought our first half defense was pretty solid. I thought we generated a lot of good shots, we just couldn’t make enough.”
On managing rotations with players moving back and forth from the Wizards to the Go-Go:
“That’s part of the job. It’s the job that I signed up for. It’s the job that we all signed up for. So I knew that was an issue coming in. A huge credit to the players for being ready. Sometimes guys minutes fluctuate because of that but our team is resilient. They still come in and get their work in on a daily basis. They don’t hang their heads, even after losses like this. They’re a little disappointed, as we all are, but I know the next day in practice they’re going to come out. They’re going to be early. They’re going to get their work done. So kudos to the players for knowing that going into it.”
On Tiwian Kendley’s transition to being a lead guard:
“Better, a lot better. This is obviously a new situation for him being a lead guard, handling the ball as much as he is right now. So it’s just continuing to educate him. But he’s he doing a great job coming in with the coaches, watching film and individual sessions. He’s been an ultimate pro and I think his development is just going to continue to grow.”
GO-GO GUARD CHASSON RANDLE
On transitioning from being with the Wizards and coming back to play with the Go-Go:
“Sleep is one of them. We got in late last night and I did not get back home till about 3:30 AM, but it is life. I did training camp with both teams so that kind of helps. I know these guys and I am pretty accustomed to the way we want to play so it was not too hard.”
On what the struggle was defensively despite the runs they tried to make:
“They made plays. You have to give credit to them, whether it was knocking down the three, or drawing contact and getting the foul. They put the pressure on us and made it tough.”
