Vipers slither past Hustle to deliver first loss of 2024.

As much as it pains me to say it, the Memphis Hustle have lost their first game of 2024. In a game that featured a step backwards in terms of team basketball, G.G. Jackson put together another one of his most impressive showings of the season. Unfortunately for Memphis, it just wasn’t enough to overcome the Vipers bite in this Friday night showdown.

The Hustle and Vipers met up for the first time in 2024 for a Friday night showdown featuring two squads that were both undefeated in the calendar year. This is the fourth time the Hustle and Vipers have squared off this season (including cup play), and coming into tonight’s matchup, the Vipers had a 1-2 advantage in the games they’ve played so far. Rio Grande has remained a thorn in Memphis’s side this season and has given them some great difficulty this season, with tonight being no exception.

The Hustle have been playing extremely well as a team so far in the calendar year, with tonight being their poorest showing as a unit during the regular season. G.G. Jackson played an amazing game, charting a solid double-double with 32 points and 13 rebounds on 13/25 shooting from the field, finishing with an efficient +3 (+/-). On the evening, Matthew Hurt added 18 points and 9 rebounds, and Jake LaRavia added 15 points to the board as well. Jacob Gilyard had one of his roughest showings of the season one game after his best showing of the season with a 5-point and 6-assist display with six turnovers, a tough break after playing consistently amazing basketball as of late.

Memphis started this ball game with a fairly slow start and bled into halftime, resulting in a 59-63 deficit going into the half. The biggest issue came in the third quarter, an area that hasn’t particularly been a problem for them this season, as they got outdone on the scoreboard by 18 points, which resulted in them going into the final period trailing 78-100. Despite the rough showing through the first three quarters, the Hustle went off to end the night on a 35-18 run, getting very close to making it a game in the final minutes before ultimately falling short 113-118.

The Hustle and Vipers will do it all over again tomorrow night, at the same time and in the same place. Memphis will look to bounce back to their old ways and reclaim the feeling of victory. It’ll be a 7:30 p.m. tip live from Edinburg, TX. Let’s get another dubski.