Albuquerque, N.M., February 23, 2008 – The Rio Grande Valley Vipers defeated the Albuquerque Thunderbirds 99 – 85 earning their first win in five tries against the Thunderbirds. Trent Strickland led all scorers with 25 points and a game high 9 assists for the Vipers.

Josh Gross led the Thunderbirds in scoring with 22 points before leaving early in the fourth quarter with an injury. Four other Thunderbirds scored in double-digits including 15 for Dwight Brewington in his second game in an Albuquerque uniform.

Strickland was one of four Vipers in double-digits. Desmon Farmer pitched in 22 points 19 of which came in the second half. Craig Winder added an additional 21 points off the bench for the Vipers in the win.

Albuquerque opened the game on an 11–5 run over the first three minutes. Winder’s dunk with 4:15 remaining in the first quarter gave the Vipers their first lead of the game, 18–17. Albuquerque battled back shooting 45% from the floor and taking a 24–22 lead after one.

Strickland led all scorers in the second quarter with 14 points for the Vipers, helping Rio Grande Valley to a 44–41 halftime lead. The Thunderbirds were plagued with turnovers in the quarter racking up eight.

Farmer and Strickland each kicked in 8 points for the Vipers in the third quarter. Rio Grande Valley outscored Albuquerque 27–20 in the quarter helping push their lead to 71–61.

Rio Grande Valley blew the game wide open early in the fourth quarter when they converted on five straight 3-point attempts, three of which came from the hot second half hand of Farmer, who led all scorers with 11 fourth quarter points.

Rio Grande Valley continues their road trip Monday, February 25th against the Colorado 14ers before returning home to take on the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Tuesday, February 26th; game time is set for 7:00 pm.

The Thunderbirds continue their home stand next Thursday and Friday, February 28th & 29th. Thursday they will play host to the Tulsa 66ers, Friday the Colorado 14ers will be in town; both game times are set for 7:00 pm from Tingley Coliseum.

Thunderbirds 2007–08 single game tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at abqtbirds.com, any Ticketmaster location or at the Thunderbirds front office at 111 Lomas Blvd. NE, Suite 240, Albuquerque, NM 87102. For premium or group seating call the Thunderbirds office at (505) 265-DUNK.

The Thunderbirds stay focused on the community by participating in community events such as the Read to Achieve Program as well as D-League Cares. In the past two seasons the Thunderbirds have worked over 3,000 hours in the community, staying dedicated to Albuquerque and New Mexico.

The NBA Development League is the NBA's official minor league, and the first-ever basketball league with direct affiliations to NBA teams. Now in its seventh season the D-League’s goals are to provide affordable, NBA-caliber entertainment to fans of its 14 teams, as well as continue to develop players, coaches, referees and front-office personnel for the NBA. As the single source for in-season player "call-ups" to the NBA, fans of the D-League enjoy the highest caliber of basketball played outside the NBA. In fact, former D-League players represented 10 percent of NBA players on 2007-08 opening day rosters, numbering 44 in total. In addition, the D-League has produced 25 percent of current NBA referees and 16 current NBA coaches, including head coach Sam Vincent with the Charlotte Bobcats. The D-League is an innovative and rapidly growing sports property that also serves as an experimental testing ground for new initiatives like the live web-streaming of all games available free to fans at d-league.com. The League also provides continuing education and professional development resources for its players, and is committed to serving its local communities through D-LEAGUE CARES and grassroots efforts.

Individually, the Thunderbirds have had two player call-ups, two front office call-ups, two training staff call-ups and three call-ups from the Storm Chasers Dance and Cheer squad.

Designed to help grow the sport of basketball both domestically and internationally, the D-League offers NBA-quality basketball and fun, family entertainment at affordable prices. For additional information on the NBA Development League, visit NBADLEAGUE.com