R.J. Hunter poured in 40 points Saturday night for Rio Grande Valley, which overcame an early 15-point deficit to beat the Maine Red Claws 118-110 before a crowd of 2,245 at the Portland Expo.
The victory was the 10th straight for the Vipers (10-3) and snapped a three-game winning streak for the Claws (7-4).
Andrew White tied a franchise record with nine 3-pointers for Maine, which attempted a record 56 shots from beyond the 3-point arc. White finished with 38 points on 9-of-12 shooting from deep and made 14 of 17 overall.
Jabari Bird added 19 points for the Red Claws, who opened a 30-15 lead in the first quarter and took a 62-52 advantage into intermission.
Rio Grande Valley, which is 16-1 against Maine, whittled the margin to one when Hunter beat the third-quarter buzzer with a 3-pointer from the right corner. Hunter opened the fourth quarter with another 3-pointer (he was 7 of 14 from deep) to put the Vipers ahead 93-91.
Bird answered with a trey to give Maine its final lead, but Rio Grande embarked on a 12-0 run, capped by an alley-oop dunk by Chinanau Onuaku, on assignment from the Houston Rockets.
Kadeem Allen twice pulled the Claws within three points in the final four minutes, but Onuaku, who shoots his free throws granny-style, sank two from the line and Monte Morris (24 points) converted consecutive driving layups to put the game out of reach.
Rio Grande shot 28 of 36 from the line, while Maine attempted only 15 free throws, making 13. The Claws were also outrebounded, 51-39.
After games in New York and Chicago on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Claws return to the Expo next weekend for games Friday against Erie and Saturday against Texas.
COLLEGE: Kevin Knox had 20 points, Hamidou Diallo added 19, and a 13-0 run midway through the second half provided a cushion as No. 7 Kentucky (7-1) held off Harvard (3-6) 79-70 at Lexington, Kentucky.
• Conner Frankamp scored 17 points and No. 8 Wichita State (6-1) closed the game on a 7-0 run to beat No. 16 Baylor (5-2) 69-62, ending the Bears’ 46-game nonconference home winning streak.
SKIING
WORLD CUP: Mikaela Shiffrin of the U.S. raced to her first downhill victory at Lake Louise, Alberta.
Racing in her fourth career downhill, the 22-year-old Olympic and world slalom champion finished in 1 minute, 27.55 seconds to edge Viktoria Rebensberg of Germany by 0.13 seconds. Michelle Gisin of Switzerland was third in 1:27.72.
• Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway started first and put down such a blistering run that no one could catch him in a downhill race at Beaver Creek, Colorado.
• Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo made it four wins in four races to start the cross-country season, at Lillehammer, Norway.
RUGBY
WORLD CUP: Australia retained the Rugby League title with a 6-0 win over England in a brutal defense-oriented final at Brisbane, Australia.
It was the Kangaroos’ 11th World Cup title and first on home soil since 1977. Australia’s victory extended a drought for British teams that dates to 1972.
LUGE
WORLD CUP: Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken of Germany extended their lead in the doubles standings, winning at Altenberg, Germany for their third victory of the season.
Matt Mortensen and Jayson Terdiman of the U.S., who won silver at Altenberg last season, were 11th.
FOOTBALL
NFL: The Philadelphia Eagles signed wide receiver Alshon Jeffery to a four-year contract extension that runs through 2021.
The deal reportedly is worth $52 million, with $27 million guaranteed. Jeffery, 27, signed a one-year deal with the Eagles in March after playing for the Chicago Bears his first five seasons.
• Aaron Rodgers returned to Green Bay Packers practice for the first time since having surgery on his right collarbone.
BIATHLON
WORLD CUP: Tarjei Boe of Norway ended a wait of more than four years for a win when he claimed a 10-kilometer sprint at Ostersund, Sweden.
Boe won by 0.7 seconds over the reigning World Cup champion, Martin Fourcade of France.
SOCCER
PREMIER LEAGUE: Jesse Lingard scored twice for Manchester United and goalkeeper David de Gea pulled off a string of stunning saves in a 3-1 victory against Arsenal at London.
The result left United in second place behind Manchester City before the teams meet next week.
GERMAN LEAGUE: Borussia Dortmund’s winless run continued with a 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen that will test the club’s patience with Peter Bosz as coach.
Dortmund hasn’t won in the league since September and has only one win across 11 games. It has fallen 10 points behind Bayern Munich, having previously led the defending champions by five.
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