ORLANDO — In a game that featured several Montana connections, Tres Tinkle and the Raptors 905 defeated Josh Huestis and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers 132-105 to open the NBA G-League season.
Both Huestis and Tinkle came off the bench for their respective teams and played limited minutes in the opener.
Tinkle scored four points in just under 10 minutes of game time. The former Missoula Hellgate and Oregon State star was fouled by Huestis in the second quarter and hit two free throws. Tinkle added a wide-open dunk in the final minute of the game to go along with one assist, one steal and a turnover.
Huestis scored eight points off the bench in nearly 18 minutes. The Great Falls CMR product finished 3-of-10 shooting from the field and had five rebounds and three turnovers.
It also marked the Vipers debut for Cut Bank native Justin Wetzel, an assistant coach for Rio Grande Valley. Wetzel has previously made stops at MSU Billings, Dickinson State and the Wisconsin Herd of the G-League.
Elsewhere in the G-League, former Montana State guard Tyler Hall opened the season with the Westchester Knicks in a 125-120 win over the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. Hall played 20 minutes and scored five points on 1-of-4 shooting.
The Big Sky Conference’s all-time leading scorer was in the starting lineup and added two steals and three rebounds.
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