November 7, 2009

Rio takes it on the chin in Tip-Off finale

Rio Grande --- The University of Rio Grande RedStorm men's basketball team went through some growing pains on Saturday afternoon at the Newt Oliver Arena in the final game of the Giovanni's Pizza Tip-Off Classic. The visiting Cedarville Yellow Jackets put on a shooting clinic in defeating Rio Grande 157-91. 

Rio Grande (1-1) just did not have an answer as visiting Cedarville, ranked No. 15 in the NAIA Division II Top 25 poll, blitzed the RedStorm in the first half en route to an 83-53 halftime lead. 

The RedStorm had four players in double figures led by senior guard P.J. Rase (Wheelersburg, OH) with 20 points. Junior guard Doug Campbell (Salisbury, NC) and sophomore point guard Brad Cubbie (Dayton, OH) each added 13 points while freshman point man Tony Harris (Cincinnati, OH) chipped in 12.

Cedarville (1-1) shot nearly 70 percent from the field in the first half (30-of-44), including 10-of-15 (66.7 percent) from three-point land. The Yellow Jackets did not let off the gas pedal in the second half. Cedarville went 10-of-13 (76.9 percent) from beyond the three-point arc in the in the second half and ended the night at 71.4 percent (20-of-28) from deep.

The Jackets had six players in double figures, paced by Chris Beals with 25 points. Austin Foote and Ricardo Alliman pitched in 23 points each. 

Rio shot a respectable 47.5 percent (19-of-40) from the field in the first half, but was out-rebounded 22-13 in the first 20 minutes and committed eight turnovers to only three for Cedarville. The RedStorm struggled in the second half and suffered their first loss of the season. 

"They shot the ball well. Anytime you go 20-of-28, you're shooting the lights out," said Rio Grande head coach Ken French. "They had multiple guys shoot it and knock them down and the bottom line is, we're a young team and we took one on the chin today big time."

"The thing that I'm disappointed most with is that we quit playing at times," French added. "That's not been how we play, that's not how we run our program and that's what I'm disappointed most in."

"We've got to learn from it, we've got to get better, we've got to watch film, we've got to breakdown every possession and see where we went wrong and where we broke down and get better," French said. "It's not the end of the world, it's not the end of the world, we've got to learn from it." 

Fellow Mid-South Conference foe Cumberlands (3-0) won the other contest on Saturday, knocking off Ohio-Lancaster, 82-52. 

Rio will get the week to prepare for the annual Bevo Francis Tournament next weekend. The RedStorm will face Ohio-Chillicothe on Friday night. Tip-off is set for approximately 8 p.m. Union College (KY) and Taylor (IN) also make up the field.