January 7, 2010

RedStorm lose heartbreaker at Brescia

Owensboro, Ky. --- Things looked to be going well for the University of Rio Grande RedStorm men's basketball team on Wednesday night as they opened up the 2010 portion of the schedule on the road at Brescia. Things, however, are not always as they seem. Rio could not hold an 18-point second half lead in falling to Brescia 70-69 in heartbreaking fashion.

Rio Grande (5-10) lost a third straight game and this, by far, was the toughest. Senior guard P.J. Rase (Wheelersburg, OH) led the way with 20 points. With those points, he has 923 as a member of the Rio program and 1,002 as a collegian.   The RedStorm had two other players score in double figures in sophomore forward Bud Teer (Cleveland, OH) with 14 points and junior guard Doug Campbell (Salisbury, NC) chipped in 11.

Freshman guard Tony Harris (Cincinnati, OH) narrowly missed scoring in double figures as he tossed in nine points.

Brescia (11-6) completed the comeback with a basket from Doug Denton with 4.1 seconds remaining to seal the win and give the Bearcats a clean sweep over the RedStorm this season. Brescia knocked off Rio Grande 84-77 at the Newt Oliver Arena, December 5.

Andrew Howard paced the Bearcats with 15 points. Denton scored 12 points. Anthony Ingram and Hugh Weiskittel chipped in 11 points each and Bryce Garrett also scored in double figures with 10 as Brescia used a very balanced attack in capturing the narrow win. 

The road doesn't get any easier for the RedStorm as they travel to Beckley, WV on Saturday afternoon for a date with the NAIA's top-ranked team, Mountain State. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m. Stretch Internet will provide play-by-play coverage beginning at 6:45 p.m.