Rio men mount rally, but fall short

Rio Grande Sports Information
KOKOMO, Ind. - As lackadaisical as the University of Rio Grande appeared in the opening half of Thursday night's game against Indiana University Kokomo, the RedStorm were equally as focused over the final 20 minutes.
The second half intensity turned what looked to be a blowout into a fight for survival for the host Cougars.
IU Kokomo saw its 21-point lead with 16 minutes remaining whittled to just six with 5-1/2 minutes left to play, but the Cougars held on down the stretch for an eventual 84-74 triumph over Rio Grande in River States Conference men's basketball action at Cougar Gym.
Kokomo, which defeated the RedStorm for a second straight time after dropping the first five meetings in the all-time series between the two schools, improved to 17-4 overall and 7-3 in the RSC.
The Cougars, who were among the schools receiving votes in the NAIA Division II coaches' poll this week, also improved to 11-0 at home this season.
Rio Grande fell to 9-15 overall and 3-8 in league play with the loss.

The RedStorm found themselves down by 18 points at halftime, 50-32, after trailing by as many as 20 points on three occasions late in the period.
Kokomo's lead reached its largest point of the night - 21 points - when a layup by Ditwan Gary made it 60-39 with 16:10 remaining, but that's also when Rio began to mount a methodical comeback effort.
Behind junior Cameron Schreiter (Mason, OH), who was limited to just 7-1/2 minutes of playing time in the first half as a result of two quick fouls, the RedStorm drew to within 15 points with 12:47 left to play, to within 10 points with 6:42 remaining and to within six points, 75-69, after a bucket by Schreiter with 5:29 showing on the clock.
The Cougars grabbed momentum back, though, on their ensuing possession when Schreiter was whistled for questionable blocking foul - his fourth personal - on what became a conventional three-point play by Trequan Spivey that pushed the lead back to nine.
As things turned out, Schreiter fouled out just under two minutes later and Rio scored just five points - three of which came with just 6.5 seconds left - over the final 5:29 after making it a two-possession game.
Schreiter scored 18 points in 17 minutes of action in the second half and finished with a team-best 20 points for the RedStorm.
Senior Earl Russell (Warrington, England) missed tying his career-high by one point, finishing with 17, and sophomore Trey Kelley (Minford, OH) netted 11.
Schreiter, Russell and sophomore Kyle Lamotte (Mason, OH) shared team rebounding honors with five, while junior Hadith Tiggs (Mayfield Heights, OH) had a game-best seven assists and both of Rio's steals.
The RedStorm shot 57 percent from the field in the second half and 54 percent for the game.
Spivey led IU Kokomo with a game-high 27 points, while Akil McClain finished with 17. DeSean Hampton added 12 points, a career-high 14 rebounds and four assists and two blocked shots.
The Cougars shot just under 62 percent in the first half, 57 percent for the game and committed just 10 turnovers.
Rio Grande returns to action on Saturday when it concludes a five-game road swing at Cincinnati Christian University.
Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.