Rio's Warner fuels fast start, rout of Quakers

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - If the pre-game announcement of his name over the public address system was insufficient, Kaden Warner let his play on the court serve as a more than adequate introduction to the University of Rio Grande faithful.
     The Cincinnati, Ohio freshman poured in 30 points in just his second collegiate game and his home debut, leading the RedStorm's 108-58 win over Wilmington College, Tuesday night, in non-conference men's basketball action at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     Rio Grande evened its season record at 1-1 with the victory.
     Wilmington, a member of the NCAA Division III Ohio Athletic Conference, designated the contest as an exhibition ahead of its season opener later this month.
     The 108 points were the most by a Rio team since a 114-52 rout of Ohio State-Mansfield on Dec. 8, 2018.
     The RedStorm also connected on 19 three-point goals in the win - not a school record, but the most in a single game since connecting on 19 in a 103-72 triumph against Point Park on Feb. 12, 2000.
     Warner - who connected on just two of his 11 shots in last Thursday's loss at Shawnee State - hit seven of the trifectas, finishing 10-for-12 from the floor overall, 7-for-9 from three-point range and 3-for-3 at the foul line. He also added four assists and three steals in the winning effort.
     Rio Grande scored the first 17 points in the contest - including 10 by Warner - and never looked back.
     The Quakers didn't score until Obed Archirm connected on a pair of free throws with 14:22 left before halftime and didn't connect on their first field goal until a bucket by Hunter Price just under two minutes later.
     Rio finished the half with a 54-20 advantage and continued to pull away in the second half, leading by as many as 52 points inside the final half-minute.
     The highlight of the second half came with 12:55 left to play when junior Miki Tadic (Hilversum, The Netherlands) connected on a pair of free throws to reach the 1,000-point mark for his collegiate career, which began with one season at NCAA Division II Young Harris College.
     Tadic, who was limited to just 12 minutes of playing time in the loss at Shawnee State due to injury and whose status for the home opener was unclear until hours before game time, nailed four three's of his own and finished with 22 points.
     Freshman Trey Robertson (Waverly, OH) tacked on 13 points and a game-high five assists for Rio Grande, while junior Taylor Mack (Akron, OH) had a game-best 11 rebounds and sophomore Exauce Manissa (Point Noire, The Congo) blocked three shots.
     Sophomore Khamani Smith (Fort Wayne, IN) also had three steals for the RedStorm, who finished 36-for-80 from the floor (45.0%), 19-for-43 from three-point range (44.2%) and 17-for-19 (89.5%) at the free throw line.
     Lucas Doty led Wilmington with nine points and eight rebounds, while Bryce Bird also had nine points and added a pair of steals.
     The Quakers - who shot just 17.6 percent from the floor in the first half (5-for-28) - finished 20-for-60 from the floor overall (33.3%) and 14-for-20 at the foul line (70.0%), while also ending up on the short end of a 53-36 tally in rebounding.
     Rio Grande gets back to action on Friday night against Campbellsville University as part of the Brady Button Memorial/Sleep Inn Classic at Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia, Ky.
     Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. EST.