RedStorm hangs on late, tops Point Park

Rio Grande Sports Information
     PITTSBURGH, Pa. - It was a typical Rio Grande-Point Park get together.
     A toe-to-toe heavyweight fight, if you will, with the winner being the team that can best absorb a punch.
     Tuesday night, that team happened to be the visiting RedStorm.
     Rio Grande turned a five-point second half deficit into a 10-point second half lead, but was forced to hang on down the stretch for a 76-72 victory over the Pioneers in River States Conference men's basketball action at the CCAC-Allegheny Campus Gymnasium.
     The RedStorm won for a fifth straight time, improving to 6-3 overall and 2-0 in conference play.
     Point Park slipped to 6-3 overall and 1-2 in the RSC with a second consecutive setback.
     The Pioneers, who trailed for much of the opening half, found themselves holding a 40-35 lead following a pair of Sherron Schifino free throws with 18:45 left to play, but Rio Grande methodically rallied to regain the advantage and eventually opened up a 10-point cushion of its own, 71-61, after a three-pointer by senior Mike Cody (Cookeville, TN) with 2:04 remaining in the contest.
     Point Park, though, did not go gentle into the cool November night.
     The Pioneers pulled to within 74-72 after a layup by Cyrie Coates with 23.5 seconds left and it wasn't until Rio Grande senior Shiloah Blevins (South Webster, OH) canned a pair of free throws with 3.2 seconds remaining that the victory was secured.
     Blevins scored 10 of his team-high 17 points in the second half, including an 8-for-8 performance at the charity stripe. He also finished with a team-high three assists and two blocked shots.
     Cody had all 15 of his points and 10 of his team-high 12 rebounds after halftime, while freshman Kaden Warner (Cincinnati, OH) and junior Miki Tadic (Hilversum, The Netherlands) netted 14 and 12 points, respectively.
     Freshman Trent Hundley (Mount Orab, OH) narrowly missed a double-double of his own with nine points and eight rebounds. He also had a team-best two steals.
     Rio Grande shot just 38.8 percent overall (26-for-67), but was 10-for-25 from three-point range (40.0%) and 14-for-17 at the free throw line (82.4%).
     The RedStorm also outrebounded their hosts, 48-41.
     Point Park got a game-high 20 points and 17 rebounds in a losing cause from Jo Valrie, while Coates finished with 17 points.
     Two others reached double figures for the Pioneers, with Schifino netting 13 points and Jalen Stamps tossing in 11.
     PPU had the exact same overall shooting totals as did Rio and finished 17-for-24 at the foul line (70.8%), but first-year head coach Kevin Reynolds' squad went just 3-for-15 from beyond the three-point arc.
     Rio Grande will return to action on Saturday when RSC East Division rival West Virginia University-Tech visits.
     Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. at the Newt Oliver Arena.