Rio men shrug off slow start, throttle Eagles

Rio Grande Sports Information
     MIDWAY, Ky. - The University of Rio Grande turned a six-point first half deficit into a six-point halftime lead and continued pulling away after the break en route to a 69-50 dismantling of Midway University, Tuesday night, in River States Conference men's basketball action at Marshall Gymnasium.
     The RedStorm improved to 14-4 overall and 8-0 in conference play with the win, remaining the only unbeaten team in league play in the process.
     Midway dropped to 9-7 overall and 5-3 in the RSC as a result of the loss.
     The Eagles led throughout much of the game's opening 16-1/2 minutes, including 17-11 following a jumper by Donnie Miller with 8:18 remaining before half, but Rio took the lead for good, 27-24, on a three-pointer by freshman Kaden Warner (Cincinnati, OH) with 2:34 left before the intermission and closed the half on a 9-1 run to grab its 31-25 halftime lead.
     Senior Shiloah Blevins (South Webster, OH) scored six points in a 10-2 spurt to start the second half and push the RedStorm's lead to 14 points, 41-27, with 14:47 remaining and Midway failed to get any closer than nine points the rest of the way.
     After the Eagles got within nine, 43-34, after a bucket by Will VanHook with 12:27 left, Rio settled the issue once and for all with an 11-0 spurt over the next three minutes which pushed the cushion to 20 points.
     The RedStorm's biggest lead of the contest was 23 points, 67-44, after a trifecta by junior Miki Tadic (Hilversum, The Netherlands) with 2:08 remaining and was one of seven second half three-pointers for head coach Ryan Arrowood's squad.
     Rio finished 10-for-24 (41.7%) from distance after connecting on just three of its 12 tries from beyond the arc in the opening half.
     The RedStorm hit 28 of their 60 field goal tries overall (46.7%) and finished with a 41-32 edge in rebounding.
     Blevins scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half, while Warner netted 10 of his 16 before the intermission. Warner also tallied four steals and three assists in the winning effort.
     Tadic also reached double figures with 12 points, while sophomores Exauce Manissa (Point Noire, The Congo) and Khamani Smith (Fort Wayne, IN) shared game- and team-high honors in rebounds with eight each.
     Miller had 19 points to pace all scorers in the loss, but was limited to just seven points after halftime.
     Nick Keeton had seven rebounds for the Eagles, who shot just 36 percent overall (20-for-55) and connected on only five of their 11 free throw attempts.
     Rio Grande returns to action on Saturday when it hosts Indiana University Southeast in another RSC contest.
     Tip time is set for 3 p.m. at the Newt Oliver Arena.