RedStorm men pull away from Oakland City

Rio Grande Sports Information
     OAKLAND CITY, Ind. - It didn't take long for the University of Rio Grande to force host Oakland City University into playing a game of catch-up.
     And despite staying within striking distance for a large portion of the day, the Mighty Oaks failed to overcome.
     The RedStorm saw a 10-point first half lead shrink to three by halftime, but used a 12-4 run early in the second half to regain a double-digit lead and fuel an eventual 76-61 victory, Saturday afternoon, in River States Conference men's basketball action at the Johnson Center.
     Rio Grande, which was among the teams receiving votes in the latest NAIA coaches' Top 25 poll, improved to 16-5 overall and 10-1 in conference play with the win.
     Oakland City, which is led by former Rio Grande head coach Ken French, slipped to 8-13 overall and 2-9 in league play as a result of the loss.
     Rio built a 28-18 lead just over 13 minutes into the contest following a bucket by freshman Kaden Warner (Cincinnati, OH), but the pesky Mighty Oaks twice sliced the deficit down to three inside the final minute of the half and trailed just 34-31 at the intermission.
     The hosts were still down just four, 39-35, after a jumper by D.J. Redding with 17:46 left in the contest before the RedStorm scored 12 of the next 16 points to grab a 51-39 cushion following a three-pointer by sophomore Khamani Smith (Fort Wayne, IN) with 12:17 to play.
     Rio Grande led by no less than eight points from that moment on and enjoyed its largest lead of the day - 15 points - with just under a minute to play and again with the game's final margin of victory.
     Warner and junior Miki Tadic (Hilversum, The Netherlands) led four players in double figures for the RedStorm, netting 15 points each. Tadic also shared team-high honors in rebounds with eight and in steals with two.
     Freshman Trent Hundley (Mt. Orab, OH) scored all of his 12 points in the second half and also had eight rebounds, while senior Shiloah Blevins (South Webster, OH) finished with 11 points and two steals of his own.
     Rio Grande shot 44.6 percent overall (25-for-56), including 7-for-21 from three-point range (33.3%), and was 19-for-25 at the foul line (76.0%).
     The RedStorm also outrebounded OCU, 37-32, and committed just 10 turnovers.
     Redding led Oakland City with a game-high 19 points, while Abdul Wurie and Tyquez Priester had 12 and 10 points, respectively. Wurie also blocked a game-high three shots.
     Allen Sims added a game-best 10 rebounds and a team-high two steals for the Mighty Oaks, who shot just under 42 percent overall (23-for-55) - including 9-for-27 (33.3%) in the second half.
     Rio Grande will return to action next Saturday when it hosts Indiana University East for a 3 p.m. tipoff at the Newt Oliver Arena.