RedStorm outlasts Rochester in OT

Rio Grande Sports Information
     ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. - The University of Rio Grande may not have achieved its objection in regulation time but, given five extra minutes and a second opportunity, the RedStorm got the job done.
     Head coach Ryan Arrowood's squad rallied from a pair of overtime deficits and scored eight of the game's final 10 points en route to an 87-82 triumph over Rochester University, Tuesday night, in non-conference men's basketball action at the Garth Pleasant Arena.
     Rio Grande, which was among the schools receiving votes in the most recent NAIA coaches' Top 25 poll, won for a fourth straight outing and improved to 18-5 overall.
     The Warriors, who were also receiving Top 25 votes as recent as two weeks ago, slipped to 16-7 with the loss.
     In a back-and-forth affair that featured 13 ties and 13 lead changes, Rio Grande enjoyed its largest lead of the night, 74-65, after senior Shiloah Blevins (South Webster, OH) capped an 8-0 run by connecting on a jumper with 1:56 left in regulation.
     But Rochester refused to go away quietly and forged a 76-all deadlock on a three-pointer by Gunner Walters with 2.9 seconds remaining.
     The RedStorm managed a good luck at a would-be game-winning three-pointer by junior Miki Tadic (Hilversum, The Netherlands), but his left wing jumper bounced off the front of the rim as time expired and the game ventured to overtime.
     The Warriors regained the lead for the first time since the 11:15 mark of the second half when Anthony Cukaj drained a pair of free throws just 32 seconds into the extra session and still led 80-79 after a layup by James Ballard, Jr. with 2:24 remaining in the overtime period, but Rio went in front to stay on a pair of free throws by Blevins with 1:58.
     The free throws by Blevins kickstarted a 6-0 run by the RedStorm, which also included a dunk by graduate senior Mike Cody (Cookeville, TN) with 30 seconds left and a pair of free throws by Tadic with 8.2 seconds remaining, to make it 85-80.
     Walters hit the first two of three free throw tries with 3.0 seconds showing clock, but Cody came away with the rebound on an intentional miss of the third attempt and hit two free throws with 2.2 seconds left to seal the victory.
     Blevins finished with 21 points to lead Rio Grande, 19 of which came after halftime. He also yanked down a team-high eight rebounds.
     Freshman Trent Hundley (Mount Orab, OH) led three other RedStorm players in double figures with a career-high 19 points, 10 of which came in the first half.
     Cody tossed in 17 points in the winning effort, including seven in overtime, while Tadic added 16 points and a game-best four assists and sophomore Exauce Manissa (Point Noire, The Congo) had half of the team's six blocked shots.
     Rio finished 30-for-63 overall (47.6%) and 11-for-21 from distance (52.4%), while also going 16-for-19 at the foul line (84.2%).
     The RedStorm also enjoyed a 39-30 edge in rebounding and had just eight turnovers.
     Walters poured in a game- and career-high 25 points to go along with a team-high three assists and two steals for Rochester, while Cukaj netted 12 points and James Fisher tossed in 10.
     Ballard narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and a game-best nine rebounds in a losing cause.
     The Warriors shot 47 percent overall (31-for-66) and 50 percent from three-point range (11-for-22), but went just 9-for-13 from the foul line (69.2%).
     Rio Grande is scheduled to return to action on Saturday afternoon when it hosts Ohio Christian University in River States Conference play at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     Tipoff is set for 3 p.m.