Robertson leads RedStorm men past Middletown

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - Trey Robertson poured in a career-high 28 points and the University of Rio Grande used a late first half run to pull away for a 66-49 win over Miami University-Middletown in the opening round of the 41st Annual Bevo Francis Invitational, Friday night, at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     The RedStorm ran their overall record to 4-0 with the victory.
     Miami-Middletown fell to 0-2 as a result of the loss.
     Robertson, a sophomore from Waverly, Ohio, carried Rio Grande for most of the night when the RedStorm struggled as a whole.
     Robertson finished 11-for-15 from the floor and 6-for-7 at the free throw, hitting his season scoring average of 16 points per game by halftime as Rio opened up a 12-point cushion at the intermission.
     The RedStorm's lead stood at just 20-18, though, after a layup by Middletown's Alex Wilkins with 3:36 left in the first half, but an 11-1 run before the break in which Robertson scored all but three of the points proved to be the turning point.
     The ThunderHawks did move to within 37-30 after a conventional three-point play with 14:08 left in the contest, but got no closer the rest of the way.
     Rio Grande went on to maintain a double-digit for the remainder of the night, leading by as many as 20 points after a three-pointer by junior Khamani Smith (Fort Wayne, IN) made it 58-38 with 6:18 remaining in the game.
     Smith and senior Miki Tadic (Hilversum, The Netherlands) finished with 10 points each in the winning effort, while Tadic also had a game- and career-high 12 rebounds.
     Rio Grande shot the ball well inside the three-point arc, going 22-for-34 (64.7%), but went 3-for-25 (12.0%) from beyond it.
     The RedStorm also hit just 13 of their 19 free throw attempts (68.4%) and committed 10 turnovers - neary double its per game average of 6.7.
     Middletown shot just 32 percent overall (19-for-59), 12.5 percent from distance (1-for-8) and 62.5 percent from the foul line.
     Lorenzo Sparks finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds in the loss, while Davon Jackson added 13 points of his own off the bench and James Hall netted 11 points.
     Rio Grande will wrap up play in the Invitational when it entertains former Mid-South Conference rival Lindsey Wilson College for a 5 p.m. tipoff.