Ohio Christian men halt losing slide against RedStorm

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - University of Rio Grande men's basketball head coach Ryan Arrowood described his team's Friday afternoon practice session as "the best practice we've had all year".
     Unfortunately, the RedStorm's final workout before Saturday afternoon's River States Conference matchup with Ohio Christian University at the Newt Oliver Arena didn't translate into a much-needed win.
     The Trailblazers led from start to finish, bolting to a quick 10-2 lead and an eventual 71-54 triumph over their in-state rivals.
     Ohio Christian evened its overall record at 12-12 and moved to 7-6 in conference play.
     OCU also snapped a seven-game losing streak to Rio Grande and posted its first victory over the RedStorm since a 91-78 win on Feb. 8, 2020 - also at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     Rio Grande fell for a fourth straight time, slipping to 10-14 overall and 5-9 in the RSC.
     Jimmy Salamone was the tool that the Trailblazers used to put the RedStorm to bed early, scoring 19 of his season-high 31 points in the opening half.
     He finished 10-for-14 overall, while also going 6-for-8 from three-point range. Five of his six trifectas came in the first half.
     Rio Grande trailed just 15-10 after sophomore Trent Hundley (Mt. Orab, OH) hit a pair of free throws with 13:22 left before the intermission, but OCU went on a 17-5 run over the next seven minutes to build a 32-15 advantage and, essentially, settle the issue once and for all.
     The RedStorm closed the deficit to 12 points with 2-1/2 minutes left in the first half, but got no closer the rest of the way.
     The Trailblazers extended their cushion to 17 points by halftime, 44-27, and led by as many as 23 points, 60-37, after a bucket by Titus Burns with 9:41 remaining in the contest.
     In addition to Salamone's big day, Ohio Christian also got 18 points and a team-high eight rebounds from Levi Seiler, while Burns tossed in 16 and Elisha Moore handed out six assists.
     The Trailblazers committed just three turnovers, while also shooting 48 percent overall (26-for-54), 47 percent from distance (9-for-19) and 71 percent at the charity stripe (10-for-14).
     Rio Grande shot a respectable 40.8 percent overall (20-for-49), but was just 4-for-16 from three-point range (25.0%) and 10-for-16 at the foul line (62.5%).
     Senior Miki Tadic (Hilversum, The Netherlands) led the RedStorm with 12 points, while sophomore Trey Robertson (Waverly, OH) tossed in 11. Senior Taylor Mack (Akron, OH) added a team-high six rebounds and two assists.
     Rio Grande will look to snap its losing skid on Tuesday with a River States Conference affair at Alice Lloyd College.
     Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.