Eagles hand Rio men heartbreaking loss

Rio Grande Sports Information
     PIPPA PASSES, Ky. - Twice in the waning seconds of Tuesday night's River States Conference men's basketball matchup with Alice Lloyd College, the University of Rio Grande came up with clutch shots to stave off defeat.
     Unfortunately, the third try for such a shot by head coach Ryan Arrowood's squad wasn't as charmed.
     Landon Napier connected on a go-ahead layup with 4.5 seconds left in overtime and the host Eagles survived a desperation heave at a would-be game-winner as time expired for a 71-69 come-from-behind triumph over the RedStorm at the Perry Campus Center.
     Alice Lloyd snapped a four-game losing side and completed a season sweep of the RedStorm, improving to 12-13 overall and 4-11 in conference play.
     Rio Grande fell for a fifth straight time, dropping to 10-15 overall and 5-10 against league foes.
     The loss also dealt a blow to the post-season hopes of the RedStorm, who currently hold a scant lead over the Eagles for the fifth and final berth from the East Division into the upcoming RSC Tournament.
     Should the two teams end up tied at the conclusion of regular season play, Alice Lloyd would move ahead of Rio based on its two head-to-head victories.
     The RedStorm looked well on their way to ending their skid, leading by as many as 12 points in the opening half and by 11 at halftime, but the Eagles used a 12-0 second half run to grab a 41-38 advantage after a bucket by Koji Anderson with 12:35 left in the game.
     Rio regained the lead, though, by reeling off a 7-0 run of its own and grabbing a 57-51 advantage following a three-pointer by sophomore Trent Hundley (Mt. Orab, OH) with 3:05 remaining.
     But then came a dramatic ending to regulation which, in turn, spawned even more drama in the extra session.
     Alice Lloyd appeared to have capped off a stunning comeback effort when Brady Nelson's off-balance three-pointer from the left wing with eight-tenths of a second left gave the Eagles a 58-57 lead.
     Rio Grande called timeout to draw up a last-gasp effort at a would-be game-winning shot, but Alice Lloyd emerged from the stoppage with six men on the floor after the second horn sounded to resume play.
     The Eagles were subsequently assessed a technical foul and Rio sophomore Trey Robertson (Waverly, OH) drilled the free throw which followed to knot the score and force overtime.
     The Eagles built a pair of four-point leads in the overtime period, but the RedStorm rallied yet again and tied the game at 69-69 when Hundley banked in a three-pointer from just to the right of the key with 8.3 seconds left.
     Napier managed to get behind the Rio defense by sprinting up the floor immediately after Hundley's game-tying shot, then pulled down the long inbounds pass from Nelson and put ALC in front with his go-ahead layup.
     Rio's desperation heave from midcourt by Robertson was both off the mark and a fraction of a second after the final horn.
     Nelson, who entered the game averaging just 4.3 points per contest, finished with a career-high 22 points to Alice Lloyd. All but five of his points came in either the second half or overtime.
     Napier nearly doubled his season average by netting 13 points, while Jackson Tackett had 12 points and Ben Soumahoro finished with 11 before fouling out late in regulation.
     Anderson yanked down a team-high eight rebounds in the win, while Jared Strickland had eight points, six rebounds, five assists, four steals and three blocked shots.
     Alice Lloyd shot just under 46 percent overall (26-for-57), but was just 6-for-21 from three-point range (28.6%) and 13-for-24 at the foul line (54.2%), in addition to committing 17 turnovers.
     Rio Grande mirrored the Eagles' same woes, going 27-for-67 overall (40.3%), 10-for-34 from distance (29.4%) and 5-for-10 at the charity stripe (50.0%).
     Hundley scored 20 points in a losing cause for the RedStorm, while senior Miki Tadic (Hilversum, The Netherlands) added 18 points and Robertson finished with 16.
     Tadic and sophomore Will Hill (Dayton, OH) shared game-high honors with nine rebounds each and Robertson was credited with a game-best six assists.
     Rio Grande will return to action on Saturday when it hosts West Virginia University Tech in a 3 p.m. tipoff at the Newt Oliver Arena.