Bobcats claw way past Rio men

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - For Bryant & Stratton College it was an example of persistence paying off.
     The Bobcats rallied from a nine-point first half deficit and then held on in the closing seconds for a 68-66 upset of the University of Rio Grande, Thursday night, in non-conference men's basketball action at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     Bryant & Stratton, a United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Division I program, evened its record at 2-2 in the second all-time meeting between the schools.
     Rio Grande slipped to 1-1 with the loss.
     In a game which featured six ties and nine lead changes, the RedStorm enjoyed their largest advantage of the night, 34-25, after a pair of free throws by sophomore Bransyn Copas (Seaman, OH) with 2:56 left in the first half.
     The Rio lead settled at 36-32 by halftime, setting the stage for a second half that was played close to the vest.
     Neither team led by more than five points over the final 20 minutes, with the RedStorm's advantage coming just under 2-1/2 minutes into the second stanza and the Bobcats' cushion, 65-60, coming as a result of a layup by Detric Hearst with 1:24 left in the game.
     A trifecta by Rio senior Trey Robertson (Waverly, OH) cut the deficit to 65-63 with 38 seconds remaining, but a pair of free throws by B&S's Tareeq Roper with 28 seconds left made it a two-possession game again at 67-63.
     Senior Jaelin Johnson (Fairmont, WV) hit one of two free throws with 22 seconds left before Bryant & Stratton's Phillip Byrd did the same with 14 seconds remaining to keep the visitors' cushion at four points.
     Copas connected on a jumper in the lane with 4.4 seconds to close the gap to 68-66 and the RedStorm had a final chance for a game-tying or game-winning shot when senior Delon McCloud (Grand Rapids, MI) rebounded a second straight missed free throw by B&S's Sam Whitaker III just one second later.
     McCloud quickly got the ball into Robertson's hands, but his outlet pass in the direction of Copas was picked off by Byrd just before the final buzzer to seal the win.
     Hearst led a trio of double-digit scorers for Bryant & Stratton with 15 points, while Byrd and Roper finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Byrd also had six rebounds and three steals and Whitaker III blocked a pair of shots.
     The Bobcats shot 50 percent overall (26-for-52) and offset a 36-27 rebounding deficit by committing just 10 turnovers.
     Rio Grande shot 41 percent overall (24-for-58) and hit 11 three-point goals, but an uncharacteristic 17 turnovers led to an 18-9 Bryant & Stratton edge in points off of turnovers.
     Copas equaled a career-high with a game-best 16 points, while Robertson and senior Jaylin Fox (South Haven, MI) tallied 13 and 12 points, respectively. Fox also had four assists.
     Johnson and freshman Eli Roberts (South Webster, OH) had six rebounds each.
     Rio Grande will return to action on Friday, Nov. 14, when it faces host Rochester Christian University in the opening round of the RCU Holiday Classic in Rochester Hills, Mich.