RedStorm shakes off slow start, bounces Bruins

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - For more than 12 minutes of Friday night's matchup with the University of Rio Grande, Carolina University looked to be on its way toward spoiling the marquee event on the RedStorm's regular season schedule.
     But from that point on, the night belonged to the home team.
     Head coach Ryan Arrowood's squad rallied from a 12-point first half deficit and went on to win going away, posting a 91-74 victory over the Bruins in the opening round of the 42nd Annual Bevo Francis Classic at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     Rio Grande improved to 3-2 with a second straight win.
     Carolina, an NAIA independent school with dual affiliation in the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association, dropped to 2-5 with the loss.
     The Bruins jumped to a 28-16 lead following a Tristan Kruska layup with just under 10 minutes left in the first half and still enjoyed the same 12-point cushion, 32-20, after a pair of Jason Danso free throws with 8:18 remaining before halftime.
     But Rio methodically started the road back, eventually slicing the deficit to one, 40-39, after senior Jaelin Johnson (Fairmont, WV) drained a three-pointer from the left corner with 1:27 left before the break, before settling on a 43-41 shortfall at the intermission.
     The RedStorm kept coming in the opening moments of the second stanza and regained the lead for the first time since's the first 3-1/2 minutes of the contest, 46-45, after sophomore Bransyn Copas drilled a pair of free throws with 18:52 left to play.
     It was a lead that the hosts would never relinquish.
     Rio's largest cushion reached 23 points, 91-68, after a layup by freshman Brody Buchanan (Proctorville, OH) with 1:49 remaining, while the Bruins scored the final six points to set the final score.
     The RedStorm shot just under 56 percent (19-for-34) and had just one turnover in the second half.
     Carolina also shot the ball well after halftime, going 11-for-22 (50.0%), but the Bruins hurt their own cause with 10 turnovers over the game's final 20 minutes.
     Carolina actually shot 60 percent for the game (27-for-45) and enjoyed a 32-22 edge in rebounding, but committed 22 turnovers that led to a 34-11 Rio advantage in points off of turnovers.
     Rio Grande finished 32-for-60 overall (53.3%), including 10-for-22 from distance (45.5%), and had just eight turnovers.
     Senior Trey Robertson (Waverly, OH) led a quartet of double-digit scorers for the RedStorm with 22 points. He also had a game-high seven assists.
     Junior James Wright (Detroit, OH) netted a career-high 19 points off the bench, while Copas tallied career-bests with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists.
     Junior Kuba Senczyszyn (Algonquin, IL) also had career-highs of 14 points and six rebounds in the winning effort and senior Jaylin Fox (South Haven, MI) had eight points, a career-best eight steals and four assists of his own.
     Kuska had 16 points and six rebounds to lead Carolina, while Julius Lymon and Enock Rosil netted 11 points each. Rosil also had a game-high eight rebounds.
     Rio Grande will wrap up play in the Classic on Saturday when it hosts unbeaten Campbellsville University in a 5 p.m. tipoff.