RedStorm tops Mount Vernon Nazarene

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - On the heels of coughing up a double-digit second half lead in a loss to Campbellsville (Ky.) University on Saturday, the University of Rio Grande had no intentions on allowing history to repeat itself in its final outing before a Thanksgiving holiday break.
     The RedStorm parlayed a late first half surge into a lead they would never relinquish and went on to post a 79-70 win over Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Tuesday night, in non-conference men's basketball action at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     Head coach Ryan Arrowood's club pushed its season record to 4-3 and stopped an eight-game losing slide against the Cougars which stretched across nearly 16 calendar years.
     Prior to Tuesday, Rio's last win against MVNU - a long-time former conference rival in both the Mid-Ohio Conference and the America Mideast Conference - was a 91-84 triumph at home on Dec. 15, 2009.
     The Cougars lost for a second consecutive time after opening the season with seven straight victories.
     Rio Grande started well and led by six points on six different occasions in the first half, including 23-17 after a three-pointer by senior Jaelin Johnson (Fairmont, WV) with 12:14 left in the first half.
     Mount Vernon Nazarene countered with a 14-2 run of its own over the next seven minutes, though, and took a 31-25 cushion following a layup by Reed Platfoot with 5:29 remaining before halftime.
     But Platfoot's points would be the last the Cougars would score in the half.
     Rio Grande closed the period on a 11-0 run to take a 36-31 edge at the intermission and never trailed again.
     Mount Vernon's Peyton Heiss scored on a layup just under 90 seconds into the second half to pull the Cougars within three, 36-33, but that's as close as the visitors would get the rest of the way.
     Rio twice pushed its lead to as many as 14 points and appeared primed to turn things lopsided, although the Cougars did mount what proved to be one last run and drew to within 60-55 after a left side jumper by Platfoot with 6:58 remaining in the game.
     The RedStorm regained the momemntum, though, by scoring eight straight points as part of an 11-2 spurt which restored the 14-point advantage, 71-57, after another trifecta by Johnson with 4:01 left.
     MVNU sliced the deficit to seven three times in the game's final 2:13, but got no closer.
     Johnson, who averaged just under nine points per game over his last five contests after netting 20 points in a season-opening win over Tennessee Wesleyan, led Rio's winning effort with a career-best 26 points.
     Johnson connected on 10 of his 12 field goal attempts overall, including 4-for-5 from distance, and was 2-for-2 at the foul line.
     Senior Jaylin Fox (South Haven, MI) added 19 points for the RedStorm, while senior Trey Robertson (Waverly, OH) had nine points, eight assists and three steals and freshman Eli Roberts (South Webster, OH) had a team-best six rebounds.
     Rio Grande finished 29-for-55 overall (52.7%), including 7-for-18 from three-point range, and was 14-for-18 at the free throw line.
     Mount Vernon Nazarene shot just under 44 percent overall (24-for-55) and was 18-for-21 at the foul line (85.7%), but went just 4-for-18 from beyond the three-point arc and committed 14 turnovers which helped the RedStorm post a 23-7 advantage in points off of the miscues.
     Isaiah Brown had 20 points to pace the Cougars in the loss, while Devin Dreier and Heiss had 12 and 10 points, respectively.
     Kieran Granville had a game-best eight rebounds for MVNU and Heiss also had three steals.
     Rio Grande is scheduled to return to action next Tuesday when it opens River States Conference play at Midway University.
     Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.