No. 21 Bears hold off RedStorm

Rio Grande Sports Information
     WILLIAMSON, W.Va. - Try and try as they may, the University of Rio Grande men's basketball team simply couldn't get over the hump.
     The University of Pikeville grabbed an early lead which it refused to relinquish in an eventual 82-74 triumph over the RedStorm in the Coalfield Legends Classic, Saturday afternoon, at the Williamson Fieldhouse.
     Rio Grande suffered a fourth straight loss in falling to 5-7.
     The Bears, who are ranked No. 21 in the NAIA Top 25 coaches' poll, improved to 13-2 with a 12th consecutive victory.
     The two teams traded the lead in the game's opening moments until a pair of free throws by Zion Blevins put UPike in front, 7-6, with 17:24 left in the first half.
     It was a lead that the Bears maintained the rest of the way.
     UPike's edge grew to as many as eight points after a three-pointer by Bradley Bunch with 10:08 left before halftime made it 26-18, although Rio closed the gap to two points on three occasions before the deficit settled a 44-40 at the break.
     The RedStorm got the first points of the second half to again slice the deficit to two points, but a 5-0 UPike run extended the lead back to seven and the Bears maintained a lead of between four and nine points until a three-pointer by Jaylan Rigdon with 2:27 to play gave the designated home team a 73-63 cushion with 2:27 remaining.
     Rio Grande twice pulled to within six in the game's waning moments, but got no closer.
     Junior James Wright (Detroit, OH) came off the bench to lead the RedStorm with a career-high 20 points and 10 rebounds.
     Senior Jaylin Fox (South Haven, MI) added 16 points and a pair of steals in a losing cause, while senior Delon McCloud (Grand Rapids, MI) and freshman Eli Roberts (South Webster, OH) netted 12 points each.
     Senior Trey Robertson (Waverly, OH) also had seven assists.
     All five Pikeville starters finished in double figures.
     Keian Worrix had a team-best 19 points and four assists to lead the way, while Blevins had 14, Bunch finished with 12, L.A. Walker netted 11 and Keynan Cutlip tossed in 10.
     Walker added seven rebounds and three steals to the winning effort, while Bunch also had seven rebounds and Blevins blocked three shots.
     UPike shot 54 percent overall (26-for-48), 52 percent from three-point range (11-for-21) and outscored the RedStorm at the foul line, 19-9.
     Rio Grande is scheduled to return action on December 30 with another non-conference tilt at Alice Lloyd College.
     Tipoff is set for 3 p.m.