Second half surge sends RedStorm men past OakCity

Rio Grande Sports Information
     OAKLAND CITY, Ind. - The University of Rio Grande used a 10-0 second half run to erase a two-point deficit and the RedStorm maintained the lead the rest of the way in a 77-69 triumph over Oakland City University, Saturday afternoon, in River States Conference men's basketball action at the Johnson Center.
     Rio Grande rebounded from Tuesday's tough loss to rival Shawnee State, improving to 12-11 overall and 7-4 in the RSC with their fifth win in the last six outings.
     Oakland City, which is coached by former Rio head coach Ken French, dropped to 9-15 overall and 4-8 in league play with the loss.
     The Mighty Oaks, who saw a five-point deficit late in the first half reach six, 54-48, after a jump shot by senior Delon McCloud (Grand Rapids, MI) with 11:53 left to play, reeled off nine straight points and took a 57-54 edge following a conventional three-point play by Chris Grubbs with 9:24 remaining.
     The lead proved short-lived, though.
     Rio Grande scored the game's next 10 points to take a 64-57 lead after a bucket by McCloud with 6:19 showing on the clock.
     The RedStorm led by no less than five points the rest of the way and pushed their margin to as many as 10 points on three occasions in the final 35 seconds before settling on an eight-point final margin of victory.
     McCloud scored a game-high 26 points to fuel the winning effort for Rio, while senior Trey Robertson (Waverly, OH) and junior Kuba Senczyszyn (Algonquin, IL) tossed in 15 and 14 points, respectively. Senczyszyn also blocked two shots and Robertson had two steals.
     Junior James Wright (Detroit, MI) had a team-high seven rebounds off the bench and freshman Brody Buchanan (Proctorville, OH) had three assists.
     Rio Grande shot 45 percent overall (28-for-62), while going 19-for-21 at the foul line (90.5%) and committing just five turnovers.
     Oakland City shot 41.5 percent overall (27-for-65) and outrebounded the RedStorm, 42-36.
     Dior Davis equaled McCloud for game-high honors, scoring 26 points in a losing cause for the Mighty Oaks. He also had three assists.
     Grubbs had 14 points and 14 rebounds for OCU, while K'Shawn Scott finished with 10.
     Rio Grande is scheduled to return to action on Tuesday night when it hosts West Virginia University-Tech.
     Tip time is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Newt Oliver Arena.