Rio men build big lead, hang on late to edge IU Kokomo

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - Twice in the first five minutes of Tuesday night's battle of River States Conference men's basketball unbeatens, the University of Rio Grande founds itself trailing Indiana University Kokomo by four points.
     But a 12-0 scoring spurt later in the opening half gave head coach Ryan Arrowood's club a lead it would never relinquish and kickstarted another impressive win.
     The RedStorm built a 15-point second half advantage and then held on down the stretch for a 71-68 triumph over the Cougars at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     Rio Grande rebounded nicely from last Friday's four-point loss at home to 14th-ranked Marian University and pushed its record to 12-4 overall and 6-0 in league play.
     IUK, which was among the schools receiving votes in the most recent NAIA coaches' Top 25 poll and has made three straight national tournament appearances, dropped to 11-5 overall and 5-1 in the conference.
     Rio Grande, which won the first five meetings in the all-time series between the two schools, snapped a four-game losing slide against Kokomo with its first win over the Cougars since Jan. 26, 2017.
     A back-and-forth opening 12 minutes saw the RedStorm trailing 23-21 after a layup by IUK's Zach Rinehart with 8:06 remaining in the first half, but Rio responded with a 12-0 run over the next 4-1/2 minutes to build a double-digit lead and maintained the cushion the rest of the way.
     The lead settled at five, 38-33, by the time the halftime intermission rolled around and was cut to four, 40-36, after a conventional three-point play by Kokomo's Hunter White with 18:13 left in the contest, but the RedStorm countered with a 17-6 spurt over the next seven minutes to open up their largest lead of the contest, 57-42, following a three-pointer by sophomore Khamani Smith (Fort Wayne, IN) with 11:09 remaining.
     The Cougars refused to fold, though, and stayed within striking distance before eventually closing the gap to four points, 68-64, after a layup by Xavier Hines - the reigning RSC Player of the Week - with 2:23 still to play.
     White twice got IUK as close as three in the final two minutes - 69-66 with 1:47 left and 71-68 with 49.5 seconds remaining - but the visitors couldn't complete the comeback.
     The Cougars rebounded a missed field goal try by Rio junior Miki Tadic (Hilversum, The Netherlands) on the RedStorm's final possession of the night and called timeout with 14 seconds left to set up a game-tying three-point attempt.
     However, Darius Porch misfired on a right wing jumper with four seconds left and Rio freshman Trey Robertson (Waverly, OH) came away with ball in a mad scramble for the rebound as time expired to settle the issue once and for all.
     Graduate senior Mike Cody (Cookeville, TN) - making just his second start of the year - led five Rio Grande players in double figures with 16 points, including 13 in the opening half as the RedStorm built their lead.
     Tadic scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half, while Smith had eight of his 12 after the break.
     Senior Shiloah Blevins (South Webster, OH) and freshman Kaden Warner (Cincinnati, OH) netted 10 points each in the winning effort.
     Tadic also had a team-high six rebounds and two steals, while Blevins also blocked two shots and freshman Trent Hundley (Mount Orab, OH) equaled Robertson with three assists and had two steals of his own.
     Rio Grande shot just over 59 percent from the floor in the first half and finished the game at 47 percent (25-for-53), including a 9-for-21 showing from three-point range.
     White was the lone double-digit scorer for IU Kokomo, pouring in a game- and career-high 30 points. He also had a game-high four assists and his team's lone blocked shot.
     Porch led the Cougars with a game-best seven rebounds and four players had two steals each.
     IUK shot just under 46 percent overall (27-for-59) and outrebounded Rio, 32-30, but went just 3-for-20 from three-point range and committed 12 turnovers which produced 16 points for the RedStorm.
     Rio Grande returns to action on Saturday when it opens a two-game RSC road swing at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College.
     Tipoff is slated for 3 p.m.