Bears hold off Rio in season opener

Rio Grande Sports Information
     PORTSMOUTH, Ohio - Shawnee State University built a 20-point lead with just under 12 minutes remaining, but had to hang on down the stretch en route to a 76-70 triumph over the University of Rio Grande, Thursday night, in non-conference men's basketball action at the Frank and Janis Waller Gymnasium.
     Both teams were playing their season openers.
     The Bears trailed for just 28 seconds in the contest and led by as many 20 points after a three-pointer by Issac Abergut made it 64-44 with 11:45 left to play, but had to survive a furious comeback attempt by the RedStorm in the game's waning moments.
     Rio methodically chipped away at the deficit and closed the gap to six points on three separate occasions in the final 2:11 - the last of which came after an offensive rebound and stickback by freshman Aiden Porter (Proctorville, OH) with 15 seconds left - but could get no closer.
     The RedStorm's rally also came with junior guard Miki Tadic (Hilversum, The Netherlands), the team's leading scorer over each of the last two seasons, watching from the sideline.
     Tadic suffered a shoulder injury midway through the first half and did not return. The extent of his injury - and his status for next Tuesday's home opener against Wilmington College - remains unclear.
     A three-pointer by Tadic exactly 30 seconds into the game gave Rio its only lead at 3-2, but the Bears regained the advantage 28 seconds later on a bucket by Latavious Mitchell and never trailed again.
     Shawnee led by as many as 14 points on three occasions in the first half before settling on a 10-point cushion, 38-28, at the intermission.
     Senior Shiloah Blevins (South Webster, OH) led Rio Grande in a losing cause with 17 points and two assists, while freshman Trey Robertson (Waverly, OH) finished with 11 points and sophomore Exauce Manissa (Point Noire, The Congo) snared seven rebounds.
     Freshman Trent Hundley (Mt. Orab, OH) and junior Taylor Mack (Akron, OH) also had two assists each for the RedStorm, which shot 39 percent overall (28-for-71), 29 percent from three-point range (9-for-31) and just 50 percent (5-for-10) at the foul line.
     Mitchell had 17 points, 10 rebounds and a pair of blocked shots to pace SSU, while Jaiden Guice and Abergut finished with 17 and 11 points, respectively.
     Tre Baumgardner III had 10 points and four assists for the Bears, while Jakiel Wells handed out a game-high five assists.
     Shawnee State, which will join Rio Grande in the River States Conference beginning next season, finished 30-for-76 from the floor overall (39.5%), 11-for-33 from beyond the three-point arc (33.3%) and 5-for-13 at the charity stripe (38.5%).
     Rio's aforementioned home opener against Wilmington next Tuesday is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tipoff at the Newt Oliver Arena.