Rio men upset 8th-ranked Lancers

Rio Grande Sports Information
     WINONA LAKES, Ind. - Friday night's season-opening loss at the hands of Bethel (Ind.) left a rather sour taste in the collective mouths of the University of Rio Grande men's basketball team.
     Saturday afternoon's follow-up effort against No. 8 Grace (Ind.) College produced a level of sweetness akin to a 5-pound bag of Domino's Sugar.
     The RedStorm turned an 11-point first half deficit into a 13-point second half lead, then gave up their advantage before rallying again over the final 4-1/2 minutes for a 69-65 triumph over the Lancers in the final round of the Lancer Tipoff Classic at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.
     Both teams finished the day at 1-1.
     Rio Grande, which suffered a 26-point setback to Bethel less than 18 hours earlier, appeared headed down the same path against Grace after a Hunter Walston layup with 10:24 left in the first half gave the hosts a 21-10 advantage.
     But the RedStorm were able to right their ship and closed the half with a stunning 24-2 scoring spurt, taking a 34-23 cushion at the intermission.
     A bucket by senior Eric Butler (Orlando, FL) just 24 seconds into the second half gave Rio its largest lead of the day, 36-23, but Grace began to mount a rally of its own and eventually drew even at 44-all following a three-point goal by Brycen Graber with 12:50 remaining.
     The Lancers eventually came all the way back and regained a 50-49 edge following an offensive rebound and stickback by Ian Scott with 9:53 left.
     A layup by Gage Sefton just under five minutes later stretched the Grace advantage to 61-55 and set the stage for Rio Grande's final comeback effort.
     A jumper by junior Jaylin Fox (South Haven, MI) with 1:30 remaining put the RedStorm in front at 64-63 and, although the Lancers closed the gap to one once more inside the final 25 seconds, they never regained the lead.
     Fox stole an inbounds pass on a potential game-tying possession by Grace with five seconds left and hit one of two subsequent free throw attempts to seal the victory.
     Junior Trey Robertson (Waverly, OH) scored a game-high 20 points to lead the winning effort, while Butler tallied 16 points and Fox finished with a solid stat line of 11 points, a team-high eight rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots.
     Rio Grande shot just 36.8 percent overall (25-for-68) and 26 percent from distance (6-for-23), but outrebounded the Lancers, 37-33, and committed nine less turnovers (6) than the hosts (15).
     Grace shot just under 55 percent overall (28-for-51), but was only 3-for-14 from three-point range (21.4%) and 6-for-11 at the foul line (54.5%).
     Sefton and Graber had 13 points each in a losing cause, while Scott and Ian Raasch had 12 points apiece. Scott also had a game-high 10 rebounds, while Graber had seven assists and a pair of steals.
     Rio Grande returns to action on Wednesday night when it hosts NCAA Division III Wilmington College in its home opener.
     Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Newt Oliver Arena.