RedStorm men upend Golden Eagles

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - It took roughly 33 minutes for the University of Rio Grande to finally pull away from Kent State University - Tuscarawas but, in the end, the RedStorm did achieve their desired final result.
     Redshirt junior Jaelin Johnson's (Fairmont, WV) double-double effort of 23 points and 13 rebounds led five double-digit scorers for the RedStorm in a 90-78 triumph over the Golden Eagles in non-conference men's basketball action, Saturday afternoon, at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     Rio Grande improved to 3-1 with a third consecutive victory.
     KSU-Tuscarawas slipped to 1-1 with the loss.
     After battling to a 43-all halftime draw, Rio Grande found itself staring at a 52-51 deficit following a three-pointer by the Golden Eagles' Kyle Shockley with 14:47 left to play.
     While junior Keylane Lasisi's (Paris, France) layup on Rio's ensuing possession gave the RedStorm a lead they would never relinquish, KSU-T still was as close as 71-66 after Ethan Bower connected on a three-point goal with 7:46 remaining in the contest.
     But Rio Grande slowly began to pull away from that point on, twice leading by as many as 15 points inside the final three minutes before settling on the 12-point final margin.
     In addition to Johnson's big day, the RedStorm also got 16 points and three steals from senior Eric Butler (Orlando, FL), while graduate senior Milan Square (Youngstown, OH)and junior Jaylin Fox (South Haven, MI) netted 14 points each. Fox also had nine rebounds and three steals.
     Junior Trey Robertson (Waverly, OH) also had 12 points and five assists in the winning effort.
     Rio Grande shot just over 44 percent overall (31-for-70) and was 21-for-24 at the foul line (87.5%), while also enjoying a whopping 51-25 edge in rebounding.
     KSU-Tuscarawas was 30-for-63 overall (47.6%) and committed just nine turnovers, but the Golden Eagles were just 12-for-21 at the charity stripe (57.1%).
     Shockley poured in a game-high 30 points in a losing cause for KSU-T, while Mekhi Johnson and Vincent Roper totaled 14 and 10 points, respectively.
     Bower had seven rebounds and three steals in the loss, while Roper added a pair of blocked shots.
     Rio Grande is scheduled to return to action on Tuesday when it hosts Virginia University of Lynchburg in a rare weekday matinee contest at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.