Rio tops Cleary, stops slide

Rio Grande Sports Information
     ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. - Trying to shake off the effects of a two-game losing slide where the setbacks were by five points combined, the University of Rio Grande men's basketball team turned to a pair of its seniors to snap the skid.
     And the duo delivered in kind.
     Trey Robertson had a game-high 24 points and five assists, while Jaylin Fox netted 22 points, yanked down 10 rebounds and had three steals as the RedStorm outlasted Cleary (Mich.) University, 74-68, in Saturday afternoon's final round of the Faith Works Classic hosted by Rochester Christian University at the Garth Pleasant Arena.
     Rio Grande evened its record at 2-2 with the victory.
     The Cougars, who are a member of the NAIA's Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference, slipped to 0-5 with the loss.
     While Rio failed to land a knockout blow, it never trailed in the opening half and enjoyed a 28-25 advantage at the intermission.
     A pair of Jacob Mueller layups inside the first 90 seconds of the second half gave the Cougars their only lead of the night, 29-28, but a three-pointer by Fox - a senior from South Haven, Mich. - on Rio's ensuing possession following the second Mueller bucket put the RedStorm in front to stay.
     A three-pointer by Robertson - a senior from Waverly, Ohio - with 11:38 left to play gave Rio its largest lead of the afternoon, but, again, Cleary refused to go away quietly.
     The Cougars methodically stayed close, twice cutting the deficit to five and eventually down to four, 72-68, after Derrick Miller connected on a three-pointer in the waning seconds.
     Robertson hit a pair of free throws on the Rio possession which followed to set the final score.
     The RedStorm, who shot 38.6 percent overall (27-for-70) and were 12-for-17 at the foul line (70.6%), also got 13 points in the victory from senior Jaelin Johnson (Fairmont, WV).
     Cleary connected on 22 of its 56 shots overall (39.3%) and 18 of its 26 attempts at the charity stripe (69.2%), while also coming up on the short end of a 41-39 rebound tally.
     Mueller had 19 points and three assists to pace the Cougars, while Brian Everhart had 11 points, Isaiah Bailey pulled down seven rebounds and Tim Kewley blocked three shots.
     Rio Grande returns to action next Friday when it entertains Carolina University in the opening round of the Bevo Francis Classic at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.