Rio Grande Falls to MVNU Despite Robertson’s 22 Point Output
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(Rio Grande Sports Information) – On more than one occasion this season, University of Rio Grande head coach Ryan Arrowood has mentioned his team’s “flip the switch” mindset when describing their in-game habit of streaks and lulls. In Monday afternoon’s farewell to 2024, the reach for the lever came a tad too late.
The RedStorm mounted a furious late-game comeback effort, whittling a 19-point second half deficit to just four in the closing seconds, but fell short in an 85-81 loss to Mount Vernon Nazarene University in non-conference men’s basketball action at Ariel Arena.
Rio Grande, ranked No. 23 in the most recent NAIA coaches Top 25 poll, slipped to 10-3 with the loss – its second setback since the ranking was released. Mount Vernon Nazarene pushed its record to 9-5 with a fourth consecutive victory.
The Cougars used a 16-6 run – culminated by a three-pointer by Milton Gage – to break open a nip-and-tuck affair from the outset and take a 14-point advantage, 38-24, with 5:43 left in the first half. The lead later grew to 16 points before settling at 47-33 by halftime.
MVNU built its double-digit cushion on a sizzling shooting touch, hitting 18 of their 29 shots overall (62.1%) in the half, including seven of nine tries from three-point range.
The same trend continued into the early stages of the second stanza, as the Cougars drained six of their first eight shots in the half – including three more trifectas – to stretch their lead to 19 points, 62-43, following a Bailey Conrad layup with 14:19 left to play.
That’s when Rio Grande ignited the fire on its rally, going on a 19-6 run over the next seven minutes and drawing to within 68-62 after a three-point goal by junior Trey Robertson (Waverly, OH) with 7:18 remaining in the contest.
MVNU weathered the surge, though, and proceeded to score the next seven points – capped by yet another three-pointer by Trent Koning – for a 13-point, 75-62, advantage with 5:58 left.
The RedStorm roared to life again, though, and drew as close as 79-74 after a bucket by senior Eythan House (Montrose, Australia) with 1:03 showing on the clock.
The deficit twice shrunk to four – 83-79 after a three-pointer by graduate senior Milan Square (Youngstown, OH) with 22 seconds left and again at 85-81 following a layup by senior Eric Butler (Orlando, FL) with 14 seconds to play – but got no closer.
Mount Vernon Nazarene did turn the ball over after Butler’s layup, but three-point tries by Square and junior Jaylin Fox (South Haven, MI) in the final seven seconds were both off the mark.
The Cougars finished 31-for-57 overall (54.4%), including 11-for-20 from three-point range (55.0%), while also enjoying a 33-28 edge in rebounding.
Koning led the winning effort with 28 points, connecting on 10 of his 18 shots overall – five of which were three-pointers.
Conrad added 19 points for MVNU, while Gage had 15 points and five assists and Peyton Heiss finished with 10 points and six rebounds. Gage and Heiss also had two steals each.
Robertson led Rio Grande with 22 points and five assists, while Fox had 18 points and a team-high six rebounds off the bench. Butler added 14 points and five assists of his own in a losing cause, while House and Square contributed 12 and 10 points, respectively.
The RedStorm shot just over 48 percent overall (30-for-62) and just under 46 percent from distance (11-for-24), while missing just one free throw attempt (10-for-11) and committing just seven turnovers.
Rio Grande is set to return to action on Saturday when it resumes River States Conference play at rival Shawnee State University. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. at Waller Gymnasium in Portsmouth.
