IU East Wins Opener in RSC Championships

RIO GRANDE, Ohio - A big second half allowed the IU East men's basketball to punch a ticket to the River States Conference Quarterfinals on Monday, Feb. 26.

Winners of five in a row, the No. 9 Red Wolves posted a 78-76 victory over No. 8 University of Rio Grande in the opening round at Newt Oliver Arena.

IU East is now 12-17 as the Red Wolves prepare visit No. 1 seed Point Park University (26-2) on Wednesday, Feb. 28. Tipoff for the affair is 7 p.m. Rio Grande ends its season at 12-17.

Colt Meyer led IU East with 24 points and four steals, while Jake Johnson tossed in 15 points and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds.

Devon Woods finished with 12 points as Antuane Allen added 10 points and eight rebounds.

Rio Grande led most of the first half on the way to a 39-32 advantage by the intermission.

The RedStorm kept the pressure on the Red Wolves in the second half building a 47-34 at the 16:14 mark.

It took a while, but the Red Wolves eventually worked their way back into the contest.

Meyer hit a layup and then a free throw to tie the game at 58-58 with 8:31 remaining.

The pivotal moment for the Red Wolves came when Ibra Athie and Meyer picked up back-to-back scores.

Athie's score put IU East in front 67-65 before Meyer followed with a steal and a basket to make it 69-65 with 4:47 left to play.

The Red Wolves were able to maintain their distance the rest of the way to advance to the next round as they outscored Rio Grande 46-37