COLUMBIA, Ky. -- With the game tied 74-74 with four seconds to play, Wendell Bates fouled Joshua Cherry on a fast break allowing him to hit one of two free throws and give the Lindsey Wilson College men's basketball team a 75-74 win on Thursday at Biggers Sports Center.
The Redstorm's P.J. Rase had a chance to win the game as time expired near the half-court line, but hit heave fell short and to the left, sealing the Blue Raider win.
Andrija Tintor led Lindsey Wilson with 24 points and four rebounds, including 16 points in the first half alone. Cornell Thomas poured in a career high 15 points and six rebounds, while Eric McPherson and Joshua Cherry chipped in 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Bud Teer paced Rio Grande with 25 points and eight rebounds on 9-of-10 shooting from the field and a perfect 7-of-7 performance from the free-throw line. Rase added 15 points for the Redstorm, while Daniel Marti pitched in 12.
After Cherry hit a shot near the two-minute mark of the first half, Lindsey Wilson held its largest lead of the game at 12 points. Rio Grande worked the Blue Raider advantage down to eight over the final two minutes, entering halftime down 42-34.
It took less than three minutes for Rio Grande to tie the game at 42-42 in the second half.
Lindsey Wilson was still able to push its lead back up to seven (51-44) with a 3-pointer by Eric McPherson, but then Rio Grande went on a 15-0 run over the next five minutes to take an eight point lead (59-51).
The Redstorm advantage swelled to 11 points after Rase knocked down a pair of free throws, and then Lindsey Wilson went to work staging a comeback.
The process involved Kalen Kimberland, Tintor and McPherson combining to hit eight straight free throws over the next seven minutes to pull within five points.
Trailing by three with 49 seconds to play, Lindsey Wilson got a lift from Thomas who muscled in a layup to bring the score to 74-73. Tintor was fouled on the next possession, hitting the first of two free throws to tie the game and set the stage for Cherry's go-ahead free throw in the final seconds.
The Blue Raiders finished the game shooting 42.6 percent from the field, while Rio Grande knocked down 50 percent of its shots. Lindsey Wilson was edged in the rebound battle as well, 41-31.
Lindsey Wilson improves to 13-12 overall and 4-5 in Mid-South Conference play, while Rio Grande drops to 5-20 and 0-9 in conference action.
The Blue Raiders return to action at 3 p.m. CT on Saturday, Feb. 13 at the University of the Cumberlands.
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