COLUMBIA, Ky. – Kalen Kimberland, a game removed from scoring a season high, did it again on Thursday, scoring a game-best 21 points to lead No. 4 Lindsey Wilson past Rio Grande (Ohio) 68-51 at Biggers Sports Center.
Daronte' Clark added 14 points with three 3-pointers and Chris Bridges scored 11, while DeAntra Scott also notched double figures with 10. Milton Watts had a block party down low, swatting five shots to go along with nine points and four rebounds.
Wes Hanspard led the Blue Raiders (20-2, 10-2 MSC) with seven boards, but it was Rio Grande leading the battle on the glass for the game 44-33 behind eight rebounds from Dominick Haynes.
D.D. Joiner was the lone member of the RedStorm (7-15, 3-10 MSC) to reach double figures scoring with 12 points while also grabbing six boards.
Rio Grande's 19-8 offensive rebounding advantage was marred though by scoring just 10 points off second chances.
Kimberland's career-high also moved him up a spot to fourth place on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,276 points.
It wasn't always a night to remember for Lindsey Wilson fans, on the same night it honored its 2012 NAIA women's soccer national-championship team, as the RedStorm built leads as large as four points in the first half.
Karl Moore scored a bucket near the 12-minute mark to make it a 15-11 Rio Grande lead, but just under eight minutes later the Blue Raiders were up 30-22 after Kimberland's free throw completed a 9-1 run.
Rio Grande made one more run in the second half as Kaleb Kimber scored on a jumper to bring the deficit to four points at 41-37, but from there the wheels fell off for the RedStorm.
As it is accustomed to doing this season, Lindsey Wilson went wild on a 16-0 run that took the lead to 56-37 in a matter of minutes. The run was a knockout blow as the RedStorm never responded, falling behind by 20 points twice late in the second half.
Lindsey Wilson is back in action at Biggers Sports Center on Saturday at 4 p.m. CT, hosting Shawnee State (Ohio), one of two teams it had lost to this season.
