RIO GRANDE, Ohio – The IU Southeast men's basketball team fell to No. 25 Rio Grande 85-77 on Thursday.
 
Rio Grande used an early 8-0 run to take a 10-4 lead in the first half. Back-to-back threes put the RedStorm ahead 16-5. Rio led by 13 at 22-9 eight minutes into the first half.
 
IU Southeast cut the Rio Grande lead to nine at 25-16, but another three gave the RedStorm a 12 point lead at 28-16. IU Southeast cut their deficit to eight at 32-24, but Rio Grande once again answered, extending their lead to 12 at 38-26.
 
Rio Grande took a 46-35 lead into halftime.
 
IU Southeast opened the second half on an 11-0 run to tie the game at 46-46. Rio Grande took a three-point lead at 51-48 following a three-point play. IU Southeast cut the lead to one at 53-52, but a 5-0 run by Rio Grande gave the RedStorm a 58-52 edge.
 
IU Southeast answered with a 6-0 run to tie the game at 58-58, but a Rio Grande three put the RedStorm ahead 61-58. With a 63-62 lead, Rio Grande used a 5-0 run to extend their advantage to six at 68-62.
 
Rio Grande extended their lead to eight at 72-64 with 6:42 left. IU Southeast answered with a 7-0 run to cut their deficit to one at 72-71 with 4:47 remaining.
 
The RedStorm hit a three to take a 75-71 lead with 3:37 left. After a Lane Lauderbaugh layup, another Rio Grande three gave the RedStorm a 78-73 edge.
 
IU Southeast used a Lane Lauderbaugh layup to cut the RedStorm lead to three with two minutes to go, but Rio Grande connected on a pair of free throws to extend their lead to 80-75. With 42 seconds left, Rio Grande connected on a three to take an eight-point lead.
 
No. 25 Rio Grande would hold on to win 85-77 behind 41 points from Trey Robertson.
 
"I'm never happy with a loss, but I'm very proud of my guys competing," IU Southeast head coach Wiley Brown said. "We were in a tough environment, but we didn't stop fighting. Rio is a very physical team, but we were a couple of turnovers away from pulling off a huge upset. I am very concerned about our defense on #4. The scout was do not leave #4 open! We knew he was a great shooter, and we left him wide open. Back to the lab!"
 
Lane Lauderbaugh led IU Southeast with 24 points and added four rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Xavier Price had 14 points off the bench. Caleb Brown was the third Grenadier in double-figures with 10 points. Camden Pfeister had nine points and a team-high six rebounds. Trent Hinkle had five points and a team-high six assists.
 
The Grenadiers shot 57.4 percent from the field, but the difference came from the three-point line. IU Southeast shot 5-12 from three, but Rio Grande hit 13 of their 31 attempts.
 
IU Southeast fell to 9-9 overall and 4-3 in RSC play. The Grenadiers return to action on Saturday for a road game at Shawnee State.