Box Score YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Cleveland State maintained its hold on first place in the Horizon League with a 74-61 victory at Youngstown State on Saturday night.
The Vikings improved to 11-9 overall and 5-1 in the Horizon League, while YSU slipped to 9-12 overall and 0-6 in the league.
CSU also moved to 3-1 on the road in the league, having opened the slate with four of six away from home.
Trey Lewis scored 29 points, including a 7-of-13 effort from three-point, for his 11th career 20-point game. Anton Grady posted his second straight double-double and third in the Horizon League with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Charlie Lee added 14 points and a season-best eight assists.
Marlin Mason finished with eight points and seven rebounds, while Vinny Zollo scored 11 points with four rebounds off the bench.
"I thought our defense was extremely tight on them tonight," head coach Gary Waters said. "It was hard for them to score. Starting 5-1 in the league with four games on the road is a good start because we know these teams have to come back to our place."
YSU, which was playing at home for just the second time in the Horizon League season, jumped out to an 8-2 lead four minutes in. But the Vikings stormed back, scoring 11 straight points to take a 13-8 lead on a Lewis three-pointer midway through the first half.
The lead grew to as many as 10 points (24-14) at the 5:39 mark of the first half and the Vikings held a nine-point halftime lead (31-22) behind 16 points from Lewis.
Shawn Amiker scored three straight baskets to open the second half as the CSU lead was sliced to 31-28. The Vikings answered with a 16-4 run, capped by an alley-oop from Lewis to Mason, that pushed the Viking lead to 47-32 with 13:42 to play.
The CSU advantage would reach 21 points (64-43) on a Zollo basket off an assist from Lee.
The Vikings shot .482 (27-56) from the field, including 16-of-23 (.696) in the second half. CSU also grabbed 12 offensive rebounds and committed just eight turnovers while forcing 17 Penguin miscues.
Marcus Keene led YSU with 14 points, while Bobby Hain added 11 points and eight rebounds.
The Vikings are now out of action until Friday (Jan. 23) when CSU returns home to host Detroit at 7:00 p.m.
