Cleveland, OH-The Cleveland State men's basketball team overcame a slow start with a strong second half comeback but ultimately fell just short on Friday afternoon, falling to Morehead State by a final score of 71-69. Cleveland State finished 1-1 in the Thanksgiving Throwback Tournament after picking up a win against NJIT in the tournament opener on Tuesday. The Vikings sit at 4-5 on the season and Morehead State is 3-4.
Cleveland State trailed by as many as 17 late in the first half before rallying in the second half. The Vikings eventually fought all the way back to take the lead with under a minute to play before MSU scored four of the game's final five points to hold on for the victory.
Tevin Smith finished with 16 points and seven rebounds for the Vikings. Smith was named the Tournament MVP after scoring in double figures in both tournament games. Smith finished 5-of-6 from the free throw line and finished with five made field goals in the contest. He was joined on the All-Tournament team by
Tahj Staveskie and
Cole Franklin.
Staveskie led the way for the Vikings with 18 points including an 11-for-12 effort from the free throw line. Staveskie tallied 13 points in the first half and kept the Vikings afloat despite a slow start.
Chase Robinson added 11 points off the bench for CSU finishing 4-of-6 from the field and 2-of-3 from the free throw line.
Morehead State took a commanding lead early as the Eagles shot 72 percent from the field in the first half. MSU held a double-digit lead at the 12:35 mark at 16-6.
Cleveland State clawed back and trimmed the deficit as low as three with just over nine minutes remaining in the opening half, but Morehead State quickly regained the momentum. The Eagles outscored the Vikings 20-6 over the next six minutes of action to take their largest lead, it was 40-23 late in the first half.
The Vikings cut two points off the deficit headed into the break with Morehead State up 47-32. The Eagles finished 7-of-10 from three-point range and 8-of-10 from the free throw line in the opening half.
The lead remained in double figures for most of the first ten minutes of the second half before Cleveland State made its run with a little over eight minutes remaining. A Smith three at the 8:27 mark cut the deficit to nine. That kicked off a 12-1 Cleveland State run that trimmed the deficit to a single point with 2:57 remaining. Morehead State led 65-64.
The deficit remained at one with a minute to play before Smith drew a foul with 49 seconds to go. He calmly sank both free throws to give Cleveland State the lead for the first time since the game's opening minutes. The Vikings led 68-67.
On the ensuing possession, Morehead State's Kade Ruegsegger drew a foul in the act of shooting a three-pointer. He made all three free throw attempts and put the Eagles back in front 70-68 with 28 seconds remaining.
Cleveland State got the ball out of a timeout on the ensuing possession and Smith was fouled once again in the act of shooting. He made the first free throw but missed the second attempt. Morehead State's Anouar Mellouk grabbed the rebound and was fouled immediately. He made one of two at the line to make the score 71-69 Morehead State. The Vikings grabbed the miss and had a look as the clock hit zero, but Smith's three-point attempt was off the mark and the Eagles escaped with the two-point win.
Cleveland State returns to action next week with the start of Horizon League play. The Vikings travel to Wisconsin to take on Milwaukee on Thursday night and Green Bay on Saturday afternoon to kick off the 20-game league schedule.
