Cleveland, OH-The Cleveland State men's basketball team continued its winning ways at home with a 78-64 victory over Wright State on Sunday afternoon. The Vikings improved to 9-6 overall and 3-1 in the Horizon League. Wright State fell to 7-8 and 1-3.
Cleveland State has won the first four games of a five-game homestand and five straight overall. CSU is now 7-2 at home this season. The Vikings were on fire from the field shooting 49 percent overall and 50 percent (9-18) from beyond the three-point arc.
Cleveland State continued its unselfish play on the offensive end, as the Vikings finished with 17 assists against eight turnovers. This is the fourth consecutive game the Vikings have finished with single digit turnovers.
Four players finished in double figures led by
Chase Robinson who tallied 16 points. Robinson has scored in double figures in three of the last five games and set a new season high. He finished 6-of-9 from the field including 2-of-3 from three-point range.
Dylan Arnett finished with 14 points and 7 rebounds. Arnett was also 6-for-9 from the field and was perfect on two free throw attempts.
Tevin Smith and
Je'Shawn Stevenson finished with 12 points each. Smith continued a streak of eight consecutive games in double figures and added six rebounds, an assist and a steal. Stevenson has scored in double figures in five of the last six games and finished 4-of-5 from the field.
The game went back and forth early on with Cleveland State holding a 10-6 lead at the first media timeout.
It remained a four-point game with seven minutes remaining in the opening half. Cleveland State opened things up with a quick 7-2 run over the next three minutes of action to take a 28-19 lead. Smith banked in a short jumper in the paint and Stevenson followed with two free throws.
Reece Robinson capped the run with a fast-break layup that turned into a three-point play as Robinson drew a foul and converted the free throw.
Cleveland State stretched its lead to double figures late in the half as Arnett threw down a two-handed dunk with 39 seconds remaining that put the Vikings in front 37-25 going into the halftime break.
Cleveland State kept the lead in double digits for the majority of the second half until Wright State made a late charge to pull within striking distance. The two teams played even in the second half up to the 6:45 mark. Arnett threw down a fast break dunk which made it 64-52 Vikings, keeping the Cleveland State lead at 12.
Wright State responded with its largest run of the night, a 7-0 spurt over two minutes and 21 seconds that trimmed the lead down to five at 64-59 with 4:21 remaining.
Cleveland State immediately responded with a 14-0 run of its own, the largest of the night for the Vikings, which put the game away. Another Arnett dunk with 1:38 remaining made it 78-59 Vikings and effectively ended any hope of a Wright State comeback.
Cleveland State closes its five-game homestand with a matchup against IU Indianapolis on Saturday, January 4. The Vikings and Jaguars will ring in the New Year with a game that is scheduled to tip at 3:00 p.m.
