Cleveland, OH-The Cleveland State men's basketball team continued its winning ways with a 76-58 decision over Northern Kentucky Wednesday night at the Wolstein Center. The Vikings improve to 13-6 overall and 7-1 in league play to remain atop the Horizon League standings. Northern Kentucky falls to 9-10 and 4-4. The Vikings have not lost since December 5 and have reeled off seven league victories in a row.
A late first half run gave Cleveland State a cushion headed into the locker room, and the Vikings stepped on the gas in the second half, shooting a sizzling 60 percent from the field and outscoring NKU by double digits in the final 20 minutes to pull away.
Tahj Staveskie led a group of four Vikings in double figures finishing with 20 points, one shy of a season high. Staveskie connected on four of CSU's five made three-pointers on the night and added two rebounds. He has scored 20 or more points in four of the last seven games.
Chase Robinson came off the bench and poured in 13 points. Robinson was 4-of-9 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. He added three rebounds and three assists in 27 total minutes of action.
Dylan Arnett and
Reece Robinson finished with 11 points each. Robinson recorded his second collegiate double-double as he finished with 10 rebounds, including four on the offensive end. This was Robinson's third game in double digits in rebounds. Arnett was 5-for-8 from the field and added four rebounds, two assists and a steal.
The visitors got off to a good start, scoring six of the game's first eight points to take a 6-2 lead less than four minutes in. Staveskie responded with a three-pointer on the next possession that cut the NKU lead to one and the two teams stayed within one possession of each other all the way to the midway point of the first half.
The game remained tight headed into the final minutes of the first half when Cleveland State used a late surge to take control. Back-to-back buckets from Staveskie, the first a mid-range jump shot and the second a three-pointer, were the catalyst for a 5-0 run that gave the Vikings a seven-point lead at the half, 35-28.
Cleveland State controlled the second half, as NKU never got closer than six points the rest of the way. A Staveskie three at the 17:48 mark gave the Vikings a double-digit lead for the first time at 40-30.
The Norse hung around and several times worked the deficit back to single digits throughout the half. A
Tevin Smith layup with 2:54 to play helped to seal the victory, as the Viking lead remained in double digits the rest of the way.
Cleveland State's nine-game win streak is tied for the fourth-longest winning streak in the country. The Vikings will look to make it ten wins in a row with a road contest this weekend at IU Indianapolis. The Vikings and Jaguars will tip off at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday.
