Cleveland, OH-The Cleveland State men's basketball team extended its winning streak to ten games with a 73-62 win over IU Indianapolis on Sunday inside "The Jungle". The Vikings improve to 8-1 in league play and sit atop the Horizon League standings nearing the halfway point of the league schedule. IU Indy falls to 6-14 and 2-7 in league play.
 
Cleveland State once again used a strong second half to secure its fourth league road win in five tries. The Vikings trailed by two after a back and forth first half before a 21-1 run in the early stages of the second half opened up a double-digit lead.
 
Cleveland State shot 47 percent from the field and finished with 40 points in the paint, holding a decisive edge over the host Jaguars who finished with just 12. The Vikings held IU Indy to 37 percent shooting, including just 27 percent in the second half, and gave up just 29 points after intermission.
 
Tevin Smith led a trio of Vikings in double figures with 16 points. He scored 14 in the second half including several key baskets down the stretch to widen the Viking lead. Smith finished 7-for-12 from the field and connected on both of his attempts from the free throw line.
 
Dylan Arnett and KJ Debrick tallied 13 points each. Arnett finished 4-for-9 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the free throw line. He fell two rebounds shy of a double-double, adding eight boards to his stat line. Debrick tied his season high and finished in double figures for the second time this season. He was perfect from the field on five attempts and perfect from the charity stripe on three attempts.
 
Tahj Staveskie and Ebrima Dibba finished with nine points and seven respectively. The backcourt duo combined for 13 assists with Dibba dishing out eight dimes.
 
The first half saw both teams struggle to settle in early. The score was tied at 7 at the first media timeout. The hosts made the initial surge shortly after, as a 7-0 run broke a 9-9 tie and made it 16-9 Jaguars just under eight minutes in.
 
IU Indy held the lead until the late stages of the half as the Vikings worked back to a tie at 21 with 8:39 to play in the opening half. A Chase Robinson three-pointer followed by two Debrick free throws finished a mini 5-0 run that evened the score.
 
The Vikings worked back in front late in the half, as an 8-0 run over five minutes of action gave the visitors a six-point lead with three minutes and change until halftime. An Arnett and-one finish jump started the CSU offense and proved key in the run.
 
The Jaguars responded late in the half with a run of their own, outscoring the Vikings 10-2 over the final 3:22 to take a two-point lead, 33-31 at the half.
 
The Jaguars scored two baskets in the opening minute of the second half to stretch the lead to seven points at 38-31. The Vikings then mounted the 21-1 charge, turning the tide and taking control of the game. Arnett scored a layup at the 16:07 mark that put the Vikings back in front by one, and back-to-back buckets from Smith on a dunk and a layup made it an eight-point game. When the run ended, Cleveland State held a 52-39 advantage with 12:05 to go. The Vikings took advantage of a chaotic sequence at the close of the run as IU Indy head coach Paul Corsaro was ejected after arguing a no-call inside on a Jaguar offensive possession. Staveskie nailed all four ensuing free throws to increase the Cleveland State cushion.
 
The Jaguars fought back late and got as close as five points with just over five minutes to play, but the Vikings held off the rally and extended the lead in the final minutes to emerge with the double-digit victory.
 
Cleveland State returns to the Wolstein Center this week for the first of two home games against Detroit Mercy on Wednesday night. As the Vikings chase an 11^th consecutive victory, all tickets for the game will be priced at $11. Click HERE to purchase tickets. Tip-off between the Vikings and Titans will be at 7:00 p.m.