Cleveland, OH-The Cleveland State men's basketball team improved to 1-1 on the 2025-26 season as the Vikings claimed a 71-70 win over Capital University in the home opener at the Wolstein Center Thursday night. The visiting Comets gave CSU all it could handle as the game came down to the final possessions with the hosts holding on to secure the victory.

The win marked the first career victory for head coach Rob Summers in his Cleveland State career. Summers now has 21 career victories as a head coach after previously serving as the head coach at Urbana.

Cleveland State played almost its entire roster in the game as 13 players saw the floor with nine playing ten or more minutes. Tre Beard led the way with 13 points, as he matched his output from Monday's opener at Loyola. Beard finished 4-of-9 from the field and shot 50 percent from three-point range.

Dayan Nessah finished in double figures for the second consecutive game scoring 11 points. Nessah was just 3-for-10 from the field but added five free throws to his total. He pulled down five rebounds and led the team with four assists.

Chevalier Emery was the third player in double figures finishing with 10 points. Emery connected on 4-of-9 from the field. Josiah Harris was held in check on the scoreboard after tallying 20 points in Monday's game at Loyola. Harris scored just four points but pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds. The rebounding mark is a career best.

The game featured 10 lead changes and five ties. Cleveland State led for over 32 minutes of game action but the score remained tight throughout the game as Capital refused to go away quietly.

Cleveland State jumped out to a lead early and slowly pushed the margin to double digits just under eight minutes in. A David Giddens three-pointer made it 17-6 Vikings with 12:14 to play in the first half.

The Viking lead remained in double figures with 5:35 to play in the half when Capital mounted a 9-0 run to draw back within one with just under four minutes to play. Cleveland State closed the half with a flurry of its own to take a seven-point lead into the halftime locker room at 40-33.

Capital turned the tide once again to start the second half. Another 9-0 spurt put the Comets in front by two in the first three minutes of the half.

From there the margin was no more than five points on either side the rest of the way. Cleveland State pushed its lead to four with 2:28 as Beard drove to the basket for a layup that made it 71-67. After trading empty possessions a Capital three-pointer with 33 seconds to play cut the lead to one. The Vikings held off the Capital rally as a last second three-point attempt missed and Cleveland State held on for the one-point win.

The Vikings closed the game shooting 44 percent from the field and 39 percent from three-point range. Cleveland State finished 10-for-16 from the free throw line.

Cleveland State heads back on the road for its second trip to Chicago in the opening week of the season as the Vikings face off with Northwestern at 8:30 p.m. on Monday.