Rochester, MI-The Cleveland State men's basketball team came ever so close to a sweep of the State of Michigan on Sunday before falling to Oakland 91-86 in Overtime. The Vikings defeated Detroit Mercy on Friday and had the ball in the final seconds with a shot to win the game but could not convert. The Golden Grizzlies took the extra session 14-9 to come away with the victory.
Cleveland State is now 19-10 overall and 13-5 in Horizon League play. The Vikings trail Robert Morris by one half game in the league standings with two games remaining. Oakland improves to 13-16 and 10-8 in the league and holds the sixth position in the league standings.
The game went back and forth throughout with the lead changing hands 10 times and the score tied seven times. The Vikings held the lead for over 27 minutes of game action compared to Oakland's 13 minutes. Cleveland State committed just five turnovers in the 45-minute game and forced Oakland into 11, but the Golden Grizzlies decisively won the battle on the boards 47-32 including a 13-9 edge on the offensive glass.
Chase Robinson led a group of four players in double figures with 18 points, two shy of his career high. Robinson finished 7-for-15 from the floor and 4-for-9 from three-point range. He had 15 points in the first half alone.
Je'Shawn Stevenson finished with 16 points on 50 percent shooting from the floor. Stevenson was also perfect on five attempts from the free throw line.
Tahj Staveskie tallied 15 points on five made field goals, all of which were three-pointers. Cleveland State totaled 11 made three-pointers in the game with the trio of Robinson, Stevenson and Staveskie accounting for 10 of them.
Dylan Arnett was the fourth player in double figures finishing with 10 points. Arnett was 4-for-8 from the field and 2-for-3 from the charity stripe.
Cleveland State got off to a good start scoring eight of the game's first 10 points. Arnett grabbed an offensive rebound and put-back on a layup to make it 8-2 Vikings at the first media timeout.
Cleveland State expanded its lead early and eventually pushed the margin to double digits just under 10 minutes into the contest. Robinson connected on a three-pointer at the 11:00 mark that made it 25-14 CSU.
The first half lead grew as large as 13 points with just under eight minutes to play before Oakland rallied back in the closing minutes. The Golden Grizzlies were able to trim nine points off the deficit as the half drew to a close and Cleveland State held a 46-42 lead at the break.
Cleveland State widened the gap back to nine in the opening minutes of the second half before Oakland went on a surge of its own to get back into it. OU went on an 8-0 run over three minutes of game action to turn a seven-point deficit into its first lead since the opening basket of the game, and it was 54-53 with 14:11 to play.
The Oakland lead stayed within four points or less over the next seven-plus minutes. A quick 5-0 run in just under 90 seconds widened the OU lead to seven with just over six minutes to play as it was 71-64 Oakland at the 6:09 mark.
Robinson responded with a three on the next offensive possession and the Vikings eventually worked back to a tie at 72 apiece going into the final media timeout of regulation.
Cleveland State jumped back in front on a Stevenson layup with 2:58 to play, but
Jayson Woodrich countered with a three at the 1:06 mark that put Oakland back up one at 75-74.
Stevenson converted an and-one layup with 41 seconds to play and then made the ensuing free throw which put the Vikings ahead by two at 77-75. Allen Mukeba responded on the next possession for Oakland and converted a layup that tied the score once again with 28 seconds remaining.
With the shot clock dark, Cleveland State held for the final shot. Following a timeout, Stevenson's fadeaway jumper from the right side at the buzzer fell off the rim and forced the extra session.
In Overtime the two teams traded scoring opportunities early and the score remained tied at 81 with 2:23 to go. Oakland broke the tie by scoring the next five points to take an 86-81 lead with just 30 seconds to play. The Golden Grizzlies sank their free throws in the closing seconds and held on for a five-point win.
Cleveland State returns to the court next Thursday for its final regular season road game as the Vikings travel to Wright State for a 9:00 p.m. tip-off that is set to air on ESPN2.
