Cleveland, OH-The Cleveland State men's basketball team ended the 2024-25 regular season on a high note with a 68-57 win over Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday afternoon. The Vikings finish the regular season with a 20-11 record and a 14-6 record in Horizon League play. Cleveland State enters next week's Barbasol Horizon League Basketball Championship as the no. 2 seed and will host a Quarterfinal game next week Thursday, March 6 at the Wolstein Center.
 
Cleveland State led wire to wire as the Vikings opened the game with a surge and never surrendered the lead. CSU turned a seven-point halftime lead into a double-digit victory by winning the battle on the glass 37-28 and the turnover battle by forcing 16 PFW turnovers.
 
Cleveland State recognized its four graduate assistants and three senior student-athletes in a pre-game ceremony and all three seniors contributed throughout the game. Tevin Smith led the way with 17 points and five rebounds. Smith shot 42 percent from the floor. Chase Robinson added 10 points on 3-for-9 from the floor and led the team with four steals. Ebrima Dibba chipped in four points and four rebounds, as well as leading the team with four assists.
 
Je'Shawn Stevenson and Tahj Staveskie also finished in double figures for the Vikings. Stevenson scored 14 points and shot 66 percent from the field. He was perfect on four attempts from the free throw line and added three rebounds. Tahj Staveskie added 12 points and two rebounds.
 
Dylan Arnett fell two points shy of a double-double finishing with eight points and leading the team with 10 rebounds. Arnett was 4-for-5 from the field and registered his seventh double-digit rebounding performance.
 
Cleveland State scored the game's first 12 points to take a commanding lead in the first six minutes of play. An Arnett jumper in the paint made it 9-0 and forced a Purdue Fort Wayne timeout less than three minutes in. The Mastodon scoring drought lasted almost seven minutes before a Maximus Nelson three-pointer at the 13:17 mark got PFW on the board.
 
Cleveland State scored the next nine points following the initial PFW basket to widen the margin to the largest of the game at 18 points. The Vikings led 21-3 just past the halfway mark of the first half.
 
Purdue Fort Wayne clawed back in the closing minutes of the half, cutting the deficit back to single digits. The Vikings led 31-24 at the break.
 
Cleveland State extended its lead back to double figures early in the second half. An Arnett tip-in at the 16:11 mark made it 39-27 Vikings.
 
Purdue Fort Wayne did not go away, as the Mastodons mounted a 13-2 run over the next four minutes to draw back within a point at 41-40, forcing a CSU timeout.
 
Staveskie countered with a three at the 11-minute mark that stopped the run and from there PFW would not get any closer than three points the rest of the way.
 
The Vikings finished 14-for-20 at the free throw line for 70 percent as solid shooting from the line late helped to salt the game away. Cleveland State claimed its 20^th victory of the season, marking the fourth consecutive season with 20 wins or more. Head Coach Daniyal Robinson became the first coach in school history to win 20 or more games in his first three seasons.
 
The Vikings will host a Horizon League Quarterfinal game at the Wolstein Center on Thursday, March 6. More information on tickets as well as promotions for the game will be announced at a later date. Cleveland State's opponent will be determined following the first round games scheduled for Tuesday, March 4.