FORT WAYNE, Ind.– Cleveland State (5-11, 1-4 Horizon League) fell to Purdue Fort Wayne (9-8, 3-3 Horizon League), 74-71, on Sunday afternoon at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.

Five Vikings were in double figures in the scoring column, led by junior guard Chevalier Emery (Appleton, Wisconsin). Emery knocked down two threes, was a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line and was 4-of-10 from the field. Senior guard Jaidon Lipscomb (Columbus, Ohio) added 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting. Senior guard Tre Beard (Chillicothe, Ohio), junior forward Josiah Harris (Canton, Ohio) and senior guard Foster Wonders (Iron Mountain, Michigan) all had 11 points. Wonders' 11 was a season-high.

Cleveland State shot 23-of-60 (38.3%) from the field and 16-of-42 (38.1%) from the three-point line. Purdue Fort Wayne was held to 23-of-58 (39.7%) shooting and 11-of-37 (29.7%) from deep. CSU was 9-of-11 (81.8%) from the free throw line while PFW was 17-of-21 (81.0%).

The Vikings outrebounded Purdue Fort Wayne, 37-27 with 14 being offensive rebounds. Sophomore forward Dayan Nessah (Geneva, Switzerland) and junior forward Preist Ryan (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) led Cleveland State with nine boards each.

Sixteen of Cleveland State's 23 buckets were assisted, with Beard leading the way with five.
The Mastodons won the turnover battle 15-8. Cleveland State had 15 points off of turnovers and 12 fast break points.

PFW jumped out to an early 14-8 lead with 12:21 left in the first half before CSU rattled off a seven-point run to take back the lead. CSU's biggest run – 10 points - of the game culminated at the 3:27 mark of the first half and the Vikings had a 40-24 lead, its biggest of the game. Fort Wayne ended the half down 43-32. Cleveland State was 10-of-20 from the three-point line in the first half.

Purdue Fort Wayne was able to cut the lead to one at the 12:34 mark of the second half before CSU got the lead back up to nine on an Emery layup. The game went back-and forth until a PFW run got the Mastodons the lead at the 2:39 mark. CSU cut the lead to one with two seconds left, but missed the game-tying half-court shot after two made free throws on an intentional foul.

Cleveland State will return to action on January 9 on the road at Oakland. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., can be watched live on ESPN+ and heard live on Sports Radio 99.1 FM.