HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Cleveland State (2-2) opened the Bulldog Bash with a 69-67 victory against West Florida (2-3) on Friday afternoon. The Vikings improved to 2-1 in MTE's under coach Summers and are now 9-2 in them over the last five seasons.
Cleveland State held a commanding 37-20 advantage on boards, with both
Curtis Stinson Jr. and
Xavier McKinney having a game-best six rebounds. Of the 37 boards, 12 were on the offensive end, which led to 18 points.
Three players recorded double-digit points, led by a game and collegiate-best 17 points from McKinney. Stinson Jr. was next with 14 points, and
Dre Jones rounded it out with ten points.
Stinson Jr. had four of the Vikings first nine points as the game was tied at nine-apiece with 14:00 remaining in the opening half. A quick six-point spurt gave Cleveland State its largest lead of the half, 15-9, with 12:40 to go. The Green and White led 21-17 on an
Ogbe Uagboe jumper when West Florida went on a 12-0 run to go in front, 29-21, at the 5:42 mark.
The Vikings responded with six consecutive points to close the gap to two, 29-27, with 3:29 remaining in the half. However, the Argonauts hung on to lead 36-31 at the half. Stinson Jr. paced the Green and White with ten points.
West Florida collected the first four points of the new half to take its largest lead of the game, 40-31. The Vikings regrouped and used a 9-2 run to get within a bucket, 42-40, at the 15:31 mark.
Cleveland State continued to battle from behind until Uagboe converted an old fashion three-point play to even the game at 47-47 with 11:37 remaining. Following a West Florida three-pointer, back-to-back buckets by McKinney sparked a 9-2 run to reclaim a 59-55 advantage with 6:16 showing.
The Argonauts then connected on a three-pointer to trail by one, but buckets by
Rayvon Griffith and
Gavin Headings pushed the lead back out to 63-58 with 3:29 left in regulation. UWF came right back with four unanswered points to again make it a one-point game at the 2:14 mark.
However, clutch free throws by Griffith and McKinney bumped the margin back up to 68-64 with 1:24 to go in the game. After both teams exchanged free throws, West Florida nailed a three-pointer to trail 69-67 with eight seconds remaining.
The Green and White turned it over on the ensuing inbound, giving West Florida a chance to win or tie the game, but their attempt at the buzzer inside the paint was no good.
Both teams got 32 points from their benches, while the points in the paint favored the Green and White 42-24.
The Vikings complete the MTE on Sunday, Nov. 15 against host, Alabama A&M at 3 p.m.
