BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Vikings (1-2) were tripped up on the road by Bowling Green (2-0) 95-79 on Monday evening, beginning a four-game road trip, the longest of the season.
Cleveland State held a pair of leads in the opening four minutes before trailing 23-8 at the 11:06 mark of the first half. Following a Falcons three-pointer, the Vikings used a 10-2 run to get within 28-18 at the 6:58 mark.
Ogbe Uagboe paced the spurt with four points.
Seven straight points by
Rayvon Griffith, along with a three-pointer by
Obie Bronston Jr. trimmed the deficit to 38-30 with 3:46 showing. The teams traded baskets down the stretch, with Griffith nailing a jumper with 28 ticks left to trail 44-37 at the break. Griffith finished the half tied for a game-best 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting.
An alley-oop to
Dre Jones to open the second half made the score the closest for the remainder of the game, 44-39. The Green and White kept the margin under double-digits until a BGSU three-pointer to lead 59-47 with 14:49 showing.
Each team scored 20 points over the next eight minutes as the home team kept the 79-67 advantage at the 6:14 mark. The teams traded baskets down the stretch with the Falcons coming out with the 95-79 victory.
The Vikings shot 60.8 percent from the field with two players reaching double-digits. For the third straight game, Griffith led the scoring with 26 points on 12-of-17 shooting. CJ Stinson Jr. had a season-best 18 points on 8-of-8 shooting.
Cleveland State had 22 rebounds in the game with Stinson pulling down a team-best six. Stinson also tied
Jordan Lowery with three assists.
The Green and White head to Huntsville, Alabama, for an MTE with West Florida (November 13) and host Alabama A&M (November 15). Both games are scheduled for 3 p.m.
