VIDEO: Game Recap
VALPARAISO, Ind. – Cleveland State won for the 10th time in the last 11 games and for the sixth straight time on the road with a 63-52 win at Valparaiso in the regular season finale on Saturday afternoon at the Athletics Recreation Center.
It was the first time CSU won in Valparaiso since the 2008-09 season.
CSU finishes the regular season at 21-10 overall and 12-4 in the league, while Valpo fell to 17-14 overall and 9-7 in the league.
Marlin Mason and Trey Lewis scored 11 points each for CSU, while Ludovic Ndaye tallied 10 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in 14 productive minutes off the bench.
Anton Grady added eight points and eight boards and Charlie Lee contributed six points, six assists and a career-high tying four steals.
Jon Harris finished with nine points and two steals. CSU played without junior Sebastian Douglas, its top guard off the bench, who remained in Cleveland with a sore knee.
LaVonte Dority led the Crusaders with 13 points.
The Crusaders took an 11-6 lead seven minutes into the contest, but CSU came back with a 12-2 run, capped by a three-pointer from Bryn Forbes at the 8:54 mark to give the Vikings an 18-13 lead.
Ndaye helped spark the run with four points and a blocked shot.
Valpo came right back, taking a 28-24 lead with three minutes left in the half, but back-to-back three-pointers from Lewis helped the Vikings close the half with a 34-31 lead.
The Vikings opened the second half on a 14-4 run that Harris finished off with an offensive rebound and dish to Ndaye for a basket then a three-pointer at the top of the key to give CSU a 48-35 lead with just over 13 minutes left.
CSU maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the afternoon in claiming its 12th Horizon League win of the season, tied for the most in a season in school history.
The Vikings will be back in action next Saturday (March 8) when No. 2 seeded CSU opens play in the Horizon League Championship with a semifinal game. The Vikings will play an opponent to be determined at 7:00 p.m. EST at the Resch Center in Green Bay.
The game can be seen live on ESPN3 and on tape delay at 11:30 p.m. EST on ESPNU.
