CLEVELAND, Ohio – Demonte Flannigan had 16 points and nine rebounds, but Oakland used a defensive stand in the final 10 seconds to hold off Cleveland State and earn a 53-51 win on Saturday afternoon at the Wolstein Center.

CSU fell to 7-17 overall and 3-9 in the Horizon League and Oakland moved to 18-7 overall (8-4 HL).

STAT LEADERS

• Flannigan hit 8-of-14 from the field for his 16 points. He added three steals.
• Kasheem Thomas finished with 13 points, two assists and two steals.
• Rob Edwards scored eight points with three rebounds and three steals.
• Derek Sloan grabbed four rebounds and Anthony Wright had five rebounds, two blocks and a steal.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Oakland took a 19-6 lead eight minutes into the contest, but the Vikings used a 9-2 run to pull within six points (21-15) at the 9:09 mark of the first half.
• The Golden Grizzlies led by eight points (27-19) on a Sherron Dorsey-Walker layup with 4:01 on the clock to force a CSU timeout.
• The Vikings responded by closing the half on a 10-3 run to slice Oakland's lead to one point (30-29) at halftime.
• A Flannigan jumper opened the second half scoring and gave the Vikings their first lead (31-30) since early in the game.
• CSU took its largest lead of the game (40-36) on a Flannigan jumper with 12:30 to play, but Oakland answered with back-to-back baskets to tie the contest at 40-40.
• The game was tied three more times as neither team would lead by two points the rest of the way.
• The Vikings took a 51-50 lead with 1:44 left on a Flannigan layup, but Martez Walker put Oakland ahead, 52-51, with a bucket with 1:20 remaining.
• After CSU missed a three-pointer, Sherron Dorsey-Walker split a pair of free throws to push the Oakland lead to 53-51 with 17 seconds left.
• The Vikings turned the ball over on the inbounds after a timeout, but Walker missed the front end of a one-and-one, giving CSU one final chance.
• Edwards missed a drive to the basket after drawing contact and Flannigan was able to grab the rebound. However, his shot was blocked by Isaiah Brock just before the final buzzer.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Oakland held a 49-30 advantage on the boards and grabbed 17 offensive rebounds leading to 20 second chance points.
• The Vikings grabbed 13 offensive rebounds – 12 in the second half – for 13 second chance points.
• CSU forced 24 turnovers, turning them into 20 points. The Vikings made 12 steals.
• The Vikings made just nine turnovers.

UP NEXT

• CSU travels to Valparaiso for an 8:00 pm ET contest on Thursday (Feb. 9).
• The Vikings will also place at UIC on Saturday (Feb. 11) at 4:00 pm.