HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, KY – Cleveland State shot 50-percent from the field, but 20th-ranked Cincinnati used a late push to pull away and claim an 81-62 victory over the Vikings on Thursday night in BB&T Arena.
Playing one of the top defensive teams in the nation, the Vikings shot 23-of-46 from the floor and hit 10-of-21 from three-point.
Tyree Appleby led CSU with 16 points and four assists, while Kenny Carpenter scored 11 points. Stefan Kenic added eight points and five rebounds and Bobby Word tallied eight points.
UC took a 43-34 lead at the half despite CSU shooting 13-of-19 (.684) from the field over the first 20 minutes.
The Vikings opened the second half by scoring the first seven points to slice the Bearcat lead to two points (43-41), but UC responded and built an 11 point advantage (60-49) midway through the second half.
A Kenic three-pointer and driving layup by Appleby brought the Vikings back within six points (60-54) with 8:58 to play, but a 14-2 spurt by the Bearcats over the next five minutes opened up the contest.
CSU is back in action on Saturday (Dec. 23) when the Vikings host Toledo at 2:00 pm in the Wolstein Center. It will conclude a stretch of three games in five days for the Vikings.
