Vikings Fall to IUPUI Despite Career High from Hill

Vikings Fall to IUPUI Despite Career High from Hill

BOXSCORE (PDF)

INDIANAPOLIS -- Jaalam Hill scored a career-high 18 points and Stefan Kenic also added 18 points, but Cleveland State dropped a 90-74 Horizon League contest to IUPUI on Thursday in the Indiana Farmers Coliseum.

Hill finished the game 7-of-11 from the floor and 3-of-3 from the line to top his previous career high of 15 points he posted against both Kent State and DePaul. The junior also added four rebounds, an assist, a blocked shot and a steal.

Kenic came within one point of tying his career high as he had 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor, which included making 2-of-3 from the three-point line. The sophomore narrowly missed a double-double as he collected a team-high nine rebounds and also added an assist and a steal.

Cleveland State, which dropped to 5-13 overall and 0-5 in the Horizon League, also received 12 points from Rashad Williams.

IUPUI, which improved to 10-7 overall and 2-2 in conference play, shot 58.6 percent from the floor for the game. The Jags shot 62.1 percent from the floor in the second half on their way to scoring 51 points after the intermission.

The Vikings trailed by only 45-39 following a basket by Deante Johnson with 16:15 to play in the game, but IUPUI responded with a 22-4 run to extend the lead to 67-43 with 11:01 to play in the game.

Cleveland State fell behind 18-10 in the first half, but rallied back behind Hill. He connected on a three-pointer and also scored in the paint and Williams added a three-pointer as the Vikings climbed to within 20-18 with 6:07 to play before halftime.

IUPUI answered with a 12-2 run that increased the lead to 32-20 with 4:25 remaining in the opening half. The Vikings cut the lead down to seven points before trailing 39-31 at inermission.

Cleveland State returns to action on Saturday (Jan. 12) when it visits UIC for a Horizon League game beginning at 4 p.m.