QUICK HITS
- Tyree Appleby scored a game-high 24 points to lead the Vikings
- Rashad Williams connected on three three-pointers and broke the CSU single-season freshman record
- Cleveland State collected a season-high 13 steals
- Seth Millner had eight points and nine rebounds
- Algevon Eichelberger finished with eight points and eight rebounds for CSU
- Green Bay shot 52.2 percent from the floor for the game
GAME RECAP
CLEVELAND -- Sophomore Tyree Appleby scored 24 points and Seth Millner had eight points and nine rebounds, but Green Bay used a 13-3 run late in the second half to pull away from Cleveland State on its way to an 82-65 victory over the Vikings on Thursday in the Wolstein Center.
The Vikings used a 10-2 run to climb to within 58-55 with 10:55 to play in the second half and trailed by only four points with 10:32 remaining, but Green Bay responded with its decisive 13-3 run that increased the lead to 74-60 with 6:11 remaining in the game.
Cleveland State, which dropped to 6-19 overall and 1-11 in the Horizon League, cut the lead to 74-65 with 5:23 remaining but the Phoenix closed the game on an 8-0 run to finish off the Vikings.
Appleby, who played only 10 minutes combined in the previous two games, was 6-of-14 from the floor and 7-of-9 from the free throw line to finish with his game-high 24 points. He was 5-of-12 from the three-point line and also had five assists and two steals.
Rashad Williams finished with nine points, which included three three-pointers. He upped his season total to 69 three-pointers, which broke the CSU freshman record for three-pointers in a season.
Green Bay, which improved to 12-12 overall and 6-5 in league play, was led by Sandy Cohen who scored 18 points. Trevian Bell added 14 points and ShanQuan Hemphill had 11 points.
Cleveland State jumped out to a 10-4 lead in the first half as four different Vikings scored, but Green Bay used an 11-0 run to take the lead for good at 15-10 with 13:55 to play in the first half.
Green Bay held the lead for the remainder of the first half and took a 40-31 lead into halftime.
Green Bay opened the second half with a dunk and a layup to extend the lead to 44-31, but the Vikings would rally following a timeout.
A quick 6-0 run, which featured two buckets from Algevon Eichelberger, trimmed the Phoenix lead to 44-37 with 17:37 remaining in the game. CSU failed on three attempts to cut further into the lead and Green Bay used a 10-5 run to push the margin to 54-42 with 14:45 remaining in the game.
Cleveland State answered with a 13-4 run to cut the lead to 58-55 with 10:55 remaining in the contest, but the Phoenix responded with their game-clinching run to help seal the victory.
Cleveland State returns to action on Saturday (Feb. 9) when it hosts Milwaukee in a Horizon League contest slated for a 3 p.m. start.
