FORT WAYNE, Indiana – The Cleveland State Vikings came up short on Friday night, falling 75-68 against Purdue Fort Wayne on the road to open the final weekend of the regular season.
Despite the loss, the Vikings still have a shot at achieving at least a share of the Horizon League regular season title thanks to Wright State's setback against Northern Kentucky. As it stands, Cleveland State and Wright State remain tied with identical 15-4 #HLMBB records.
QUICK HITS
- Cleveland State won the turnover battle 15-8 and edged Purdue Fort Wayne in offensive boards 13-7, while holding the Mastodons 6-21 (.286) shooting from beyond the arc.
- The Vikings had three players score 10-or-more points: Torrey Patton (17), Alec Oglesby (13) and Chris Greene (11).
- Patton scored a team-high 17 points, in addition to six rebounds, three assists and one steal in 25 minutes.
- The senior forward has put-up double-digit scoring efforts in all but five games this season.
- Greene finished with his fourth 10-plus scoring outing of the season, finishing with 11 points on 5-8 (.625) shooting from the field, in addition to five rebounds and one assist in 18 minutes as a reserve.
- Oglesby tallied 13 points on 4-8 (.500) shooting from the floor, including a 4-6 (.667) clip from three-point territory and one steal in 17 minutes.
- Friday marked the first time in the freshman's career that he's recorded 10-or-more points in back-to-back outings.
- Craig Beaudion dished out a game-high five assists, in addition to seven points, two rebounds and two steals.
- D'Moi Hodge and Tre Gomillion both swiped a game-high tying two steals.
- Friday's contest marked Hodge's 10th game of recording two-or-more thefts.
THE GAME
The Vikings survived some hot shooting from the Mastodons in the first half. Purdue Fort Wayne shot 60 percent (15-25) and missed only two attempts from inside the arc, but the Vikings capitalized on eight Mastodon turnovers to draw within a point at 33-32 after 20 minutes.
Midway through the opening half, Alec Oglesby nailed back-to-back triples for a 17-11 Vikings lead. Oglesby, who scored 15 points in last Saturday's victory over Detroit Mercy, carried a 3-3 (1.000) clip from long range into halftime.
Purdue Fort Wayne took control with a 10-1 run before the Vikings responded with an 11-2 burst of their own over the final four minutes of the half powered by featuring four different scorers.
Vikings leading scorer Torrey Patton came alive in a back-and-forth second frame that saw him tally 13 points. Patton drained a deep, clutch, three-pointer with 2:39 remaining to bring the Vikings back within a basket at 64-62.
After Purdue Fort Wayne answered with another triple, Craig Beaudion recorded a steal and score on an inbounds play to cut the lead back to 67-64 before the Mastodons pulled away late.
UP NEXT
The Vikings close out the regular season on Saturday against the Mastodons, looking for at least their first share of the Horizon League regular season title since the 2010-11 campaign. Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPN3, in addition to 1420-WHK, 102.5 FM and www.whkradio.com.