CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State men's basketball team dropped its first Horizon League contest of the season Thursday, falling to Oakland, 70-65. With the loss the Vikings are now 10-4 overall this season and 6-1 in league play.

Game Stats
· Three Vikings finished the game with double-figure points, led by D'Moi Hodge with 20. Torrey Patton added 16 points, while Yahel Hill chipped in 10.
· Deante Johnson grabbed a team-high 14 rebounds, while Torrey Patton added 11 boards.
· As a team, the Vikings recorded 21 assists on the game, including seven from Torrey Patton and four from Deshon Parker.
· Cleveland State recorded six blocked shots on the game, including three from Deante Johnson.
· The Vikings shot 43-percent from the floor on the game, including a .485 clip during the second half.

Game Notes
· Torrey Patton recorded his fourth double-double of the season on Thursday, finishing with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
· With his 20 points against Oakland, D'moi Hodge recorded his fourth 20-point game of the year.
· Deante Johnson posted his third double-digit rebounding game of the season with a team-high 14 boards against the Grizzlies.
· The 21 assists marked the fifth time this year that Cleveland State eclipsed the 20-assist mark.
· Entering Thursday's contest, CSU and Oakland represented the top two teams in the Horizon League standings.
· Thursday's game marked the first loss in #HLMBB play for the Vikings this season.  

The Game
After leading for almost the entire first half, Cleveland State went into the halftime break trailing by one at 33-32, marking the third straight game that the Vikings went into the halftime break with a deficit.

The Vikings then opened the second half with back-to-back baskets from Tre Gomillion and Torrey Patton, putting the advantage back in CSU's favor at 36-33 less than two minutes into the frame. The two teams then traded baskets and leads over the next few minutes, until a Deante Johnson offensive rebound and put-back at the 13:51 mark tied the contest at 42-42.

Oakland responded with an 8-4 run to regain control of the contest at the 50-46 mark, but eight straight points from the Vikings over a span of 1:24 gave the Vikings a 54-50 advantage on a Gomillion layup with 9:33 left on the clock.

The two teams then kept things close over the next few possessions, until the Grizzlies once again swung the momentum back into their favor with an 11-2 run that put the score at 61-56 Oakland with 4:35 left in regulation.

Cleveland State once again slowly worked its way back into the game then, as a 7-1 run that was capped off by a D'Moi Hodge layup following a crucial Deshon Parker defensive rebound tied the score at 63-63 with 1:26 left on the clock.

This would be as close as the Vikings would get though, as Oakland went on a 7-2 run over the final minutes of the contest, pulling away with 70-65 victory.

Up Next
Cleveland State will close out the weekend on Saturday, January 15, hosting Detroit Mercy at 3:30 p.m.