Highland Heights, KY-In a battle of two of the four teams tied for first place in the Horizon League standings coming into the evening, the Cleveland State Men's Basketball team came up just short. Northern Kentucky dealt the Vikings a tough blow, winning 58-57 at NKU's Truist Arena.
The game lived up to the hype and was a defensive battle the entire way. The Vikings trailed for the majority of the game, but fought back late to take the lead headed down the stretch. Cleveland State led by two in the closing seconds, before NKU's Marques Warrick hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to win it.
The loss drops Cleveland State to 11-9 and 6-3 in the Horizon League. NKU improved to 12-8 and 7-2 in the league.
Cleveland State forced 22 NKU turnovers, a season best, and outrebounded the Norse 39-28. However, the Vikings struggled from the field and from the free throw line. CSU shot just 19-51 from the floor (.373) and finished just one of 10 from three. The Vikings also finished 17-30 from the free throw line.
Tristan Enaruna led the way for the Vikings, finishing with 15 points. This marked the seventh consecutive game that Enaruna has finished in double figures. Drew Lowder also added 11 points off the bench, tallying the only three point make of the game for CSU.
It was quickly evident that the game would be a defensive battle. Both teams struggled from the floor early, and physical play dominated on both ends of the floor. NKU opened up a 15-8 advantage at the 13:40 mark on a Sam Vinson jumper.
At that point the Vikings locked down defensively. The Vikings held NKU scoreless for over eight minutes of game play. Cleveland State scored 13 consecutive points to open up a 21-15 lead with a little under six minutes to play in the first half.
NKU responded with back-to-back threes to tie the score at 21, and the two teams played almost even the rest of the first half. Northern Kentucky led 27-25 at the end of the first half.
The Norse held on to the slim lead for the majority of the second half, until the Vikings broke through with a little over five minutes left to play. Deante Johnson hit two free throws at the 5:23 mark to put Cleveland State ahead for the first time since late in the first half. It was 41-39 CSU at that point.
The lead changed hands several times down the stretch, and the Vikings appeared to seize control on a critical sequence in the game's final minute.
With the score tied at 52, an NKU turnover led to a fast break opportunity for Enaruna. He was fouled and headed to the free throw line for two shots. Enaruna made the first but missed the second. Johnson grabbed the offensive rebound, and after kicking the ball out Deshon Parker was fouled going to the basket and sank two free throws. The Vikings led 55-52 with just 17 seconds to play.
On the ensuing NKU possession, Warrick was fouled and made both free throws to trim the Viking lead back to one. Following an NKU timeout, Enaruna was fouled and made one of two from the free throw line. Cleveland State led by two, 56-54 with seven seconds to play.
That set the stage for Warrick, who caught a backwards shovel pass from Vinson and drained the game winning shot as the final buzzer sounded.
Cleveland State will wrap up its four game Horizon League road swing with a game on Saturday evening at Wright State. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.