Jan. 22, 2010
Final Stats | Quotes | Notes
Video has no source Url in width="425" height="344">
SAAC Haiti Relief Fundraiser Photo Gallery
Contact: Brian McCann
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland State raced out to a 13-2 lead just over two minutes into the game and used a strong defensive pressure and clutch shots to claim a 64-50 victory over Green Bay in Horizon League action on Friday night in the Wolstein Center.
The win improves the Vikings to 8-12 overall and moves CSU into a fourth place tie in the league at 4-4. UWGB fell to 14-7 overall and 6-3 in the Horizon League.
"I thought we did a great job on the defensive end tonight and the key is that we need to be consistent with the defense," head coach Gary Waters said. "Green Bay had to work really hard to get shots and that is what we have been working on. I was very impressed with our defensive effort and intensity tonight.
"This game was the best in terms of when we had to get down and grind it out. We maintained our defensive focus and that helped us control the game."
Norris Cole led the Vikings with 22 points and eight assists, while Aaron Pogue scored 11 points with four boards. Jeremy Montgomery added 10 points for the Vikings, who shot .512 (21-41) from the field.
"When Norris has a good game, we are all going to have good games," Waters said. "He did a great job of controlling the game tonight even with all of the pressure that was on him. When you play a four-guard offense with only five guards, there isn't much time for rest and Norris and D'Aundray are having to play a lot of minutes, but they are still having great games."
Rian Pearson led the Phoenix with 14 points off the bench, while Randy Berry scored 11 points with 11 rebounds.
Cole got the Vikings off to a sizzling start with a three-pointer 13 seconds in. After a Berry layup got the Phoenix on the board, CSU ran off 10 straight points, including three-pointers by D'Aundray Brown and Tre Harmon, to take a 13-2 lead with 17:48 left.
UWGB got back within eight (15-7; 14:45), but back-to-back buckets from Brown and Cole pushed the Viking lead back to double figures (17-7) with 14:29 to play.
The lead swelled to as many as 18 points with 2:09 to play in the half on a Cole jumper.
CSU shot .600 (15-25) from the field in the first half, including a sizzling 6-for-9 (.667) from three-point.
An 11-4 UWGB run opened the second half, allowing the Phoenix to claw within nine (42-33) five minutes into the second half.
UWGB out-rebounded the Vikings, 27-25, but CSU committed less turnovers (11-10). Both teams finished with six steals.
The Phoenix, who entered the game as the top three-point shooting team in the league, hit just 1-of-8, making its first attempt.
However, Montgomery answered with a three-pointer and a pair of free throws to push the lead back to 12 (45-33) with 13:14 left and the Phoenix would get no closer than nine points the rest of the way as CSU continued to hit clutch shot after clutch shot to answer Green Bay runs.
