Feb. 5, 2013
Contact: Greg Murphy
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CLEVELAND, Ohio - Devon Long scored a career-high 23 points, the most by a CSU player in a game this year, and Cleveland State avenged a loss at Youngstown State 11 days ago with a 66-60 win at the Wolstein Center on Tuesday night.
The Vikings climbed back to .500 overall at 12-12 and improved to 4-6 in the Horizon League, while the Penguins fell to 13-10 overall and 5-5 in the league.
CSU was playing at home for just the 10th time this year and improved to 8-2 in the Wolstein Center. The Vikings will play four of its next five at home.
Long finished 9-of-11 from the field, setting career-highs in field goals made and attempted. He added five rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
Sebastian Douglas added 10 points, while holding YSU's Kendrick Perry, the third leading scorer in the Horizon League, to just seven points. Charlie Lee finished with 10 points, all in the second half and Junior Lomomba added 10 points and six rebounds off the bench.
Bobby Hain led the Penguins with 15 points.
YSU scored the first six points of the game, but the Vikings answered right back with six of their own to tie the contest at 6-6 five minutes in. The Penguins outscored CSU by six over the next seven minutes to take a 21-15 lead with 8:52 left in the half.
That's when Long took over, scoring 10 points over the remainder of the half on a wide array of post moves and soft jumpers in the lane. He had two three-point plays in the stretch, including one with 11 seconds left that put CSU ahead at the half, 30-23.
Long set his career-high with 14 points in the first half, hitting 5-of-6 from the field and all four of his free throws. His previous career-high was 13 points.
A Long layup and Lee three-pointer gave CSU its largest lead of the game (35-26) two minutes into the second half, but the Penguins responded with 10 straight to regain its first lead (36-35) since early in the first half on a Bobby Hain layup with 15 minutes left.
The game stayed close over the next six minutes with neither team leading by more than three points, but a 13-5 CSU allowed the Vikings to open an eight point lead (56-48) with 3:38 left on a three-point play by Marlin Mason.
However, Kamren Belin answered with a four-point play and a free throw by Blake Allen brought YSU back within three (56-53), but the Penguins would get no closer as the Vikings hit six of eight free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
The Vikings hit 14-of-17 from the line for the game and out-rebounded the Penguins, 38-25.
The Vikings are back in action on Saturday (Feb. 9) when CSU hosts Valparaiso at 4:00 p.m. in the Wolstein Center. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
