Feb. 7, 2009
• 2008-09 Men's Basketball Promotions
• Purchase Tickets
• Group Ticket Information
• 2008-09 Basketball Promotions
• Come See Us Campaign
Contact: Brian McCann
CHICAGO, Ill. - J'Nathan Bullock scored 17 points and George Tandy came off the bench to score a career-high 16 points as Cleveland State raced past Loyola, 83-70, on Saturday afternoon in the Gentile Center.
The win snapped an eight-game Vikings losing streak at Loyola, the last win coming during the 2000-01 season, and allowed CSU to sweep both games during the Chicago trip for the first time in school history.
"I am proud of the way these guys played tonight and this weekend," CSU head coach Gary Waters said. "This was a real team effort this afternoon because everybody contributed in some way to the victory.
"We were very efficient in our offense today and we played well defensively for most of the game. Because of foul trouble, we had some guys playing for long periods during times when they weren't used to playing but they stepped up and came through for us.
"We needed these wins this weekend to keep us headed toward our goals. It will be good to get home next week and play our next three games."
Bullock, who played just 18 minutes because of foul trouble, was six-for-nine from the field and made CSU's only two three-pointers of the night, adding seven rebounds.
Waters reinserted D'Aundray Brown into the starting lineup, pushing Tandy back into a reserve role after starting both games. Both players responded well to the move.
Tandy was four-for-seven from the field and made all eight of his free throw attempts to better his previous Viking scoring high of 13 points and equaled his career best which was originally set while he was a sophomore at Eastern Illinois.
Brown, who returned on Thursday after missing eight games with a stress fracture in the rib cage, scored eight points with four assists and equaled his career high of 10 rebounds, which was originally set on Thursday (Feb.5).
Chris Moore added 12 points for CSU with Cedric Jackson and Trevon Harmon scoring nine each and Cole adding eight.
Leon Young paced Loyola with 22 points and Justin Cerasoli added 14 points.
After leading 32-27 at the half, the Vikings used a 13-1 burst over a three-minute span early in the second half to turn a 34-30 lead into a 47-31 advantage with 14:39 left.
The Ramblers could come no closer than seven points down the stretch as a patient Viking offense and strong free throw shooting were able to hold them off.
CSU shot a season-best 58-percent from the field (29-50) and went 23-for-27 from the line (.852), including eight-for-10 in the final five minutes.
Loyola became the 15th Viking opponent held to under 40-percent shooting for a game, making 22 of 57 (.386).
The Vikings got off to a great start, holding the Ramblers without a field goal for the first eight minutes while opening up a 14-2 lead.
Bullock did most of the damage during the burst, connecting on a pair of three-pointers and a long two-pointer for eight of the 14 points.
After missing their first 10 shots, Loyola found their touch, making six straight shots in running off 16 of the next 20 points to tie the game at 18-18 with 7:18 left.
But the Vikings refused to give up the lead. After Young knotted the score with a pair of free throws, George Tandy found Chris Moore open on the blocks for a layup and Cedric Jackson stole the ball on the ensuing possession, coasting in for the easy bucket.
Following a Loyola timeout, D'Aundray Brown found Moore open inside for two and Tandy knocked down a foul-line jumper to push the Vikings back ahead, 26-18 with 4:55 left.
CSU would take a 32-27 lead into the locker room, playing the majority of the final 10 minutes with the second unit in the game as Jackson, Bullock, Moore and Cole each had two fouls in the opening half and spent extensive time on the bench.
Loyola took advantage of the foul trouble, going 11-for-16 from the line to counter a seven-for-25 effort from the field (.280). CSU shot .520 from the field (13-25) and 4-for-4 from the line.
The Vikings return home to start their final regular season home stand of the year when CSU hosts Milwaukee on Thursday, Feb. 12 beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the Wolstein Center.
