Feb. 18, 2007
Contact: Brian McCann
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - Raheem Moss scored 16 points, including 13 in the second half, as Cleveland State claimed an 85-76 win over Cal State Northridge to snap a four game losing streak.
The game marked the fourth straight year that CSU took part in the annual O'Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters. The Vikings improve to 2-2 in BracketBusters play and capped off a day that saw the nine Horizon League schools post an impressive 7-2 record.
Joe Davis led CSU (9-19) with 17 points while J'Nathan Bullock and Moss added 16 points. Thomas Shewmake led four Matadors (12-14) in double figures with 16 points with Calvin Chitwood adding 15 and Jayme Miller and Terrell Jones 10 points each.
The victory marked the first time in 13 games this season that CSU rallied to win after trailing at halftime.
The Vikings won the game at the foul line, setting season highs for free throws made (30) and attempted (40), shooting .750 for the contest. CSN was 15-for-18 from the line (.833).
Moss' play down the stretch fueled the Vikings as the senior, who was just one-for-six from the field in the first half, scored nine of CSU's 13 points during a stretch that allowed the Vikings to take the lead for good. Unable to find his perimeter shot, Moss elected to take the ball inside and forcing contact. He made all eight of his free throw attempts in the contest.
"This was a very good win for us tonight," head coach Gary Waters said. "We fought hard for 40 minutes and even though our offense wasn't working at a peak level, we found ways to score.
"Our defensive effort was outstanding. I think that Cal State Northridge would do very well in the Horizon League. They play an up-tempo, pressure basketball that we haven't seen in awhile yet we came into the game ready to go.
"Now we have to focus on Detroit and Youngstown State so that we can keep this momentum going into the conference tourney."
The first half was a fast-paced and closely contested affair, featuring five ties and seven lead changes.
The Vikings scored the first five points of the game on a Raheem Moss three-pointer and a J'Nathan Bullock jumper off a steal by Patrick Tatham.
Cal State Northridge fought back to take a 10-8 lead with 15:41 left on a Chitwood three-pointer from the top of the key.
Back-to-back treys from Tatham and Russell allowed the Viking to rebuild the lead to five (19-14, 12:35), but a 6-1 Matador spurt tied that game at 21-21 with 11:17 left.
CSU would hold the lead until the 4:23 mark when back-to-back treys by Rob Haynes gave the Matadors a 33-29 edge.
The Vikings would fight back, closing to within 35-34 at the intermission on a pair of Tristan Crawford free throws with 39 seconds left.
Cleveland State started the second half out strong, taking a 42-41 lead on a Moss dunk off an inbounds play with 17:07 left.
CSU would hold a 46-45 lead until the Matadors rank off six straight points to take their largest lead, 51-46 with 14:18 left.
The Vikings refused to quit, regaining the lead on a three-pointer from Davis with 8:09 left and pushing it to 61-58 on a Davis breakaway lay-up off a Tatham steal with 7:52 left.
After struggling offensively for the first 32 minutes, Moss found his scoring touch, scoring the next seven points for CSU to keep the Vikings within reach of the lead and it was his two free throws with 3:55 left that tied the game for the final time at 68-68.
The Vikings took the lead for good at the 2:39 mark when Tatham scored in the lane and another Tatham basket 50 seconds later pushed the advantage to 72-68 with 1:49 left.
Cleveland State would put away that game at the line, making 13-of-16 free throws over the final 1:30 to deny the Matadors a come back chance.
The Vikings will catch the red-eye home on Saturday night to prepare for their final week of the regular season. CSU plays at Detroit on Wednesday (Feb. 21) before returning home for closing the regular season against Youngstown State on Saturday, Feb. 24.
