Nov. 14, 2010
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Final Stats | Quotes | Notes
By: Robert Ivory
CLEVELAND, Ohio- The title game of the World Vision Classic came down to the final seconds, as Cleveland State had to rally from 16 down in the final 16 minutes to win the tournament in an instant classic, 69-66 over local rival Kent State.
"We just had a couple of breakdowns," head coach Gary Waters said. "It was not like they were doing anything spectacular. There were two or three things that happened at once, instead they capitalize on their end and we did not capitalize on our end."
"The biggest thing in that game was the zone," Waters said. "The zone changed the whole complexity of that game. They were shooting over 50% and then we went to the zone and it really hesitated them. It was mental toughness; those guys did not want to lose."
Norris Cole led the charge for the Vikings as he had 21 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals as he was named the 2010 World Vision Classic Most Valuable Player.
The MVP's numbers included 23.3 points per game, 5.3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals per game in the tournament.
Cole, Trevon Harmon, and Aaron Pogue were all named to the all-tournament team.
The win takes Cleveland State to 3-0 on the year, and is the fifth time in school history they reach that mark, the last time they did since 2004-05.
Cole hit two of his 11 free throws with 12:18 to tie the game at 10-10, but the Golden Flashes took control of the game and the tempo from that point on. Kent State went on a 16-4 run over the next five and a half minutes to lead 26-14 with 6:51 left in the half.
The lead was not so much the problem as to the way that the Flashes did it. The team shot 41% from the floor and scored 20 in the paint, including five dunks just in the first half as Cleveland State had simply no answer.
"They threw a nice first punch in the first half," Cole said. "But in the second half our physicality and out toughness showed. We cannot get out-toughed on our own court."
Not to mention Norris Cole, who averaged 24.5 points coming into the contest, was held without a basket for the first 10:52 of the game, which finally came off a CSU timeout.
"I was really concerned about that," Waters said. "The play we set was for him to get open. He did a good job of getting open and our players did a good job of getting him open, That was a key."
Kent State's Justin Greene shot 5-10 from the floor in the half, collecting ten of his 17 points in the first half alone and the Vikes looked just a step short to the tempo.
"Greene was scoring on a pace that you could not stop at one point," Waters said.
It got so bad for the Vikings, that the free throw shooting was only 42.9% (3-7) after the Vikings made 22-for-23 the night before. Even the clutch Jeremy Montgomery, who only missed 14 free throws all of last year, missed five on the night going just 1-6.
"The biggest part that I was disappointed in the team was that we did not shoot free throws," Waters said. "If we shoot free throws well, this game is not as bad as it looked. Even in the first half it would not have been so bad. Free throws are things you can control."
Waters had to find something to turn the tide and he found it on his defense. The fifteen-year head coach moved to the zone and saved his team.
"That was a decision on the cuff," Waters said. "We were struggling against their man-to-man, so I had to think and had to make some decisions.
It was not a quick turnaround ,as Greene spread the Kent State lead to 16 with 15:51 left in the ballgame.
Kent State's 20 points in the paint in the first half turned into only 12 in the second half and their 30-19 rebounding advantage at the half was cut to just 47-42 at the end of the night.
"The zone shut down the inside," Waters said. "That's what we wanted to do. They were dominate on the glass in the first half, we rebounded them by six in the second half. I thought hat was key."
The Vikings finally made their push the possession after Greene's basket. Harmon hit his only three of the night to ignite the Vikings on a 7-0 run to get within nine. After trading layups, Jeremy Montgomery hit his only three to bring the game to just six at 47-41.
Montgomery scored all of his 14 points in the second half.
"My teammates were telling me that this was my half," he said. "Having the confidence motivated me."
Kent State was guilty of a couple of fouls that turned the momentum in favor of the Vikings.
Aaron Pogue put a shot up for the Vikings and was fouled by Justin Manns. The two exchanged pleasantries when Justin Greene stepped in and got himself a technical for getting physical after the play was over.
Mr. Clutch, Norris Cole, stepped to the line, hit a pair of free throws and brought the game to four.
A Tim Kamczyc tip-in tied the game up at 50-50 with 7:35, then put the Vikings over the top for good with a three pointer to make it 53-50. Kamczyc ended the night with 13 points and gave the Vikes momentum down the stretch.
"A lot of the times I was in the right position," Kamczyc said. "It's a conscience effort to be in the right position. Having such great offensive players on this team sometimes leaves me open. It's just being confident in my abilities and knock down shots."
Kent State still had a chance to win, when a Carlton Guyton jumper nodded the game up at 61-61 with 1:41 to go. Cole hits a nice layup in the next possession for the Vikings, but on Kent State's next possession, Michael Porrini hesitates with the ball and travels.
Porrini would be called for a technical and Cole would hit two free throws, then another two to put the Vikings up six. He has gone 18-18 on free throws in the final five minutes of games this year.
"If you take care of the things that you can control in the later minutes of a game, you are going to win most of your games," Waters said. "There are two things that people know about me; I harp on missing free throws and I harp on turning the ball over. You can control those things. "
Greene hit a layup with 18 seconds to bring the Golden Flashes within three. Harmon, uncharacteristically, misses his pair of three throws on the other end of the floor. Kent State set the play up for the last shot underneath their own basket of the game and the inbound ball got into the hands of Greene, who was open on the left hand side of three point range.
His shot hit the rim, but came up short.
Kent State gets their first loss of the year and moves to 2-1.
The Vikings face Urbana on Monday (Nov 14) at the Wolstein Center at 7:00 p.m.
