Dec. 3, 2011
Contact: Greg Murphy
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DETROIT, Mich. - Cleveland State used a balanced scoring attack with three players in double figures and timely baskets and defensive stops down the stretch as the Vikings won their second straight Horizon League game on the road with a 66-61 win at Detroit on Saturday afternoon at Calihan Hall.
CSU improved to 8-1 overall and 2-0 in the Horizon League, while the Titans fell to 3-6 overall and 0-2 in league play.
It is the second straight year that CSU has opened up 2-0 in league play with back-to-back wins on the road both seasons. The Vikings also improved to 5-1 on their current seven game road trip.
Tim Kamczyc and Jeremy Montgomery both scored 12 points to lead the Vikings, while Anton Grady added 11 and D'Aundray Brown scored nine. Grady and Brown both added six rebounds, while Montgomery had three steals and Grady posted three blocked shots.
The Vikings, who came out sporting their black uniforms, wasted little time in jumping on the Titans, scoring the first eight points of the contest to take an 8-0 lead at the 16:52 mark. Kamczyc scored six of the points, finding his way to open spots near the basket for easy layups.
Chase Simon stopped the Viking run with a jumped at the 16:28 mark, but a steal and dunk by Brown pushed CSU's lead back to eight points (10-2) at the 15:40 mark.
However, Detroit answered with a 12-2 run of its own, capped by a Ray McCallum layup at the 11:32 mark that gave the Titans their first lead of the game, 14-12. Over the next five minutes, the teams were tied six times, the final one coming at 24-24 with 6:41 to play.
That's when a pair of freshman took over for CSU as Charlie Lee hit a pair of free throws and Ike Nwamu drilled back-to-back three pointers as part of an 8-1 CSU run that put the Vikings back up by seven (32-25) with 4:36 to play in the half.
The duo also hooked up for a high flying alley-oop earlier in the half with Lee providing the assist and Nwamu throwing down a one-handed dunk.
With Trey Harmon and Montgomery saddled with two fouls each in the first half and limited to just seven and six minutes respectively, it was CSU's "young guns" who kept the Vikings ahead throughout the first 20 minutes, sending CSU into the locker room with a 37-31 lead.
Nwamu finished the first half with eight points, hitting 3-of-4 from the field, while Lee contributed six points and three assists, playing 14 minutes at the point guard spot. Grady chipped in four points and three rebounds in 10 minutes as the Viking bench provided 18 first half points.
As much as the first half belonged to CSU's freshman, it was the veterans who stepped up and provided the spark in the second half, led by Montgomery who scored 10 of his 12 points in the final 20 minutes. No shot was bigger than his three-pointer with 2:17 left that gave CSU a six point cushion (63-57) after the Titans sliced a 14 point CSU second half lead to three points with a 13-2 run over a six minute stretch.
After a Detroit basket on the other end cut the Viking lead back to four points (63-59), Grady all but sealed the deal when he made a layup and was fouled to give CSU a 65-59 lead with 1:18 left.
Montgomery started the play by working his way around the perimeter into the left corner. He drove the baseline before dishing off to Grady who powered his way through two Titan defenders, finishing the layup and drawing the foul.
The Vikings took control of the game about five minutes into the second half, turning a four point lead (46-42) into a 14 point advantage (58-44) with 8:23 to play on two free throws by Harmon.
But the Titans had one more run, cutting the lead to three before Montgomery's three-pointer and Grady's hoop.
The Vikings shot .444 from the field (24-54) and continued to show why they are one of the top teams in the country at defending the three-point shot, holding the Titans to 1-for-13 (.077). Over the last three games, CSU has limited its opponents to 3-for-35 shooting from three-point.
CSU also held a 32-23 advantage on the glass.
Doug Anderson scored 17 points to lead the Titans, while Ray McCallum scored 14. Chase Simon, who came in leading the Horizon League at 17.4 points per game, was held in check by Brown, and finished with just six points.
The Vikings are back in action on Thursday (Dec. 8) when CSU concludes its current seven game road trip with a 7:00 p.m. contest at Robert Morris.
