CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cleveland State ran its win streak to seven straight as four players scored in double figures in a 73-53 win over UIC on Thursday night in the Wolstein Center.
The seven game win streak is the longest at CSU since the 2010-11 team opened the year with 12 straight wins.
The Vikings improved to 18-9 overall and remained in second place in the Horizon League at 9-3, just one game behind league-leading Green Bay who moved to 10-2 with a 71-40 win at Youngstown State tonight.
The two teams will meet on Saturday (Feb. 15) at 4:00 p.m. in the Wolstein Center.
CSU has won 12 of its last 15 games overall.
UIC fell to 5-20 overall and 0-11 in the league.
Trey Lewis led a balanced scoring attack with 18 points and added four rebounds, while Jon Harris finished with 15 points and nine rebounds. It was his 14th double-digit scoring game of the season, the most double-figure scoring games by a CSU reserve in a season in program history.
Anton Grady tallied 12 points and six rebounds, while Bryn Forbes added 15 points and Charlie Lee dished out seven assists.
CSU shot 30-of-60 (.500) from the field, the fifth straight game the Vikings shot 50-percent or better from the field and the 15th time this year. The Vikings, who entered the game tied with Duke as the top three-point shooting team in the nation at 42-percent, hit 10-of-18 (.556) from three tonight.
A Lewis layup midway through the first half started a 10-2 CSU run that helped the Vikings open up a 10 point lead (21-11) with 6:38 to play in the first half. However, the Flames would close within two points (27-25) on a pair of free throws with 33 seconds left in the first half, but Sebastian Douglas drilled a three-pointer from the corner just before the buzzer, giving CSU a 30-25 halftime lead.
It was the 20th time the Vikings led at the half this year.
Back-to-back baskets from UIC, cut the Vikings lead to 30-29, one minute into the second half, but a 13-3 run over the next five-and-a-half minutes allowed CSU to open up an 11 point lead (43-32) and the Vikings led by double figures the rest of the way.
Forbes hit two three-pointers, raising his season total to 69, three away from setting the CSU single season school record. CSU's 10 three-pointers give them 204 this season, the fourth straight season the Vikings have hit at least 200 three's and the fifth time in school history.
The Vikings out-rebounded UIC, 37-32, and held the Flames to 17-of-48 (.354) shooting from the field.
The Vikings are back in action on Saturday (Feb. 15) when CSU hosts league-leading Green Bay at 4:00 p.m. in the Wolstein Center.
It will be a doubleheader with the CSU women hosting Detroit at 1:00 p.m.
