VIDEO: Highlights
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cleveland State won its third straight Horizon League contest as Andre Yates scored 14 second half points to help the Vikings to a 65-61 win over Oakland on Thursday night in the Wolstein Center.
The Vikings improved to 9-8 overall and 3-0 in the league. It is CSU's best start in league play since 2010-11 when CSU started 4-0.
Oakland fell to 5-11 overall and 1-1 in the league.
Yates, who played just four minutes in the first half after picking up two quick fouls, hit 6-of-13 from the field for his 14 points. Charlie Lee added 13 points and seven assists, while Marlin Mason scored 11 points, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked three shots.
Demonte Flannigan chipped in eight points and four rebounds off the bench, while Terrell Hales finished with nine points, four rebounds and two steals.
Oakland's Dante Williams led all scorers with 15 points.
CSU used a stifling defense and hot shooting from the floor to race out to a 19-2 lead eight minutes into the game. The Vikings, who scored the first 12 points of the game, made eight straight field goals at one point, the final coming on a Vinny Zollo three-pointer that gave CSU its largest lead of the half (24-8) with 9:30 left.
Oakland, who missed its first eight shots of the game, finished the half by making nine of its last 12 to pull within four (34-30) at the intermission. The Golden Grizzlies took a brief 28-27 lead with three minutes left in the half, but CSU scored seven of the final nine points of the half, including five by Lee to take the halftime lead.
The Vikings opened up an eight point lead (41-33) early in the second, but five straight by Oakland brought them back within three (41-38). Yates took over from there, scoring eight points as part of a 10-2 run that helped the Vikings open up an 11 point lead (51-40) with just over 14 minutes to play.
The CSU lead was still 12 points (59-47) with seven minutes left, but Oakland began to chip away at its deficit, hitting three three-pointers as part of a 14-4 run to pull within two points (63-61) with 2:15 left.
Neither team would score until Hales scored on a breakaway layup with 10 seconds left after a trio of Vikings combined to block Kahlil Felder's shot in the lane, giving CSU a 65-61 lead. Felder missed a three-pointer on the other end and CSU ran out the clock to preserve the win.
CSU won the rebounding battle, 31-29, and committed just seven turnovers.
The Vikings will be back in action on Saturday (Jan. 10) when CSU plays at Valparaiso at 8:00 p.m. EST in a game that will be broadcast live on ESPN3. The game will also be on AM 1220 WHKW with Al Pawlowski on the call.
