FAIRBORN, Ohio – Andre Yates hit a go-ahead three-pointer with one minute to play and Trey Lewis converted a three-point play with 24 seconds left as Cleveland State won at Wright State, 55-50, on Wednesday night in Horizon League action.
CSU improved to 10-9 overall and 4-1 in the league, while the Raiders fell to 10-8 overall (2-2 HL).
Anton Grady led the Vikings with 16 points and 10 rebounds, his second double-double in Horizon League play this year. He added three assists and two steals. Marlin Mason finished with 14 points and four rebounds, while Trey Lewis had 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Charlie Lee dished out six assists, while Demonte Flannigan scored six points off the bench.
Michael Karena led the Raiders with 18 points.
"It's always a tough game when these two teams meet and tonight was no different," head coach Gary Waters said. "Both teams played extremely hard and deserved to win this game. It was a great win for us, but it's just one win and there's still a long way to go.
"I am really excited with the way we executed down the stretch. We have been teaching that every day in practice and it was great to see everyone execute tonight."
Trailing 50-48 with just over a minute to play, the Vikings worked the ball to the left wing where Yates, a Dayton native, drilled a three-pointer to give CSU a 51-50 lead. After a WSU miss on the other end, Lewis worked his way into the lane and threw a runner off the glass, drawing contact from Karena for a three-point play, extending CSU's lead to 54-50 with 23 seconds left.
The Raiders missed on the other end and Lee split a pair of free throws to provide the final margin.
CSU used strong play from its front line in the paint to take a 28-26 lead at the half as Grady, Mason and Flannigan combined for 22 of CSU's 28 first half points.
WSU opened up its largest lead of the game (49-44) with 6:43 to play, but back-to-back baskets from Lewis and Grady brought CSU within one (49-48) with 4:07 to play. Neither team would score again until Kendall Griffin split a pair of free throws with 1:31 left to give the Raiders a two-point lead.
It didn't last long as Yates' three-pointer 12 seconds later gave CSU the lead for good.
CSU held a commanding 32-21 advantage on the glass, including 11 offensive rebounds, and was 8-of-12 at the free throw line. WSU was 15-of-24 at the charity stripe.
The Vikings conclude their three-game roadtrip when CSU travels to Youngstown State for a 7:00 p.m. contest on Saturday (Jan. 17) night. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 and Al Pawlowski will have the play-by-play live on AM 1420 WHK.
