VIDEO: Highlights | Postgame Press Conference
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Charlie Lee and Anton Grady became the 21st and 22nd players in Cleveland State history to reach 1,000 career points as the Vikings maintained a hold on first place in the Horizon League with a 73-60 win over Youngstown State on Wednesday night at the Wolstein Center.
CSU improved to 14-10 overall and 8-2 in the league, while YSU fell to 10-16 overall and 1-10 in league play.
Lee became the 21st player in school history to reach the milestone with a three-pointer on the right wing late in the first half, while Grady hit the milestone with a pair of free throws early in the second half.
Grady finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds for his 16th career double-double and his sixth in Horizon League play. It was also his fifth double-double in the last six games.
He also became the first player in program history to reach 1,000 points, 600 rebounds, 100 steals and 100 blocked shots in a career.
Lee tallied 16 points and four assists, while Vinny Zollo scored nine points with four rebounds and Trey Lewis scored 10 points.
Marlin Mason, who missed the last three games, played 16 minutes off the bench and totaled eight points and three rebounds.
Shawn Amiker tallied 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Penguins.
The game had a furious pace for the opening 10 minutes with the first media timeout not coming until the 9:20 mark and the Vikings ahead, 22-13. Back-to-back three-pointers from Andre Yates helped CSU to a 10 point lead (25-15) with 8:27 left in the half, but a 13-4 YSU run allowed the Penguins to pull within a point (29-28) with just over four minutes to play on a DJ Cole layup.
A Kaza Keane floater in the lane and three-pointers from Lee and Lewis closed the half and put the Vikings up, 37-28, at the intermission.
A Vinny Zollo three-pointer capped a 9-0 run to open the second half – and a 17-0 run overall centered around halftime – as the Vikings opener up a 46-28 lead less than three minutes into the second half.
The lead would remain double figures until DJ Cole split a pair of free throws with 2:27 to play, slicing CSU's lead to 69-60, but the Vikings hit 4-of-6 free throws down the stretch to earn the season sweep of YSU.
The Vikings out-rebounded YSU, 36-31, and shot .421 (8-19) from three-point.
The Vikings close their three-game homestand on Saturday (Feb. 7) when CSU hosts Wright State at 2:00 p.m. in the Wolstein Center. The game will be broadcast live on SportsTime Ohio.
