COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Cleveland State University men's basketball team dropped an 89-62 decision at nationally ranked Ohio State Friday night inside St. John Arena.
The Buckeyes remained undefeated on the year at 6-0 while CSU fell to 2-4.
Sophomore Stefan Kenic had a team-high 13 points for CSU on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor. It was his fourth straight game in double figures. Classmate Algevon Eichelberger had nine points and a career-high tying nine rebounds, including five on the offensive glass.
Eichelberger's efforts were a key reason why the Vikings outrebounded their significantly larger opponent.
"Coming into the game, we knew Ohio State was a really good team for all the right reasons, and they showed why tonight," head coach Dennis Felton said. "It will be a really rich experience for us to learn from and get better."
Ohio State opened up a double-digit lead, 20-10, fewer than 10 minutes into the game, but the Vikings immediately responded. Eichelberger led a 7-0 run as he had four points, two offensive boards and an assist in the span.
The Buckeyes responded with a 13-2 lead to open up their largest lead of the first half, 33-19, with five minutes left in the frame. CSU fought back to cut the lead to single digits at the interval, 38-29, as redshirt senior Dontel Highsmith had five points in that span, including hitting a three as the shot clock expired.
Ohio State went on a 10-1 run to open the second half to push its lead back into double digits, a margin at which it would remain for the remainder of the game.
"We did compete," Felton said. "We've been talking about rebounding relentlessly. The fact that we outrebounded OSU is a sign that they're listening."
Freshman Seth Millner converted 8-of-10 free throws and notched 10 points and three rebounds. Sophomore Tyree Appleby finished with nine points, four rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals.
Junior Kasheem Thomas had six points, two rebounds and two assists while classmate Jaalam Hill had six rebounds.
Cleveland State had fewer fouls than its opponent for the sixth time in six games this season.
The Vikings will have fewer than 48 hours to regroup as they close play in the Buckeye Basketball Classic Sunday as they host Purdue Fort Wayne at 5:00 p.m.
