QUICK HITS
- Freshman Dibaji Walker scored a career-high 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor to lead the Vikings
- Jaalam Hill had 15 points, five rebounds and two assists
- Kasheem Thomas added 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting for the Vikings
- Cleveland State shot 48.1 percent from the floor and 91.7 percent from the free throw line
- The Vikings shot 50.0 percent from the field in the second half
GAME STORY
CLEVELAND -- Freshman Dibaji Walker scored a career-high 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor, but Wright State outscored Cleveland State 29-11 from the free throw line on its way to an 89-66 Horizon League victory over the Vikings on Saturday in the Wolstein Center.
Walker, who played a season-high 26 minutes, was 7-of-9 from the field and 2-of-4 from the three-point line in surpassing his previous career high of 10 points against Samford on Nov. 18.
Jaalam Hill added 15 points and five rebounds, while Kasheem Thomas scored 11 points and handed out two assists. Leading scorer Tyree Appleby returned to the lineup after missing the game against Northern Kentucky due to illness and scored eight points, handed out five assists and grabbed three rebounds.
Cleveland State, which dropped to 5-16 on the season and 0-8 in the Horizon League, shot 48.1 percent from the floor and 91.7 percent from the free throw line. The Vikings topped 47.0 percent shooting from the floor in back-to-back games after shooting 47.3 percent against Northern Kentucky on Thursday, which marked the second time this season that CSU has shot that well in back-to-back games. The Vikings shot 51.7 percent against Urbana on Nov. 13 and then shot 49.2 percent from the field versus South Carolina State on Nov. 16.
Wright State, which improved to 10-10 overall and 4-3 in conference play, got a combined 44 points from Loudon Love (23) and Bill Wampler (21). Cole Gentry also reached double figures as he scored 14 points for the Raiders.
Wright State shot 51.0 percent from the floor and 90.6 percent from the free throw line as the Raiders made 29-of-32 from the line.
The Raiders jumped out to an early lead and built the margin up to 31-17 at the 5:12 mark of the first half on a free throw by Mark Hughes.
The Vikings rallied back into the game on the strength of a 7-0 run. Hill scored five points and Algevon Eichelberger added a jumper to bring Cleveland State to within 31-24 with 3:17 remaining in the opening half.
The Raiders pushed the lead back to 12 points, but Walker converted a layup and Thomas drilled a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 36-29 with 1:51 to play before halftime.
Alan Vest responded with a three-pointer for the Raiders, but Eichelberger answered with a layup bringing the Vikings to within 39-31 with 1:07 to play in the first half. Gentry scored on a driving layup at the buzzer giving the Raiders a 41-31 lead at halftime.
After Hill opened the second-half scoring with a layup for the Vikings, Wright State reeled off a 12-2 run to push the lead to 53-35 with 16:22 remaining in the game.
The Raiders stretched the lead to 73-43 with 9:26 to play and the Vikings could get no closer than 21 points for the remainder of the game.
Cleveland State will cap its three-game homestand on Saturday (Jan. 26) when it hosts Youngstown State at 7 p.m. in the Wolstein Center.
