QUICK HITS
- Sophomore Tyree Appleby finished with 11 points, six assists and four rebounds
- Freshman Seth Millner tallied 11 points and added six rebounds
- Freshman Deante Johnson had six points and six rebounds
- Cleveland State shot 51.9 percent from the floor in the first half
- The Vikings shot 46.7 percent from the three-point line in the openig half
GAME RECAP
DAYTON, OHIO -- Tyree Appleby and Seth Millner each scored 11 points, but a strong first half was not enough to carry Cleveland State past league-leading Wright State as the Raiders pulled away for an 87-61 Horizon League victory over the Vikings on Thursday in the Nutter Center.
Cleveland State, whcih dropped to 8-21 overall and 3-13 in the Horizonn League, trailed by only 43-38 at halftime after shooting 51.9 percent from the floor and 46.7 percent from the three-point line in the opening period.
Wright State, which improved to 17-11 on the season and 11-4 in conference play, outscored CSU 44-23 in the second half. The Vikings were limited to 30.8 percent shooting from the floor in the second half and missed all 10 of their three-point attempts.
Kasheem Thomas helped spark the Vikings in the first half as he came off the bench to score eight points. Deante Johnson had four points in the first half and finished the game with six points and six rebounds.
Jaalam Hill added seven points, two rebounds and two blocked shots for the Vikings, while Rashad Williams had six points. Both of Williams baskets were three-pointers, which upped his season total of 85 and moved him into second place on the CSU single-season list.
Wright State placed five players in double figures led by Bill Wampler who had 16 points. Parker Ernsthausen added 14 points for the Raiders, while Loudon Love finished with 13 points. Alan Vest and Malachi Smith each scored 11 points for WSU.
After Love gave Wright State a 17-10 lead at the 11:08 mark of the first half the Vikings put together a 12-2 run to take the lead.
Thomas began the run with a three-pointer and Johnson added a follow dunk off a miss to bring the Vikings to within 17-15 at the 10:24 mark of the first.
After Smith upped the WSU lead to 19-15 with a jumper, Johnson scored inside and Thomas drilled a three-pointer to put CSU in front 20-19 with 9:10 to play in the opening half.
Thomas capped the CSU run with a pair of free throws that extended the Vikings lead to 22-19 with 8:30 remaining in the first.
Wright State answered with a three-pointer by Ernsthausen, but Millner scored inside and Algevon Eichelberger scored on a power move to the rim to increase the CSU lead to 26-22 with 6:09 remaining in the opening half.
A jumper by Ernsthausen and a pair of free throws by Wampler tied the game at 26-26, but Williams drained a long three-pointer to put CSU back in front 29-26 at the 4:22 mark of the opening period.
Wright State then used an 8-0 to take the lead for good. The Raiders took a 43-38 lead into halftime.
Stefan Kenic opened the second half with a jumper for the Vikings, but Wright State built the lead to 56-46 at the 13:59 mark of the second half and the Vikings were unable to get the deficit under double figures for the remainder of the game.
Cleveland State returns to action on Saturday (Feb. 23) when it visits Northern Kentucky for a Horizon League game at 7 p.m.
