QUICK HITS
- Tyree Appleby finished with a team-high 25 points
- Jaalam Hill had 22 points, four rebounds and four assists
- Jaalam Hill scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half and overtime
- Seth Millner scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds
- Cleveland State shot 83.3 percent from the floor in overtime
- The Vikings outrebounded the Penguins 37-33
- Cleveland State won for the first time this season when trailing at halftime
GAME RECAP
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Tyree Appleby and Jaalam Hill combined to score 47 points and Cleveland State made 5-of-6 field goal attempts in overtime as the Vikings defeated Youngstown State 89-80 in CSU's season finale on Saturday in the Beeghly Center.
Appleby led the Vikings with 25 points, while Hill finished with 22 points to lead Cleveland State. Seth Millner also reached double figures in scoring for the Vikings with 12 points.
Cleveland State, which closed the season by winning four of its last six games, finished the 2018-19 year with a 10-21 overall record and a 5-13 mark in the Horizon League. Youngstown State finished the regular season with a 12-19 overall mark and an 8-10 record in league play.
The Vikings used a huge defensive stop and parlayed that momentum into overtime to complete the season sweep of Youngstown State.
Williams drilled a three-pointer with 1:07 to play in regulation giving the Vikings a 71-69 lead, which marked just the fourth time CSU had led the game.
Noe Anbir tied the game with a short jumper with 47 seconds to play, but failed on a chance to put the Penguins ahead when he missed the free throw.
On the Vikings next trip they misfired on a three-point attempt and Youngstown State came away with the rebound and called timeout with 14.4 seconds to play in the game.
Great perimeter defense by the Vikings forced a long three-point attempt by Devin Morgan, which was off the mark to force overtime.
After Appleby and Darius Quisenberry exchanged thee-pointers to open the overtime period, the Vikings took the lead for good on a layup by Hill with 3:59 to play in the extra period.
A layup and two free throws by Hill helped the Vikings extend the lead to 80-76 with 3:12 to play, but Morgan countered with a driving layup to cut the lead to 80-78 with 2:48 remaining.
Appleby then connected on a key three-pointer and Millner scored inside to increase the CSU lead to 85-78 with 1:36 left in overtime.
The Vikings sealed the victory as Millner and Deante Johnson each converted two free throws.
Cleveland State had to overcome a big second-half deficit to force overtime as the Vikings trailed by 12 with 15:01 to play in the second half.
Still trailing by 10 points at the 10:06 mark, Cleveland State reeled off a 10-0 run to tie the game.
Appleby hit two free throws to start the run and Millner hit a conventional three-point play to bring the Vikings to within 59-54 with 9:04 remaining in the second.
Millner then drained a three-pointer and Appleby hit two more free throws to tie the game at 59-59 with 7:50 remaining in regulation.
Youngstown State quickly pushed the lead back to five poinnts, but Millner hit two free throws and Stefan Kenic knocked down a three-pointer to tie the game for the third time at 66-66 with 2:12 to play in the second half.
Quisenberry made 1-of-2 free throws to put the Penguins ahead by one at 67-66, but Hill slammed home a beautiful feed from Appleby to put CSU in front at 68-67 at the 1:43 mark of the second half.
Anabir put Youngstown State back in front to set the stage for the Vikings tying the game and eventual stop to force overtime.
