OFF THE BOUNCE
- This marked the season opener for both the Vikings and the Golden Gophers
- Of the 10 players who appeared in the game for Cleveland State, eight played their first minute of NCAA Division I basketball
- Freshman Hugo Ferreira scored a team-high 13 points for Cleveland State
- Sophomore Tre Gomillion had five points and a team-high seven rebounds
- Freshman Daylen Williams finished the game with five points and four rebounds
GAME RECAP
MINNEAPOLIS -- Freshman Hugo Ferreira scored a team-high 13 points and sophomore Tre Gomillion scored five points and collected seven rebounds as Cleveland State opened the 2019-20 season with an 85-50 loss to Minnesota on Tuesday in Williams Arena.
The Cleveland State opener against the Golden Gophers featured eight players making their first-ever appearance in an NCAA Division I game.
Ferreira was 6-of-12 from the floor and 1-of-1 from the free throw line to lead the Vikings. He also added two assists and two steals.
Gomillion led the Vikings with seven rebounds, including five on the defensive end of the floor. Gomillion was 2-of-5 from the field to finish with five points.
Sophomore Deante Johnson added four points, six rebounds, four assists and a blocked shot for the Vikings. Daylen Williams also provided a spark off the Cleveland State bench as the freshman finished with five points, four rebounds and a blocked shot.
Senior Kasheem Thomas knocked down a pair of three-pointers and was second on the team with eight points. He also added two rebounds, an assist and a steal.
After shooting 28.6 percent from the floor in the opening half, Cleveland State shot 40.7 percent from the field in the second half. The Vikings also shot 81.8 percent from the free throw line and made their final eight attempts.
Minnesota, which shot 54.4 percent from the floor, was led by Marcus Carr who scored a game-high 18 points. Payton Willis added 17 points and eight assists, while Daniel Oturu finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Aihan Demir also reached double figures for the Golden Gophers with 10 points.
Minnesota jumped out to a 13-5 lead at the 14:17 mark of the first half before the Vikings fought back.
A layup by Gomillion trimmed the lead to 13-7 and then he made one of two free throw attempts to bring Cleveland State to within 15-10 with 11:50 to play in the first period.
Ferreira then drilled a jumper to cut the Golden Gophers lead to 15-12 at the 10:52 mark of the opening half.
The Vikings missed on two opportunities to take the lead and Minnesota responded with a 9-0 run to push the lead to 24-12 with 7:06 to play in the first half.
Minnesota upped the lead to as many as 21 points in the first half and took a 38-21 lead into halftime.
Cleveland State battled throughout the remainder of the game on the strength of shooting 40.7 percent from the floor in the second period.
Cleveland State will open the home portion of its schedule on Saturday (Nov. 9) when it hosts Edinboro at 3:30 p.m. in the Wolstein Center. The game will mark the Vikings Fan Appreciation Day and fans will be admitted free of charge to the game.
