QUICK HITS:
- Saturday's victory marked Cleveland State's first Horizon League-opening win since the 2014-15 season (vs. Milwaukee, Jan. 2, 2015, 84-57).
- The Vikings recorded a season-best 14 steals, which included all five starters recording two-or-more thefts.
- Cleveland State's defense forced 27 Purdue Fort Wayne turnovers, resulting in 24 points.
- The Vikings held a +18 advantage in points in the paint (36-18), marking the third time in four games Cleveland State has tallied more points in the paint than their opponent.
- Cleveland State also held advantages in assists (14-13), fast break points (14-6), second chance points (8-7) and blocked shots (2-0).
- Three players scored in double figures for the Vikings in their win over the Mastodons: Tre Gomillion (16), Torrey Patton (13) and Deante Johnson (13)
- Tre Gomillion poured in a team-high 16 points on 8-13 (.615) shooting from the floor, to go along with three rebounds, three assists and two steals in 34 minutes of action.
- Gomillion was two points shy of tying his career high (18 points at South Carolina, 11/15/19).
- Deante Johnson notched 13 points on 6-10 (.600) shooting from the floor, in addition to a team-high seven rebounds, two steals and a game-high two blocks in 33 minutes.
- Johnson has rejected at least one shot in three of his four games this season.
- Johnson's 13 points are two shy of tying his career high (15 points at Detroit Mercy, 2/15/20).
- Torrey Patton contributed 13 points, shooting 3-6 (.500) from three-point territory, to go along with five rebounds, two assists and three steals in 37 minutes.
- D'Moi Hodge swiped a game-high five steals and a game-high tying four assists, while Craig Beaudion notched a game-high tying four assists to go along with two steals and four points in 30 minutes.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"We're very thankful to play the game of basketball. When you have 20 teams across the country not even have played their first game yet...whenever we test negative, we're going to play a game. This opportunity opened up. We were patient trying to fill out our schedule. Our Athletic Director and our conference gave us a call and we immediately jumped on the opportunity to play a league game. Both teams weren't prepared to play each other. I thought you saw some mistakes, some sloppiness down the stretch. It's just a young team learning how to win - those are characteristics of that. I thought Coach Coffman had his guys prepared to play. They came out aggressive. Throughout our runs, they did a good job...No. 1 (Jarred) Godfrey, he pushed them to no limits, ending the game with 21 points. I thought we collectively played for some spurts. Defensively, we got some stops and were able to knock down some shots. We've got to do a better job executing, of course, but that will come along the way. We definitely are fortunate to have play this game and I'm looking forward to playing tomorrow." - Coach Dennis Gates
FORT WAYNE, Indiana – The Cleveland State Vikings took down Purdue Fort Wayne, 63-61, in their first league contest of the 2020-21 season at the Gates Sports Center. Saturday's win marked Cleveland State's first league-opening win since the 2014-15 season.
The Vikes scored the first four points of Saturday night's ball game, with juniors Tre Gomillion and Deante Johnson each tallying a bucket. The Mastodons, down 4-0, responded by going on an 8-2 run, before Gomillion knocked down a three-pointer, giving the Vikes a 9-8 advantage.
Senior forward Torrey Patton buried back-to-back triples to give Cleveland State a 17-10 lead with 8:22 left to play in the opening half. Patton propelled the Vikes to a 10-point, 22-12, advantage off of his third triple of the night at the 5:30 mark of the first half, assisted by freshman Alec Oglesby.
Purdue Fort Wayne narrowed its deficit heading into intermission, with Cleveland State holding a 29-24 lead.
Just like the first half, Cleveland State opened up the second half scoring the first four points, extending its lead, 33-24.
Cleveland State built a 12-point, 39-27, lead off of a Gomillion jump shot with 14:04 left to play in regulation. Purdue Fort Wayne's Demetric Horton knocked down a three-pointer, bringing the Mastodons within nine points of the Vikings, before junior forward Chris Greene responded, burying a three-pointer of his own.
Horton brought the Mastodons within three points of the Vikings, 46-43, off of a corner triple with 7:54 on the clock.
Purdue Fort Wayne was able to get within one point of Cleveland State, 49-48 with 5:40 left to play, but never able to gain the lead.
UP NEXT:
The Vikings will face off against the Mastodons Sunday evening at 5 p.m. Sunday's contest will again be broadcast on ESPN3, as well as on 1420-WHK, 102.5 FM and www.whkradio.com.
