QUICK HITS
- Sunday's win marked Cleveland State's best start in Horizon League play for the first time in 10 years (4-0, 2010-11 season).
- The Vikings poured in 81 points on 33-59 (.559) shooting from the floor, including 51 points on a 21-31 (.677) mark in the second half.
- Cleveland State tallied 50 points in the paint on Sunday, to Youngstown State's 28.
- The Vikings held advantages in fast break points (18-3), bench points (12-9) and steals (9-3).
- For the second straight contest, Cleveland State had three players tally 10-plus points: Tre Gomillion (23), Torrey Patton (19) and D'Moi Hodge (14).
- Tre Gomillion set a new career-high in points, notching a team-high 23 points on a near perfect clip from the floor, shooting 11-12 (.917), to go along with five rebounds, two assists and one steal in 27.0 minutes of action.
- Gomillion's previous high was 18, set at South Carolina last season (11/15/19).
- Torrey Patton poured in 19 points on 7-13 (.538) shooting, to go along with six rebounds, one assist and two steals in 28.0 minutes.
- Patton scored all of his 19 points in the second half.
- Over his last four games, Patton is averaging 15.5 points, scoring in double figures in each contest.
- D'Moi Hodge chipped in 14 points on 6-11 (.545) shooting from the field, to go along with five rebounds, two assists and a game-high four steals.
- Hodge is averaging 3.75 steals over his last four games.
- Junior Deante Johnson grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, in addition to five points in 33.4 minutes.
- Sunday's contest marked the second game this season Johnson has pulled down double digit boards.
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State Vikings earned their fourth-straight Horizon League victory Sunday afternoon, taking down Youngstown State, 81-74, inside the Wolstein Center. With the win, Cleveland State has matched its best start in league play since the 2010-11 season (4-0).
Much like the first game of the series a day earlier, Youngstown State jumped out to an early lead. At the 17:18 mark of the first half, the Penguins had a 9-1 advantage. Youngstown State opened up a 10-point lead, 25-15, off of a Christian Bentley triple nine minutes into the contest.
Jayson Woodrich knocked down a jump shot to bring the Vikings within two of the Penguins, 32-30, with 3:13 left to play in the opening half. However, Youngstown State closed the half on an 8-0 run on its way to a 40-30 halftime advantage.
The Penguins buried a pair of triples in the opening minute of the second half to open up a 14-point cushion, 46-32. Cleveland State did not back down, though, and slowly worked its way back into the affair.
Torrey Patton would knock down back-to-back buckets for the Vikings, narrowing their deficit to only two points, 56-54, with 12:45 on the clock. At the 7:54 mark of the second half, Tre Gomillion poured in his 19th point of the game, setting a new career-high in points, while giving Cleveland State its first lead of the game, 62-60.
The lead changed hands a few times before a Gomillion bucket tied the game, 67-67, and the Penguins never led again.
Craig Beaudion's old-fashioned three-point play broke the final tie of the game and put Cleveland State in front to stay, 73-70, with 2:14 to play. He then buried a three-pointer on Cleveland State's next possession to give the Vikings a four-point advantage,76-72, with under two minutes to play, and Youngstown would get no closer.
Gomillion led a trio of Vikings in double figures with 23 points on exquisite 11-of-12 shooting from the floor. Patton had 19 points and Hodge contributed 14 while Deante Johnson tallied a game-high 10 rebounds.
UP NEXT
Cleveland State will travel to Indianapolis for a two-game set against IUPUI on Jan. 1 and Jan. 2. Tipoff for those contests are set for 2 p.m. and 12 p.m., respectively. Fans can watch live on an ESPN streaming platform or listen on the radio at 1420-WHK, 102.5 FM or www.whkradio.com
