CLEVELAND, Ohio – In front of a national ESPN2 audience, the Cleveland State Vikings maintained their perfect home record with a 64-53 victory over visiting Milwaukee on Friday night at the Wolstein Center. With the win, Cleveland State moves to 10-1 in Horizon League play and 5-0 on its home court. Milwaukee (5-5) suffered its third-straight #HLMBB loss.
PRESS CONFERENCE
QUICK HITS:
- Friday night's league win marks the Vikings 10th win in Horizon League play this season. It's the first time since the 2014-15 season (11-5) the Vikes have eclipsed the 10-win mark in #HLMBB play.
- Cleveland State remains undefeated at the Wolstein Center this season, now a perfect 5-0.
- Three Vikings scored in double figures: Craig Beaudion (25), Torrey Patton (13) and Tre Gomillion (10).
- The Vikings dished out 17 assists in Friday night's win to Milwaukee's seven. Cleveland State was three assists shy of tying its season high (20-vs. YSU, 12/27/20).
- Cleveland State held Milwaukee to only four made three-pointers on a 4-23 clip (.174) from deep.
- The Vikes held advantages in steals (8-4) and bench points (5-2).
- Craig Beaudion poured in a season-high 25 points in Friday's victory on a career-high tying eight field goals (8-10), including a career-high four three-pointers (4-5), in addition to a career-high tying six rebounds, four assists and a game-high tying two steals in 33 minutes of action.
- Torrey Patton contributed 13 points on a 3-6 (.500) clip from three-point territory, to go along with six rebounds, five assists and one steal in 31 minutes.
- Patton has now scored 10-or-more points in 10 of his last 11 games.
- Tre Gomillion grabbed a game-high tying eight rebounds, to go along with 10 points on 4-5 (.800) shooting from the floor, four assists and one block in 24 minutes of action.
- Deante Johnson recorded two blocks in Friday's #HLMBB victory, marking his 11th game of the season rejecting at least one shot.
The Vikings came out scorching on both ends of the floor, jumping out to a 23-2 lead midway through the first half thanks to five three-pointers, including two apiece from Craig Beaudion and Torrey Patton. Beaudion netted the first 10 points for Cleveland State and drained each of his first five shots.
Milwaukee staged a furious comeback, drawing to within a bucket at 33-31 at the half after manufacturing a 12-0 run in under three minutes.
The final 20 minutes of action were a tight-knit battle throughout, a stark contrast from the opening half. After the visitors grabbed their first lead early in the half at 36-33, Patton stepped up with five straight points, including his third three-point field goal of the night, restoring the Vikings' advantage.
Two minutes later, Yahel Hill, who racked up a career-high 11 points last Saturday against Wright State, nailed a triple to put the Vikings up by two. Following a pair of Panthers free throws, D'Moi Hodge stole the ball at midcourt to create his own fast break opportunity before slamming home a one-handed dunk with 12:30 remaining, handing Cleveland State a 42-40 lead that it would not relinquish.
With the Panthers clinging to hope of another comeback, Beaudion and Gomillion combined for 11 straight points for the Vikings, essentially putting the game away at 58-48 with only three minutes to go.
Beaudion poured in a season-high 25 points, including 15 in the first half. The senior guard went 8-for-10 from the field and notched a 4-for-5 clip from beyond the arc. Patton chipped in 13 points, six rebounds and five assists, marking his 10th double-digit scoring effort in his last 11 games.
The Vikings will look to complete the weekend sweep over the Panthers Saturday at 5 p.m. from the Wolstein Center.
UP NEXT:
The Vikings and Panthers will wrap up their two-game #HLMBB series on Saturday at 5 p.m. inside the friendly confines of the Wolstein Center. Saturday's game will air on ESPN3, as well as on 1420-WHK, 102.5 FM and www.whkradio.com.
