CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State Vikings held off Green Bay to finish a two-game weekend sweep with a 73-65 win on Saturday night at the Wolstein Center. With the win, the Vikings (12-2) maintain their edge over Wright State (11-3) for first place in the Horizon League standings.
QUICK HITS:
- Cleveland State's 12th Horizon League win ties the 2013-14 and 2011-12 teams for the most league wins since the 2010-11 campaign (13-5). The 13 wins that season are the most #HLMBB wins in program history.
- The Vikings have now won seven games at the friendly confines of the Wolstein Center this season, having lost only one contest (7-1).
- With Saturday's win, the Vikings maintain sole posession of first place in the Horizon League standings.
- Cleveland State forced 16 Green Bay turnovers, resulting in 23 points.
- The Vikings held advantages in points in the paint (32-28), fast break points (13-6), bench points (22-16) and second chance points (7-4).
- Three Vikes scored 10-plus points in Saturday's victory: Craig Beaudion (16), Tre Gomillion (16) and Algevon Eichelberger (16).
- Cleveland State improves to 7-1 this season when three Vikings score in double figures.
- Eichelberger played in a season-high 30 minutes, pouring in a season-best 16 points on a 6-10 (.600) clip from the floor, a game-high tying five rebounds and three assists as a reserve.
- Tre Gomillion contributed 16 points on 6-8 (.750) shooting from the field, a game-high tying five rebounds, a team-high three assists and a career-high four steals in 35 minutes of action.
- Gomillion's previous career-high was three thefts, set multiple times.
- Over his last four outings, the junior guard is averaging 12.8 points on a 55.9% mark from the field (19-34) .
- Craig Beaudion posted his second straight 16-point scoring effort, to go along with three assists and two steals in 37 minutes of action.
- The senior from Chicago, Illinois, has scored 10-or-more in four straight games, averaging 16.8 points on 64.5% shooting from the field over that span (20-31).
PRESS CONFERENCE
THE GAME:
Cleveland State took its first lead at 13-11 thanks to back-to-back D'Moi Hodge triples. The Vikings cruised through the remainder of the first half on the back of an 18-7 run over the final 8:25, resulting in a 41-23 halftime lead.
The Vikings added to their highlight reel with consecutive lobs 10 minutes into the contest. Craig Beaudion found Tre Gomillion on a backdoor cut for an emphatic slam before Gomillion fed Deante Johnson for another dunk only 22 seconds later.
Cleveland State moved the ball exceptionally well in the opening 20, notching assists on 11 of 15 field goals while shooting 60.0% (15-25) from the field, including 5-10 from three-point range.
The Phoenix came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders, scoring 13 of the first 16 points. Cleveland State looked to Algevon Eichelberger in the paint and the big man answered the call, notching eight of Cleveland State's first 12 second-half points.
After the Vikings' 18-point lead dwindled to three with 5:07 to go, Beaudion and Gomillion were responsible for a quick 8-0 spurt. With Cleveland State on top by seven with 3:12 on the clock, Beaudion tallied seven consecutive points and 11 of Cleveland State's final 13 thanks to a dagger three-pointer and some clutch free throw shooting.
Beaudion and Gomillion each scored 16 points and combined for six steals and an 11-for-14 clip from the charity stripe. Eichelberger provided a spark off the bench with 16 points of his own to go with five boards and three assists.
The Vikings finished the game shooting 42.9 percent (6-for-14) from beyond the arc and overcame another strong performance from Amari Davis, who poured in 29 points.
UP NEXT:
The Vikings will hit the road for a pair of #HLMBB games against Oakland on Friday, Feb. 5 and Saturday, Feb. 6. Friday's contest will tip at 7 p.m., as Sunday will tipoff at 5 p.m. Both games will be streamed on an ESPN streaming platform, in addition to 1420-WHK, 102.5 FM and www.whkradio.com.
