ROCHESTER, Michigan – An efficient first half combined with Torrey Patton's team-leading third double-double of the season led Cleveland State to an 80-72 victory over Oakland on Friday night at Athletics Center O'rena.
The win snapped a five-game losing streak against the Golden Grizzlies and gave the Vikings (13-2) 13 wins in the Horizon League for the first since the 2010-11 campaign. It also marked Cleveland State's sixth victory over its last seven road games.
QUICK HITS
- Friday's Horizon League win marks the team's 13th win in #HLMBB play this season, tying the Vikings with the 2010-11 squad for most league wins in program history (13-5).
- Cleveland State scored 80 points in Friday night's win on a season-high 56.6% (30-54) shooting from the field.
- The Vikings have now shot over 50.0% in back-to-back games for the second time this season (Dec. 20 at PFW-54.9%, Dec. 26 vs. YSU-55.4%).
- Cleveland State's 80-point outing marked the team's fifth game of 80-or-more this season.
- The Vikings dished out a season-high 22 assists on 30 made baskets.
- Cleveland State's 22 assists in Friday night's win are the most assists in a single game since dishing out 25 against Detroit Mercy on Jan. 8, 2014.
- Cleveland State held advantages in bench points (27-8), fast break points (23-7), points in the paint (38-30) and points off turnovers (20-15).
- The Vikings had three players score in double figures: Torrey Patton (21), Craig Beaudion (14), Jayson Woodrich (12).
- Patton recorded his team-leading third double-double of the season in Friday's #HLMBB win, finishing with a season-high 21 points on 9-13 (.692) shooting from the floor, in addition to a team-high 10 rebounds (four offensive), four assists and one steal in 33 minutes of play.
- The senior has scored 10-or-more points in all but five games this season.
- Beaudion continued his double-digit scoring streak, notching 14 points, a season-high tying six assists, two rebounds and one steal in 37 minutes.
- The Chicago, Illinois, native has scored 10-plus in five straight games averaging 16.2 over that span.
- Beaudion has recorded a steal in all but five games this season.
- Freshman Jayson Woodrich led all bench scoring with a career-high 12 points on a career-best 4-7 clip (.571) shooting from the field and one steal in 11 minutes as a reserve.
- D'Moi Hodge swiped two steals in Friday's victory, marking the eighth game this season the junior transfer has recorded at least two thefts.
THE GAME
As has frequently been the case over the last few weeks, the Vikings came out firing on all cylinders, putting together an early 12-1 run capped off by back-to-back buckets by Patton for a 16-6 advantage only five minutes into the contest.
Cleveland State connected on 10 of its first 12 attempts from the field, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. The Vikings' team-first approach was on full display in the early goings as they logged assists on nine of their first 10 baskets.
Late in the opening half, Jayson Woodrich came alive with multiple momentum-swinging threes. Woodrich restored Cleveland State's double-digit edge at 39-29 on his second three-pointer of the night with 3:14 remaining.
With only 41 seconds to play, Woodrich nailed his fourth triple of the half out of a timeout, putting the Vikings up 46-33 at the break. The Northeast Ohio native's impressive display put the finishing touch on a dominant half in which Cleveland State shot 63 percent (17-27) from the field while converting half of its 16 three-point attempts.
Meanwhile, the Vikings stymied Oakland on the defensive end, holding the Golden Grizzlies to under 40 percent shooting for the half while forcing nine turnovers.
Midway through the second frame, Gomillion blocked a shot in the paint to create a fast break opportunity. D'Moi Hodge found Craig Beaudion for an open layup for the Vikings' largest lead of the night at 69-51.
UP NEXT
The Vikings and Golden Grizzlies will finish out the weekend series Saturday night. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN3, in addition to 1420-WHK, 102.5 FM and www.whkradio.com.
#GoVikes
