ROCHESTER, Michigan – The Cleveland State Vikings took down Oakland 80-78 on Saturday night at Athletics Center O'rena, finishing a two-game weekend sweep while holding onto first place in the Horizon League.
With the victory, the Vikings clinched their first-ever 14-win Horizon League campaign and notched their most wins in conference play since the 1992-93 squad posted a 15-1 mark in the Mid-Continent Conference.
QUICK HITS
- Saturday's Horizon League win marked the Vikings' 14th league win of the season - the most #HLMBB wins in program history.
- The 14 league victories are also the most wins in any league play since winning 15 games during the 1992-93 season in the Mid-Continent Conference.
- Cleveland State has now notched six Horizon League sweeps this season.
- The Vikings held advantages in points in the paint (50-46), second chance points (13-10) and fast break points (15-9).
- The Vikings, coming off of a 20-plus assist performance in Friday's win, dished out 18 dimes Saturday compared to the Golden Grizzlies' 14.
- Cleveland State won the battle of the boards (35-31), pulling down 15 offensive boards.
- The Green and White had four players score 10-or-more points: D'Moi Hodge (20), Tre Gomillion (13), Deante Johnson (12) and Torrey Patton (12).
- Johnson tallied 12 points on 6-9 (.667) shooting from the floor, four rebounds, three assists and a career-high three steals.
- Patton, who had a double-double in Friday's contest, recorded a near double-double on Saturday, finishing with 12 points, a game-high nine rebounds (four offensive), a team-leading five assists, two steals and one block in 35 minutes of play.
- Patton has scored in double figures in all but five games this season.
- Hodge led all scoring with 20 points on 8-15 (.533) shooting from the floor, three rebounds, two assists and one steal in 38 minutes.
- Algevon Eichelberger recorded his third multi-steal game, recording two thefts in 13 minutes.
THE GAME
Cleveland State's score-by-committee approach tends to feature a different player on a game-by-game basis. Against the Golden Grizzlies, D'Moi Hodge took the spotlight with a game-high 20 points, including 4-7 from three-point range in the opening half. Hodge set the tone early by scoring the Vikings' first eight points of the ballgame, including back-to-back triples.
The Vikings led for nearly the entirety of the first 20 minutes, but it was never by a comfortable margin. Cleveland State matched its biggest advantage of the half at 47-40 after Deante Johnson pinned an Oakland layup attempt against the glass before Yahel Hill grabbed the loose ball and found Tre Gomillion sprinting down court. Gomillion finished through contact and cashed in the ensuing free throw for a three-point play.
Oakland shot the ball at a 56.7 percent clip in the first half, but the Vikings capitalized on several extra opportunities created by an 8-2 discrepancy in offensive rebounding to take a 49-44 halftime lead.
With the Vikings clinging to a 78-76 lead with less than 90 seconds to play, a turnover off of a Cleveland State inbounds play nearly resulted in a tie game, but Gomillion drew a crucial offensive foul on an Oakland 2-on-1 fast break to regain possession.
The Golden Grizzlies had a chance to tie or take the lead trailing 80-78 with only 10 seconds to go; however, after the ball was knocked out of bounds by Cleveland State, Deante Johnson intercepted the inbounds pass to seal the win.
In addition to Hodge's efforts, three other Vikings scored in double figures. Torrey Patton narrowly missed out on his second consecutive double-double with a 12-point, nine-rebound showing, while Gomillion added 13 points. Johnson stuffed the stat sheet with 12 points on an efficient 6-of-9 from the field in addition to four boards, three assists, three steals and a block.
Cleveland State's league-best perimeter defense came through again, holding the Golden Grizzlies to a 6-for-20 mark (30.0) from behind the arc.
UP NEXT
The Vikings close out their regular season home slate next weekend with a two-game set against Detroit Mercy at the Wolstein Center. Friday night's contest will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.
