PROVO, Utah – The Cleveland State men's basketball team opened the 2021-22 regular season Tuesday evening with a strong performance against a quality BYU team, coming up just short in a 69-59 decision against the Cougars.

Game Stats
· Torrey Patton led three Vikings in double-figures, finishing with 14 points on the game, while Broc Finstuen added 11 points and D'Moi Hodge finished with 10.
· Tre Gomillion and Deante Johnson paced the Vikings on the boards, as they both finished with seven rebounds, while Torrey Patton notched four.
· Craig Beaudion posted a team-high five assists.
· As a team, the Vikings recorded six steals and forced BYU into 14 turnovers, with Broc Finstuen recording four of those steals.
· Cleveland State tallied 14 points off of BYU turnovers along with 14 second chance points.

Game Notes
· Tuesday's 2021-22 season opener marked the third campaign under head coach Dennis Gates.
· Tuesday's game marked the first matchup between CSU and BYU in program history.
· Nathanael Jack, Anderson Mirambeaux, Deshon Parker, and Broc Finstuen all made their CSU debuts on Tuesday.

The Game
After a tightly contested first half, the Vikings trailed by just seven points at the intermission, with BYU holding a 34-27 edge after the first 20 minutes of play.

To start the second half, the Vikings posted five unanswered points to close the gap to just two points at 34-32 on a Deante Johnson jumper, with just over one minute gone in the frame. The two teams would then trade baskets over the next few plays, until BYU regained a four-point lead at the 40-36 mark with 15:32 left on the clock.

This four-point lead for the Cougars wouldn't last long though, as a Broc Finstuen three-pointer off of a Johnson offensive board closed the gap to just one point at 40-39.

Over the next few minutes BYU would once again gain a multi-point lead at 44-41, but a Jayson Woodrich three-pointer at the 12:28 mark tied the contest at 44-44. Woodrich's three-pointer came after a Yahel Hill offensive rebound, giving Cleveland State nine total second chance points on the game.

Shortly after, the Vikings were able to gain just their second lead of the contest on a D'Moi Hodge layup, as Johnson found Hodge with the open pass to put the score at 46-44 Vikings.

Cleveland State's lead wouldn't last long though as BYU rattled off six straight points to put the score at 50-46 BYU, before a Torrey Patton three-pointer stopped the scoring run and put the score at 50-49 BYU with 9:29 left to play.

BYU was able to hold the advantage over the next few minutes then, until the Vikings worked their way back into the game with a pair of Hodge free throws and a Finstuen layup, putting the score at 58-56 with just over four minutes left in the half.

The Cougars responded with an 8-2 run, extending their lead to 66-58 with just 30 seconds left to play, and eventually closed out the game by scoring three of the final four points, earning the 69-59 victory.

Up Next
Cleveland State will host Ohio in its 2021-22 home opener, facing the Bobcats at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 13 inside the Wolstein Center.