CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State men's basketball team opened play in the Cerebro Sports Lake Erie Challenge on Saturday, picking up an 80-70 victory over Canisius. With the win, the Vikings are now 2-2 overall this season.

Game Stats
· The Viking offense was led by the trio of D'Moi Hodge, Chris Greene and Deante Johnson, with Hodge scoring 27 points, Greene posting 15 and Johnson finishing with 10.
· Torrey Patton grabbed a team-high eight rebounds on the game, while Deante Johnson added six.
· Cleveland State recorded 21 assists on 31 made field goals, including seven from Deshon Parker and six from Torrey Patton.
· The Vikings tallied seven total steals on the game, including four from D'Moi Hodge.
· The Viking defense forced Canisius into 25 turnovers, turning these miscues into 19 points.

Game Notes
· D'Moi Hodge tallied the first 20-point game of the season for the Vikings, with 17 of his 27 points coming during the first half.
· Chris Greene's 15 points marked a career-high.
· Cleveland State's 21 assists marked a season-high for the Vikings.
· Cleveland State is now 4-1 against Canisius all-time.
· Saturday's game was the third game of a seven-game homestand for Cleveland State.

The Game
Cleveland State got out to a quick start over the first 3:36 of the contest, as the Vikings opened the game with a 14-0 run, including 10 points from D'Moi Hodge. A strong Viking defense held Canisius off the board over the opening minutes of the game, as the Griffins' first basket of the contest came at the 16:13 mark, putting the score at 14-3 Vikings.

The Vikings were able to hold their sizeable lead over the next five minutes then, as a quartet of three-pointers from Hodge, Chris Greene and Yahel Hill gave the Vikings a 34-17 advantage with just over nine minutes left on the clock.

Although Canisius was able to trim the lead to 10 points late in the first half, the Vikings were able to hold their double-digit lead for the rest of the frame, going into the halftime break with a 45-34 advantage.

To start the second half, Canisius was able to post four of the first six points, closing the gap to single digits for the first time since midway through the first half at 47-38. Back-to-back layups from Deante Johnson and Hodge on the next CSU possessions extended Cleveland State's lead once again though, as the Vikings gained a 51-38 lead at the 16:23 mark.

The two teams traded baskets over the next 10 minutes then, until a Canisius three-pointer at the 5:21 mark closed the gap to just nine points at 66-57. The Vikings responded with a Hodge layup on the ensuing possession, but back-to-back baskets from the Griffins closed the gap to six points at 68-62 with just over four minutes left to play.

A pair of layups from Torrey Patton on the next two possessions regained a double-digit lead for the Vikings at 72-62, before the two teams would trade baskets throughout the rest of the contest, with four straight free throws from Patton and Johnson closed out the 80-70 victory for the Vikings.

Up Next
Cleveland State will close out the Cerebro Sports Lake Erie Challenge on Monday, November 22, hosting Coppin State at 7:00 p.m.