CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State men's basketball team picked up its third straight win Sunday afternoon, earning a 75-68 victory over Robert Morris. With the win, the Vikings are now 13-4 overall this year and 9-1 in Horizon League action.
Game Stats
· The Cleveland State offense was led by the trio of D'Moi Hodge, Torrey Patton and Tre Gomillion, as Hodge finished with 22 points, Patton posted 21 and Gomillion recorded 19.
· Deante Johnson and Torrey Patton finished with a team-high five rebounds each.
· The Vikings shot 45-percent from the floor, including a .500 clip during the second half.
·The Cleveland State defense recorded nine steals on the game, including three from Torrey Patton.
· Deante Johnson finished the game with four blocked shots.
Game Notes
· With his three-pointer at the 11:39 mark of the first half Torrey Patton eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his Division I career, finishing the game with 1,017 Division I points, including 910 at Cleveland State.
· This marked the first time this season that two Vikings finished with 20+ points (D'Moi Hodge-22 & Torrey Patton-21).
· Sunday's game marked the 10th time this season that the Vikings have shot 45-percent or better from the floor.
· With just nine turnovers on the day, this marked the third time this season that the Vikings finished with single-digit turnovers.
· With Sunday's victory, the Vikings picked up the season sweep over RMU.
· Sunday's win maintained Cleveland State's hold on first place in the Horizon League standings.
· Cleveland State now stands at 11-2 when playing at home this season.
The Game
After 20 minutes of action, Robert Morris held a slight 35-30 edge, but the Vikings were able to slowly work their way back into the contest over the opening minutes of the second half, with a Torrey Patton layup and a D'Moi Hodge three-pointer closing the gap to 43-40 with 16:00 left on the clock.
The two teams then traded baskets over the next few possessions, until five straight points from the Vikings brought CSU within one point at 51-50 on a Tre Gomillion dunk at the 10:35 mark.
Cleveland State then tied the contest at 55-55 with another Hodge three-pointer, but RMU responded with a three-pointer on their next possession, to regain a 58-55 advantage with 8:37 left in regulation.
A pair of Gomillion free throws brought the Vikings back within one point then, before the Viking defense was able to force an RMU shot clock violation, leading to a Patton layup on CSU's next possession that gave Cleveland State a 59-58 advantage – their first lead of the second half.
The Vikings then added to their lead on the ensuing possession, as a Broc Finstuen steal and layup on the RMU inbounds put the score at 61-58 CSU with just over seven minutes left to play.
Although the Colonials were able to convert a pair of free throws on their next trip down the floor, back-to-back baskets from Finstuen and Gomillion gave the Vikings a five-point lead at 65-60.
The Vikings were then able to control play over the final five minutes of the contest, scoring their final 10 points on free throws to come away with the 75-68 victory.
Up Next
Cleveland State will hit the road for two games next weekend, traveling to Wright State on Friday, January 28 and Northern Kentucky on Sunday, January 30.
