CLEVELAND –The Cleveland State men's basketball program got 31 points from D'Moi Hodge and an additional 24 from Torrey Patton, but in the end UIC was able to come into the Wolstein Center and escape with a buzzer-beating 76-75 victory over the Vikings on Thursday evening.
The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for CSU, who still remains in first place in the Horizon League by half a game.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Cleveland State – 75, UIC – 76
LOCATION: Wolstein Center – Cleveland, Ohio
RECORDS: Cleveland State 16-6 (12-3 Horizon), UIC 9-13 (5-8 Horizon)
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Hodge finished with a game-high 31 points to lead the Vikings attack. He went 11-of-22 from the field (.500) and hit 7 of his 12 attempts from beyond the arc (.583) to go with six rebounds, two steals and an assist. The Tortola, British Virgin Islands native has now recorded eight 20-plus point games on the year and has notched double-digit points in 19 of 22 contests played.
- Patton helped round out the scoring as he chipped in 24 points on 9-of-18 shooting (.500). He also added five boards, an assist and a steal.
- Yahel Hill was a force off the bench as he dropped 13 points in just under 18 minutes of action. The Cleveland native went 5-of-8 from the field and 3-of-4 from three. Hill has now reached double-digit scoring in three straight games and nine times overall on the season.
- The rest of the Vikings combined for just seven points in the defeat.
- Even with the loss, CSU remains in control of first-place in the Horizon by a half game.
- UIC held the lead for just 19 seconds in the contest, as CSU played with the advantage for over 37 minutes.
- The game featured three lead changes and three ties overall.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- CSU started the game on a 18-5 run over the first five minutes of the contest.
- UIC answered with a 10-3 run of its own to close the gap at 21-15 halfway through the opening half.
- The Vikes closed the first with a 21-12 edge to take a 44-33 into the lockerroom.
- Cleveland State pushed the lead up to 54-42 with 13:09 remaining in the conference clash.
- That is when the Flames started to battle back, and the group tied the game at 70 with just 2:39 remaining, on a run of 28-16.
- The game then went back and forth as CSU took a two-point lead that was answered just 40 seconds later.
- UIC would take its first lead of the game off a layup with 1:07 left, but the Vikings knotted things up at 74 with 50 seconds on the clock.
- CSU was able to move ahead by one with just 24 seconds left, but on the ensuing possession UIC hit the buzzer-beating shot with just 1.3 seconds on the clock.
- A last effort by the Vikes went wide as the Flames escaped with the 76-75 victory.
NEXT UP
The Vikings conclude their 2021-22 regular season home campaign as IUPUI comes to the Land for another Horizon showdown on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 3 PM at the Wolstein Center. The contest will feature a celebration of CSU's Senior Day immediately following the conclusion of the game. Cleveland State Athletics will also be celebrating John McLendon Day to honor the former CSU head coach who was hired in 1966 and became the first African-American head coach at a predominately white institution.
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