Cleveland, OH-Thanks to some late game heroics, the Cleveland State Men's Basketball team emerged victorious over Robert Morris in a thriller at the Wolstein Center Friday night, 57-55. The Vikings led for the majority of the game and held off a furious comeback attempt from RMU.
Deante Johnson's putback layup with 2.8 seconds left in regulation broke a 55-all tie and sealed the victory for Cleveland State. The Vikings improved to 15-11 overall, and 10-5 in the Horizon League. Robert Morris fell to 11-15 and 6-9 in league play with the loss.
Four of the five Viking starters finished in double figures. Johnson had 10 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. He finished four of five from the floor and added two assists and two steals. Deshon Parker led the way in scoring with 12 points to go along with six rebounds.
Drew Lowder and Tristan Enaruna finished with 11 points each. Lowder tallied two of the four three-pointers the Vikings made in the game and finished in double figures for the sixth time in seven games. Enaruna had two blocked shots and six rebounds and continued his streak of 13 consecutive games in double figures.
Cleveland State shot just 34-percent from the field and 33-percent from three but held RMU to 39-percent and just 4-19 from beyond the arc.
CSU started fast scoring 17 of the game's first 20 points to open up a 14-point advantage early. The lead grew as high as 15 in the first half on an Enaruna three-pointer with 6:59 to play in the half. Cleveland State led 27-12 at that point.
The Colonials slowly chipped away, outscoring the Vikings 17-3 the rest of the first half to cut the CSU lead to one, 30-29 at the halftime break.
Cleveland State responded to start the second half, scoring the first seven points to open up a 37-29 lead early. The Vikings stretched the lead to as high as 12 with 13:26 to play, as Parker poured in a fast break layup to make it 44-32 CSU.
RMU again had an answer, going on a 15-4 run over the next seven minutes to cut the Viking lead back to one yet again.
Cleveland State held on to the lead until the 1:08 mark. RMU's Jackson Last broke a 53-all tie with a jumper in the paint to give the Colonials the lead for the first time in the game.
The Vikings responded on the ensuing possession as Lowder hit a short jumper to tie it back up at 55 with 46 seconds remaining. Enaruna drew a critical offensive foul on RMU's Enoch Cheeks on the next possession, turning the ball back over to the Vikings and setting the stage for the final sequence.
Cleveland State called timeout with six seconds left, and off the inbounds Lowder drove left and missed a driving layup attempt. Enaruna grabbed an offensive rebound but his putback attempt missed, however Johnson was there for another attempt and the third time was the charm for CSU. Johnson put it off the glass and sent the Wolstein Center into a frenzy with just 2.8 seconds remaining.
RMU's inbounds pass at the buzzer was knocked away, and the Vikings survived to earn a tenth victory in the Horizon League.
Cleveland State continues the home weekend hosting Youngstown State on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Fans can take advantage of football-themed pricing with $2, $3, and $7 tickets available in various seating areas for Sunday's game.
