Milwaukee, WI-The Cleveland State men's basketball team fell to Milwaukee in its regular season finale Saturday night, 81-72. The Vikings finished the regular season at 19-12 overall and 14-6 in the Horizon League. Cleveland State enters next week's Barbasol Horizon League Tournament as the no. 3 seed. The Vikings will face a yet to be determined opponent in the quarterfinals on Thursday evening at the Wolstein Center.
Cleveland State started the game strong and led by five at the half. Milwaukee turned the tide in the second half to hand the Vikings their first loss in the last six outings.
Tristan Enaruna had another big game for the Vikings. Enaruna scored 24 points on 10-17 shooting from the field. He added 11 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season. This marked the 18th consecutive game that Enaruna has scored in double figures.
Tae Williams recorded a second consecutive double-double, after a big game on Thursday in the win over Green Bay. Williams scored 21 points and tallied 11 rebounds, finishing 8-15 from the field.
Yahel Hill also finished in double figures, scoring 11 points. Hill finshed three of nine from three-point range, the only Viking to connect on a three-point field goal try in the game.
Cleveland State finished at 37 percent from the field and just 15 percent from three for the game. The Vikings also struggled from the free throw line finishing 13-25.
Cleveland State started the game on an 8-0 run and led by five at the first media timeout. Milwaukee went on a run of its own to tie the game at eight, but the Vikings held the lead for the majority of the rest of the opening half.
Both teams found success defensively throughout the first half. Cleveland State led at the break, 36-31.
In the second half, Milwaukee surged back to within one within the first four minutes. The Panthers took the lead at the 16:13 mark and never looked back. The Milwaukee lead ballooned as high as 14 late in the half. The Vikings mounted a late comeback attempt, but it was too little too late.
Cleveland State will now prepare for the quarterfinals of the Barbasol Horizon League Tournament next week. The Vikings will host an opponent to be determined at 8 p.m. Thursday night.
