Cleveland, OH-Survive and Advance. That is the motto for many college basketball teams as the calendar hits March, and the Cleveland State men's basketball team did every bit of that in earning a 75-70 overtime victory over Robert Morris in the Barbasol Horizon League Men's Basketball Tournament. The win is no. 20 of the season for the Vikings, and advances CSU to the semifinals where the no. 3 seed Vikings will meet second seed Milwaukee on Monday at 9:30 p.m. in Indianapolis(ESPN2).
The Vikings trailed by four at halftime, and by as many as 12 in the second half, before storming back to tie the game at 61 and force the extra session. The crowd of 2,515 at the Wolstein Center helped to will the Vikings on to victory in OT, as CSU took control and finished strong down the stretch to seal the win.
Tristan Enaruna had another big night, finishing with 23 points on 10-17 from the field. Enaruna willed the Vikings back in the second half, helping to jump start the comeback effort. He finished with seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and three blocked shots.
Deante Johnson added 15 points, finishing 6-11 from the field and 3-4 from the free throw line. Johnson played 42 of a possible 45 minutes, and the three-time Horizon League All-Defensive team member was a huge presence inside, helping to slow the RMU attack.
Drew Lowder finished with 11 points, nine of which came in the second half and overtime. Lowder finished 6-7 from the free throw line, including sinking the game-tying free throws with seven seconds left in regulation to force overtime.
Cleveland State scored the first two baskets of the game to take an early lead, but after RMU drew back to even at 6-6, the Colonials took the lead and held it for the duration of the first half. Cleveland State rallied back to a 17-all tie at the 9:05 mark, but RMU had an answer and kept the lead into the halftime locker room. It was 32-28 at the break.
In the second half, RMU expanded the lead to double digits on multiple occasions. It was 10 points with 8:11 to go in the game when the Vikings started to chip away. Consecutive buckets from Yahel Hill, Enaruna and Johnson cut the deficit to six with just over six minutes to play.
The two teams went back-and-forth, and with 1:48 to go the Colonials had a seven-point lead following two made free throws. From there the Vikings would finish regulation on a 7-0 run to tie the score.
Lowder hit a critical three-pointer with 1:36 to go which cut the deficit to four. Following a defensive stop and a CSU timeout, Enaruna followed with a driving layup that cut it to two with 51 seconds left. RMU turned it over on the ensuing possession, giving Cleveland State the ball with 26 seconds remaining.
Lowder drove in and drew a shooting foul with seven seconds remaining. Following an RMU timeout, he calmly nailed both free throws to tie the game at 61. The Vikings forced another RMU turnover on the final play of regulation, and Deshon Parker attempted to throw up a last second heave. Officials called a foul on the play, but after review ruled the foul came after the clock had run out and the two teams headed to overtime.
In the extra session, Enaruna scored the first basket and the Vikings never trailed the rest of the way. CSU took its largest lead of the game of seven points with just seven seconds remaining in overtime.
Cleveland State advances to the semifinals of the Horizon League Tournament with the victory. The Vikings will take on Milwaukee on Monday night at 9:30 p.m. The winner of Monday's semifinal advances to Tuesday night's championship game to play for an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
