Indianapolis, IN-The Cleveland State men's basketball team concluded its run in the Barbasol Horizon League Tournament on Tuesday night. The Vikings came up just short in a hard-fought battle with Northern Kentucky, falling 63-61 in the championship game. The Vikings finish with a 21-13 overall record and will await word on potential postseason opportunities. 

Much like the two regular season meetings between the two teams, the game was back-and-forth the entire way. All three of the matchups between the two teams were decided by two points or less. The game featured 14 lead changes and 12 ties, and neither team held a lead bigger than seven points the entire night. 

Tristan Enaruna led the way for Cleveland State, finishing with 17 points on 50 percent shooting from the field. Deshon Parker was the other Viking in double figures finishing with 14 points. Parker finished 6-10 from the floor and connected on multiple three-point attempts. The 14 points were enough for Parker to cross the 1,000 point mark in his college career. 

The first half was a seesaw battle, with neither team holding a lead bigger than four points. NKU held a 33-30 lead going into the halftime locker room. 

The second half started in identical fashion until NKU created a little bit of separation with a 7-1 run that turned a one-point lead into a seven-point cushion with a little over ten minutes to play in the game. That forced a Cleveland State timeout as the Vikings looked to swing the momentum back in their favor. 

Cleveland State cut the deficit to two with a little under five minutes remaining, but the Vikings were unable to draw even the rest of the way. Drew Lowder hit a three-pointer with under a second to go to draw within two, but NKU inbounded the ball and was able to salt away the final two tenths of a second to secure the victory. 

The Vikings finish with a 21-13 overall record and will await word on postseason opportunities. Stay tuned to csuvikings.com for updates in the coming days.