Cleveland, OH-The Cleveland State men's basketball team earned its first win in Horizon League play, defeating Detroit Mercy by a final score of 69-58 on Saturday afternoon at the Wolstein Center. The Vikings improve to 6-3 and 1-1 in league play. Detroit Mercy falls to 0-8 and 0-2.
Cleveland State never trailed in the game but were able to withstand several punches from the Titans, who were desperately searching for their first victory of the season. Cleveland State overcame a tough shooting day from the field by outshooting the Titans at the free throw line by a 24-6 margin. The Vikings finished 75 percent from the free throw line and forced 14 Detroit Mercy turnovers.
Tristan Enaruna recorded his second double-double of the season finishing with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Enaruna recorded five of his 11 rebounds on the offensive end and registered his 31st consecutive game with double figures in scoring.
Tae Williams finished just shy of a double-double, recording 11 points and nine boards. Williams added two assists and a steal in 35 minutes of action.
Dylan Arnett recorded a new career high with 11 points. Arnett was 2-4 from the field and a perfect 7-7 from the free throw line. Chase Robinson also registered a career high finishing with 10 points. Robinson finished 3-7 from the field and 4-5 from the charity stripe. He added two assists and four steals. He logged over 35 minutes of game action, by far his highest total of the season.
Cleveland State scored the first five points of the game, as Drew Lowder knocked down a three-pointer on the game's opening possession and Williams followed with a second-chance bucket to open up an early 5-0 lead for the Vikings.
The Titans quickly tied it up at 5-5 with a mini run of their own, but following two Arnett free throws on the ensuing possession, the Vikings held the lead the rest of the way. Both teams struggled from the field throughout the opening half, with the Viking lead growing as large as nine points in the latter stages. Cleveland State headed into the halftime break with a 30-22 lead.
Cleveland State widened the gap to double digits on a few separate occasions early in the second half, but each time the Titans were able to trim the deficit back to single digits. Cleveland State's lead was 12 points with 8:44 remaining. UDM mounted a late charge that would trim the lead down to one possession with just under three minutes remaining.
Cleveland State led by two, 58-56 with 2:55 remaining. A Robinson lay-in on the next possession stopped the Detroit Mercy run, and the Vikings outscored the Titans 11-2 the rest of the way to secure the victory.
Up next, Cleveland State jumps back out of conference play as the Vikings head to California for a Tuesday night matchup at St. Mary's. The Gaels are 3-5 to start the season and are coming off a 27-win campaign a year ago which resulted in a trip to the NCAA Tournament. The game is scheduled for a 10:00 p.m. EST tip-off at St. Mary's UCU Pavilion.
