Cleveland, OH-The Cleveland State men's basketball team got off to a strong start Wednesday night at the Wolstein Center but couldn't overcome a poor shooting performance in the second half as Milwaukee came back to win 71-68 at the Wolstein Center.
The Vikings built a double-digit lead late in the first half. The game featured 10 lead changes and four ties. Milwaukee slowly chipped away in the second half before ultimately taking control in the final minutes. Cleveland State had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds but a half-court shot from Drew Lowder was off the mark.
Tristan Enaruna registered his sixth consecutive game with 20 or more points, hitting 20 on the number. Enaruna was 7-of-19 from the field and five of six from the free throw line. He finished with eight rebounds and two assists.
Tae Williams was the other Viking in double figures finishing with 12 points. Williams shot 50 percent from the floor and added seven boards, five of which came on the offensive end of the floor.
Cleveland State scored five of the game's first seven points to take an early lead and widened the gap as the first half went on. A Jalin Rice layup at the 4:02 mark made it 31-20 and gave Cleveland State a double-digit lead for the first time.
The margin was six at halftime, with the Vikings in front 37-31.
Milwaukee fought back to tie the score with a little over 12 minutes left to play. The Panthers jumped ahead at the 10:38 mark, but the two teams stayed within one possession for the majority of the remainder of the game.
The Panthers' largest lead came with just 1:55 to play when two free throws stretched the margin to six at 67-61. The Vikings cut the deficit back to one possession several times in the final minutes but could not get the elusive basket to draw even the rest of the way.
Cleveland State shot just 34 percent to Milwaukee's 52 percent in the second half. The Vikings finished just 2-of-12 from three-point range in the final 20 minutes.
Cleveland State returns to the Wolstein Center court on Saturday for a matchup against Youngstown State. The game is part of a doubleheader with the women's basketball team who will take on Milwaukee at noon, with the men's game starting at 3:00 p.m. Both games are set to air on Bally Sports Great Lakes as well as ESPN+.
