Cleveland, OH-The Cleveland State men's basketball team defeated IUPUI 75-66 on Saturday evening to close the 2023-24 regular season on a high note. It was the final regular season home game for a group of six seniors: Tae Williams, Drew Lowder, TJ Moss, Jayson Woodrich, Tristan Enaruna and Paxton Payne.
The Vikings never trailed in the nine-point win and led by as many as 15 midway through the second half. Cleveland State closes the regular season with an 18-13 record and an 11-9 record in Horizon League play. The Vikings enter the 2024 Barbasol Horizon League Basketball Tournament as the no. 7 seed. Cleveland State begins the tournament with a re-match against IUPUI, the no. 10 seed, on Tuesday night at the Wolstein Center. The game tips off at 7:00 p.m. and tickets can be purchased HERE.
Tristan Enaruna led a group of four Vikings who finished in double figures. Enaruna finished with 20 points, the eleventh consecutive game he has scored 20 or more. He shot just 4-of-10 from the field but finished a perfect 11-for-11 at the free throw line. Cleveland State finished 21-of-24 from the line in the game, good for an 87.5 percent team total.
Tae Williams and Dylan Arnett finished with 14 points each. Williams finished 5-of-11 from the floor and added seven rebounds, three of which came on the offensive end. Arnett set a new career high with his point total, finishing 7-of-8 from the field. He added five boards and two assists.
Tevin Smith rounded out the quartet finishing with 12 points. Smith finished 4-of-5 from the field including hitting both of his attempts from three-point range.
Cleveland State led for over 38 of the game's 40 minutes. The Vikings quickly opened a double-digit lead on an Enaruna three at the 12:13 mark which made it 14-4. The lead stretched as high as 12 points late in the first half before a mini Jaguar run at the end of the half cut the margin to seven headed into the halftime break.
A Williams lay-in on the fast break gave Cleveland State its largest lead at 15 with nine minutes remaining in the game. IUPUI rallied late and trimmed the deficit as low as five with two and a half minutes left. The Jaguars would not draw any closer as the Vikings made their free throws down the stretch to seal the victory to close the regular season.
The tournament rematch between the two teams will be live streamed on ESPN+ with radio coverage on Fox Sports 1350 AM and the iHeartRadio App. The first 250 fans in the doors on Tuesday night will receive a free Cleveland State basketball t-shirt.
