Cleveland, OH-The Cleveland State men's basketball team earned its fourth consecutive trip to the Horizon League Tournament Semifinals with a win over Youngstown State Thursday night 82-70.
The Vikings did so without the services of two-time First Team All-League performer Tristan Enaruna who sat out due to injury. Cleveland State silenced a crowd of over 3,000 at YSU's Beeghly Center thanks to a balanced attack that featured four players in double figures.
Chase Robinson had a career night, finishing with 20 points, four rebounds and four assists. Robinson played 32 minutes off the bench and finished 5-of-7 from the field and a perfect 4-of-4 from three-point range. He also connected on all six of his free throw attempts.
Drew Lowder tallied 17 points, Tevin Smith finished with 15 and Tae Williams added 14. Overall, every player who registered double-digit minutes cracked the score sheet. Dylan Arnett finished with six points while tying his career best with 12 rebounds.
Cleveland State shot 48 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range for the game. The Vikings held Youngstown State, normally a solid shooting team from long range, to just 5-of-31 from three for 16 percent.
The host Penguins jumped out to an early advantage, jumping out to a 15-11 lead in the game's opening five minutes. The four-point lead turned out to be the largest of the game for YSU.
Cleveland State quickly evened the score and surged ahead just past the midway point of the first half. The Vikings mounted a 10-0 run over three and a half minutes to turn a two-point deficit into an eight-point advantage with 6:30 to play in the opening half. Robinson started the rally with one of his four triples and Jayson Woodrich capped the run with a second-chance layup.
Another Robinson three stretched the Cleveland State lead to double digits with 2:16 remaining in the opening half. Following a late YSU surge, the Vikings carried a 44-38 lead into the halftime break.
The second half was a seesaw battle, with both teams trading mini runs throughout. Youngstown State trimmed the deficit to five points several times and within four with four minutes remaining, but each time Cleveland State had an answer to keep the Penguins from closing within one possession.
Cleveland State extended its lead late thanks to several free throws down the stretch. Robinson sank all six of his attempts from the charity stripe over the final 1:38 of action and Smith drilled two in a row in the closing seconds to finish off the final margin.
With the victory Cleveland State advances to the Semifinals of the 2024 Barbasol Horizon League Tournament to take on top seed Oakland on Monday, March 11. A win on Monday would advance CSU to the Championship Game on Tuesday against either Northern Kentucky or Milwaukee.
