Spurred by Jamaal Harris' offensive outburst, Cleveland State raced out to an early lead and then held off a rally by Illinois-Chicago to capture a 76-70 win over the visiting Flames Saturday afternoon at Goodman Arena.
Harris hit a 3-pointer on the Vikings' first possession and they never trailed, leading 41-31 at the half. When the Flames (13-11, 4-6 Horizon League) pulled to 49-46 on Jon Schneiderman's 3-pointer with 11:31 left, Harris answered with a trey and the lead never dropped below five points again.
The senior guard finished with 23 points while Theo Dixon fired in 20, going 5-of-10 from the field and 9-for-10 from the line.
"I thought our players weathered through the rough spots today," said Head Coach Rollie Massimino. "This is the first close game we've won and these kids persevered."
Jermaine Robinson added 10 points and seven assists for Cleveland State (10-11, 4-6).
Jordan Kardos scored a career-high 27 points and Schneiderman added 16 for Illinois-Chicago. Kardos hit 11-of-14 free throws.
The Vikings hit 60 percent of their shots from the field in the first half (15-of-25) and finished at 54.3 percent (25-of-46). The Flames hit just 36 percent of their shots (22-of-62).
Although sophomore Pape Badiane pulled down a game-high nine rebounds and Andre' Williams grabbed eight for the Vikings, the Flames held a slim 37-35 edge on the boards.
