Feb. 6, 2010
Contact: Brian McCann
• Purchase Tickets
• Group Ticket Information
• 2009-10 Basketball Promotions
• CSU Hoops Luncheon Series
CHICAGO, Illinois - Cleveland State fought off foul trouble, poor shooting, illness and a nine-point second half deficit, rallying to defeat Loyola, 59-56, on Saturday afternoon in the Gentile Center. The win, CSU's fifth straight and eighth in 10 games, allowed the Vikings to move into second place in the Horizon League.
"This was a big win for us because it came on the road and we had to fight through a lot of adversity to get there," CSU head coach Gary Waters said. "But I have to give credit to our guys because through it all, they never gave up and they refused to quit. That is the sign of a champion."
The Vikings had to go deep into their bench to secure the win as Jeremy Montgomery missed 11 minutes in the first half with foul trouble, D'Aundray Brown did the same in the second half after picking up his fourth foul with 10:23 left. In addition, the usually steady Norris Cole struggled offensively and center Aaron Pogue played just six scoreless minutes before suffering difficulty breathing on the bench and was taken to a local hospital for treatment. Pogue was examined and released and accompanied the team back to Cleveland
Junior Jared Cunningham came off the bench to lead CSU with 15 points, 11 coming in the first half, while Trey Harmon added 14 points and six rebounds, Jeremy Montgomery had 12 and Cole 11.
Ben Averkamp and Terrance Hill led four Rambles in double figures with 12 points each with Walt Gibler adding 11 and Courtney Stanley 10.
"We had a lot to overcome this afternoon, but we did and it shows the character of this team," Waters added.
Waters pointed out the play of reserves Charlie Woods and Joe Latas, each of whom did not play in Thursday night's win over UIC. Woods grabbed a career-high three rebounds and played solid post defense in 12 minutes while Latas added two boards in seven minutes.
After leading for most of the first half, the Vikings found themselves trailing 49-40 with 9:08 to play as the Viking offense made just one field goal in the first 11 minutes of the second half.
Montgomery started the comeback, scoring a basket in the lane on one possession and burying a three-pointer on the next. Cole, who was just four-for-13 from the field, knocked down a trey from the top of the key to pull CSU to within 49-48 with 5:58 left.
Walt Gibler scored inside to end the 8-0 CSU run, but a free throw from Cole and a basket in transition by Harmon knotted the score at 51-1 with 3:54 left.
Cunningham, who was held scoreless for the first 16 minutes of the second half, knocked down to free throws with 3:21 left to give CSU a 53-51 lead.
A missed free throw by Courtney Stanley and a turnover by Terrance Hill gave CSU an opportunity to extend its lead and they did just that as Cole hit a short jumper to put CSU ahead, 55-51 with 1:54 left.
Loyola would not go quietly however as Gibler scored a three-point play in the lane with 1:26 left to close to within 55-54. The Ramblers would have a chance to take the lead following a CSU turnover, but a steal by Harmon led to a pair of Tim Kamczyc free throws with 28 second left that put CSU ahead, 57-54.
Marcus Thomas was fouled coming down the court and connected on two free throws to put the CSU lead back to one but the Vikings were able to inbounds against the full-court Rambler press with Brown being fouled with 6.3 seconds left. Brown, who had opened the CSU scoring with a first half trey, made both free throws to finish with five points.
Loyola had one last chance to tie, but a desperation trey by Geoff McCammon was off the mark at the buzzer.
"Our guys held their composure down the stretch and it paid dividends for them," Waters said.
It was not a strong offensive showing for the Vikings as CSU shot 383 from the field (18-47) and eight-for-21 from three-point (381), but the Vikings made just seven turnovers and shot .750 from the line (15-20), all of which came in the second half.
Loyola was 16-for-40 from the field for the game (.400) and five-for-14 from three-point (.357). The Ramblers enjoyed a 34-28 rebounding edge and shot .792 from the line (19-24).
Foul trouble was the nemesis of the Vikings in the first half as Jeremy Montgomery, D'Aundray Brown, Jared Cunningham and Tim Kamczyc each drew a pair of fouls in the first half, allowing the Ramblers to go 11-for-14 from the line. Loyola, was whistled for just four fouls resulting in no free throws by CSU.
CSU started the game cold from the field, missing its first seven shots to allow Loyola to take a 7-0 lead (16:23). When the Vikings did finally find the range, they did so in impressive fashion, making eight of their next nine shots, including a pair of treys by Cunningham and single three-balls from Brown and Montgomery, as CSU took an 18-13 lead with 11:55 left.
Loyola would battle back to tie the contest at 20-20 (9:41) before Harmon tallied five straight points to put CSU ahead, 25-20 (7:08). When Cunningham knocked down his third trey of the half, part of an 11-point performance for the Viking junior, CSU opened its largest lead, 30-24 with 1:19 left.
The Ramblers would score the final five points of the opening stanza as CSU led, 30-29, at the break.
The Vikings return home to start a stretch that will see them play five of their final seven regular season games at home when CSU hosts Valparaiso on Thursday, Feb. 11 beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the Wolstein Center.
