Feb. 12, 2005
Final Stats | Quotes | Notes
CLEVELAND - Mama said there would be days like this. Cleveland State entered Saturday's game against UIC winners of five of their last six and 7-2 at home on the year. However, none of that mattered as the Flames prevailed, 73-66, in the Wolstein Center, denying the Vikings a chance to move into sole possession of third place in the Horizon League.
 The CSU Hall of Fame Class of 2005 was introduced prior to the game.  |
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The Flames did most of their damage inside, getting into the lane almost at will en route to out-scoring the Vikings 40-20 in the paint as they topped CSU for the sixth straight time.
Raheem Moss led the CSU effort with 16 points, knocking down four three-pointers. Omari Westley added 10 points and eight rebounds, fouling out with 5:11 left to play, while Patrick Tatham pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds.
Cedrick Banks paced the Flames with a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds, playing all 40 minutes. Justin Bowen and Elliott Poole added 15 and 12 points, respectively, with each corralling eight rebounds.
"Tonight we didn't come out with the physical or mental toughness needed in a championship-level game like this," CSU head coach Mike Garland said. "This was playoff-level intensity and we had some lapses defensively. Our kids have to learn from this.
"Keep in mind, this was our first time in this situation -- playing for all the marbles. There's still a lot of basketball to be played though."
After trading baskets for the first seven minutes of the game, UIC opened up a 17-11 cushion on a 7-0 burst, as Cedric Banks scored five of his 13 first half points.
Cleveland State battled back with three-pointers from Moss and Mike Redell to trim the deficit to 23-21 at the 8:16 mark. However, the Flames immediately responded with a 10-2 run over the next three minutes to open up a 10-point bulge and eventually carried a 43-32 advantage into the break.
UIC shot 51.4 percent (19-37) in the first half, getting into the lane for 26 points, many of them easy lay-ups. The Vikings were just 12-for-31 (38.7 percent), including a 2-for-10 effort from three-point.
The Flames did not hit their first basket of the second half until a Banks driving lay-in at the 14:06 mark. However, CSU could muster just a Moss three-pointer and a lay-up by Westley during that span.
The lead fluctuated in between six and 13 points for much of the rest of the game as Cleveland State could never mount a prolonged charge.
The Vikings did muster one last rally in the final minute, getting an old-fashioned play three-point play from Walt Chavis and triple from Redell to cut the lead to 70-66 with 26 seconds remaining. However, UIC went 5-for-6 from the line to hold on for the win.
With the loss, Cleveland State falls to 9-12 overall and 6-7 in the league. The Flames improve to 12-10 overall and 7-5 in the league with the victory.
The Vikings hit the road next week for a pair of games, traveling to Detroit on Wednesday (Feb. 16) before heading to Central Michigan for a Bracket Buster game on Feb. 19.
