Nov. 17, 2007
Contact: Brian McCann
DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. - The term "Classic" is often misused in describing a basketball tournament. For Cleveland State fans, the Vikings second round game in the Glenn Wilkes Classic proved to be just that as CSU fought, battled and clawed for 45 minutes before emerging with a controversial 69-66 overtime win over Florida State on Saturday night at the Ocean Center.
Cedric Jackson scored a career-high 27 points and J'Nathan Bullock added 19 as Cleveland State emerged from a game that featured 10 ties and nine lead changes with only its third win ever (in 11 games) over an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent.
Uche Echefu led a balanced Seminole lineup with 13 points and 10 rebounds while Toney Douglas added 13 points with Isaiah Swann and Jason Rich adding 11 and 10 points, respectively.
"I thought going into the game that we had a chance to win because we play defense," CSU head coach Gary Waters said. "And when you play defense, anything can happen.
"I'm proud of my guys tonight. It has been a rough 30 hours since we lost to Georgia Southern but we put that game out of our heads and went to work on getting better. Tonight's game shows what we are capable of doing when we play together.
The Vikings (2-1) had a chance to win the game in regulation but Jackson couldn't get a shot off after penetrating into the lane with three seconds left. Florida State started the overtime session out right as Rich scored the Seminoles' first four points to give FSU a 64-62 lead with 4:06 left.
Cleveland State took the lead for good when Breyohn Watson connected on a three-pointer from deep in the right corner with 2:26 left, giving CSU a 65-64 lead.
The Vikings extended the lead to 67-64 when Watson fed Bullock for a layup inside with 1:45 left.
Two free throws by Douglas pulled the Seminoles to within 67-66 and FSU had two opportunities to take the lead but strong Viking defense forced Swann and Toney into committing turnovers and Jackson made a pair of free throws to push the lead back to 69-66 with 0.7 left.
The game ended with some drama as after several timeouts, FSU inbounded from underneath the CSU basket, throwing a long pass ahead that Bullock got a hand on in the lane and deflected it out of bounds. The clock failed to start on the touch and after conferring, the officials gave FSU the ball out of bounds underneath its own basket with 0.4 left.
The ensuing inbounds went to Swann out front and he promptly nailed a three-pointer, but referee Rick Crawford waved off the basket immediately.
"I tell you what, if they had had another tenth of a second or so, then Florida State would have forced another overtime period because he (Swann) got that shot off quickly," Waters said.
The fast finish was the direct opposite to how the game started as Florida State made just two of its first 18 field goal attempts as CSU jumped out to an 18-4 lead with 7:58 left.
The Seminoles warmed up however, making five of its final nine shots in the half to close to within 29-25 at the break.
Florida State stayed in the game because of its decisive edge at the foul line. The Seminoles made 29 of their 31 free throws (.935) while the Vikings were just 11-for-18 (.611).
After leading for most of the first 25 minutes, the Vikings finally relinquished the lead at the 13:03 mark when Ryan Reid tipped in a missed Rich shot, giving FSU a 37-35 lead.
Neither team led by more than four points the rest of the way as each team patiently ran their half court offense. CSU shot .517 from the field in the second half (15-29) while FSU made 10 of its 21 shots (.476). Neither team shot well from behind the arc as the Vikings made just two of 14 shots (.143) while FSU connected on just one of its 14 trey attempts (.071).
Florida State took a 60-58 lead with 1:15 left on two free throws by Swann. CSU countered with a jumper by Jackson in the foul line to even the score at 60-60 with 47 seconds left.
Swann missed a three-pointer with 28 seconds left, giving the final possession of regulation to CSU which ended with Jackson failing to get a shot off in the lane.
Jackson turned in another brilliant performance for the Vikings, setting his career scoring high for the fourth straight game. He was nine-for-14 from the field and eight-for-12 from the line, adding a team-high eight rebounds, four assists and four steals, playing a team-high 43 minutes.
Bullock was steady as well, scoring 15 of his 19 points in the second half, most of the points coming on driving lay-ups.
The Vikings, who are now 2-1 in the Glenn Wilkes Classic, close tournament play on Sunday (Nov. 18) with a 12 noon match-up with Florida Atlantic.
