Don’t look now, but the Cleveland State Vikings have won five of their last six and are in first place in the Horizon League. The Vikes (11-9, 5-1 Horizon League) have come alive in conference play after an up-and-down first half of the season, and claimed their second straight road win by defeating the Youngstown State Penguins (9-12, 0-6) Saturday night, 74-61.
After scoring 18 points in the last three games combined, including an o-fer against Oakland, Trey Lewis went off for 29 in Youngstown. He scored 16 in the first half, and shot 7-of-13 from beyond the arc for the game. The Penguins doubled Anton Grady in the post early and often, giving Lewis and the Viking guards plenty of room to cook with.
Despite the Penguins’ focus on him, Grady notched a workmanlike double-double, scoring 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. He added three assists, three steals, and a block, and doubtless had more influence than the Penguins would have liked. He also helped hold YSU’s Bobby Cain, a 6-10 center, to 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting. Hain is averaging a 14.9 points, eighth in the Horizon League, and 7.9 rebounds, first in the conference.
The final scoreline flatters the Penguins, who enjoyed an 8-2 lead after the first five minutes. The Vikings had open looks all game long, and came alive when their jumpers started falling. They especially dominated the game’s second two acts as they leveraged the threat of their outside shooting to drive inside and finish at the rim. Cleveland State led 31-22 at halftime, and were ahead by as much as 20 in the second half.
Youngstown State scored six straight to open the second stanza, prompting a Gary Waters timeout. The Vikings stretched their lead to 40-30 in the ensuing three minutes, with Lewis, Charlie Lee, Anton Grady, and Marlin Mason all scoring. CSU kept the Penguins at arm’s length for the rest of the game.
Even when their shots weren’t falling, Cleveland State’s defense was sound. Youngstown State shot nearly 49 percent from the floor, but the Vikes forced 17 Penguin turnovers, with 11 coming on steals. In addition to Anton Grady’s three pilfers, Marlin Mason, Trey Lewis, and Andre Yates each had two. CSU took care of the ball themslves, turning it over just eight times.
The Vikings’ passing game shone in the second half. The Vikes’ offense can be prone to fits of clunkiness, and they go minutes at a time without scoring. Saturday, however, the ball whipped with purpose around the perimeter and into the lane, and a slew of smart passes led to easy buckets. Cleveland State converted only one layup in the first half, but scored on five layups and a dunk in the second.
The 13-point margin of victory is the Vikes’ largest since trouncing Milwaukee in the conference opener, and their sixth double-digit win of the season.
Other notes
- The highlight of the game came when Trey Lewis drove the left side of the lane and lobbed an alley-oop for Marlin Mason, who cut in from the baseline and slammed it home. (Alas, Horizon League highlights are tough to come by.)
- Vinny Zollo scored 11 and had 4 rebounds off the bench, a nice bounce-back from his subpar effort against Wright State.
- Anton Grady has avoided foul trouble in each of the past three games. In a related story, he has averaged 15.3 points and 8.3 rebounds in that time.
- Both Andre Yates and Terrell Hales went down with ankle/leg injuries. If they miss a substantial amount of time, Kaza Keane and Kenny Carpenter are the next men up on the backcourt depth chart. Trey Lewis and Charlie Lee have each played 32-plus minutes in each of the past nine games, and the Vikes have struggled to get bench production even when healthy.
- To that end: the aforementioned Vinny Zollo had 11 points off the bench. The Vikings had 12 bench points total. You do the math.
- It was a comprehensive win for CSU. In addition to points, they bettered Youngstown State in rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks.
Cleveland State’s next game is Friday, January 23, at home against the Detroit Titans.
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