The Cleveland State Vikings continued their winning ways in the Horizon League Wednesday night, as they built a comfortable lead early and went wire-to-wire to beat the Youngstown State Penguins 73-60 at the Wolstein Center. Anton Grady paced the Vikings with 17 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Charlie Lee and Trey Lewis combined for 26 points, including 5-of-11 three-pointers.
Two Vikings made history during the contest, with Grady and Lee both surpassing 1,000 career points. Lee entered the game with 996 points, and Grady with 988. Grady hit his mark with two free throws early in the second half, while Lee surpassed the milestone on a three-pointer with 6:56 left in the game. They are the 21st and 22nd Vikings to score over 1,000.
The win brings the Vikings’ record to 14-10 for the season, 8-2 in Horizon League play. Youngstown State falls to 10-16, and a woeful 1-10 in conference games. Shawn Amiker led the Penguins with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
Cleveland State jumped out to a 17-11 lead in the game’s first nine minutes, and went into the intermission with a 37-28 lead. Grady led the charge, sinking his first five shots en route to 10 first-half points. Lee and Yates each scored 6 in the half. CSU shot 42 percent in the first and assisted on 11 of their 14 buckets.
They wasted no time building on their advantage in the second half, scoring the first nine points after the break. The Viking lead peaked at 18 points when a Vinny Zollo three made it 46-28 with 17:42 to play in the second period. Youngstown State hung around, narrowing the lead to 10 with 3:38 to go, but CSU held them off to get the victory.
The win gives Cleveland State a season sweep of Youngstown State, having won 74-61 at their place on January 17. CSU’s next game is Saturday, February 7, against Wright State at the Wolstein Center.
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