Cleveland State Collects Last-Second Win on Friday

Cleveland State proved to be the lone victor in the Horizon League on Friday, stealing a win in the opener of the Legends Classic subregional. Both Valparaiso and Green Bay fell on the road in televised contests.

Cleveland State 63, Boston University 62
Cleveland State trailed for most of the second half, eventually overcoming an 11-point deficit to steal a 63-62 win over Boston University in the first game of the Ticket City Legends Classic subregional in Kingston, R.I.

Cleveland State (5-0) continued its strong start to the year despite shooting just 33.8-percent in the game and being outscored, 28-12, at the free throw line. The free throw disparity helped Boston University (0-4) build a 45-34 lead with 9:46 to play before the Vikings rallied late.

Down 52-43, D'Aundray Brown went on a 7-0 run to single-handedly trim the deficit to two with 4:19 remaining. Still, Cleveland State found itself down 62-58 with 13 ticks left on the clock. Trey Harmon slashed the deficit to a single point with a three-pointer with six seconds remaining, and Gary Waters promptly burned a timeout to help the Vikings set up their defense.

Fronting the entire way, Jeremy Montgomery came away with a steal and was fouled after coming away with the ball. Shooting a 1-and-1, Montgomery drained both free throws with three seconds to play to give Cleveland State its first lead since 25-24. The Terriers' desperation three missed the mark, and Cleveland State improved to 5-0 for the second straight year.

Brown and Anton Grady tied for the team lead with 14 points, while Harmon finished with 11. Grady finished a rebound shy of a double-double with nine rebounds, helping Cleveland State outscore Boston University, 23-0, off the bench.

#3/3 Ohio State 80, Valparaiso 47
Valparaiso trailed by just four points at the half, but Ohio State opened the second half on a 19-2 run, sending the Buckeyes past the Crusaders, 80-47, at Value City Arena.

Valparaiso (5-2) battled back from an 11-point deficit in the first half, with Jay Harris leading the way. The sophomore came off the bench to score 15 points in the opening 20 minutes of play, capping the explosion with a three on Valpo's final possession of the half to bring the Crusaders within 33-29.

However, the Crusaders were cold to start the second half, coming up empty on its first six trips, while Ohio State scored on eight straight possessions to start the half. Aaron Craft’s triple with 14:12 to play gave OSU a 51-31 advantage, and while the Crusaders would get back-to-back 3-pointers from Harris and Richie Edwards to close within 15 points with 11:31 on the clock, they would come no closer.

Harris finished with 18 points to lead the Crusaders, while Ryan Broekhoff scored all seven of his points in the first half, grabbing a team-high 11 rebounds.

#-/rv Virginia 68, Green Bay 42
Taking on the program's all-time leading scorer, Green Bay was doomed by 30-percent shooting, falling at Virginia, 68-42, at John Paul Jones Arena.

Green Bay (2-4) took an early 3-0 lead on a Steve Baker three, but a combination of turnovers and missed shots saw the Phoenix fall behind, 14-3, before the team would score again, a span of 5:53. The offense was never able to get on track as Virginia led by as many as 20 points, 27-7, before the Green Bay defense allowed the team to climb back into the game.

The Phoenix held Virginia without a field goal over the final 8:12 of the half, allowing Green Bay to close the half on a 16-6 run. However, Virginia scored the first 10 points of the second half to effectively seal the result.

Keifer Sykes led Green Bay with 11 points, while Alec Brown and Terry Johnson each had nine.

Green Bay was opening a series with Virginia and Tony Bennett. Bennett became the Phoenix's all-time leading scorer, taking Green Bay to the 1991 NCAA Tournament under the tutelage of his father, Dick.