Cleveland State Takes Legends Classic Subregional, Butler Hoosier Invitational Runner-Up

Cleveland State captured the Ticket City Legends Classic subregional, while Butler took second in the Hoosier Invitational on Sunday.

#rv/rv Cleveland State 67, Rhode Island 45
Rebounding from a disappointing loss the previous day, Cleveland State rolled past Rhode Island, 67-45, to capture the Ticket City Legends Classic subregional in Kingston, R.I.

Cleveland State (6-1) went 2-1 in the Rhode Island subregional, tying Boston University for the best record over the three days. By virtue of a win over the Terriers on Friday, the Vikings collected the championship, in fact tying Vanderbilt, whom Cleveland State beat on Nov. 13, for the best record in the event.

Aaron Pogue was the cog in the wheel for Cleveland State on Sunday, scoring a career-best 20 points as the Vikings led wire-to-wire. Pogue earned MVP honors of the subregional, while D'Aundray Brown joined his teammate on the All-Tournament Team.

The Vikings wasted little time in jumping on the host Rams, racing out to a 12-4 lead just three minutes in and forcing a quick Ram timeout. A majority of the damage was done by Pogue, who dominated the first three minutes in the paint with a variety of moves on the low block and a baby hook, scoring seven of CSU's first 12 points, including a three-point play that put CSU up 7-4. Pogue went on to score 13 points in the first half, hitting 6-of-8 from the field.

Cleveland State used its defensive pressure to force 17 first half turnovers that the Vikings turned into 18 points. The defense also allowed the Vikings to get several easy looks at the basket, including in transition, as the Vikings shot .545 (18-33) in the first 20 minutes.

The Vikings would stretch the lead to as much as 31 points in the second half on a Trey Harmon triple with 11:28 to play.

#-/rv Indiana 75, Butler 59
A 9:00 minute stretch of the second half in which Butler hit just three field goals proved to be decisive as the Bulldogs fell to host Indiana, 75-59, in the de facto championship of the Hoosier Invitational.

Butler (3-3) was doomed by 21 turnovers in the game and an Indiana shooting effort that saw the Hoosiers go 8-for-13 from three-point range.

The Bulldogs went toe-to-toe with the Hoosiers for the game's first 30 minutes, taking a 32-31 lead early in the second half on Chrishawn Hopkins' layup in transition. At the time, Hopkins had 15 points in the game, but Indiana locked up the sophomore the rest of the way, holding him without a shot attempt the remainder of the contest.

Ronald Nored brought Butler within 44-39 with 10:45 to play, but IU broke the game open as Butler hit just three field goals over the next 9:26 as the Hoosiers opened a 21-point lead.

Hopkins was hot in the first half, knocking down 6-of-11 shots to keep the crowd of 17,265 on edge as Butler went into the half down 31-28. The Bulldogs would score the first four points of the second half before going cold and losing their grip on the game. The sophomore finished the contest with a team-high 19 points.

Khyle Marshall came off the bench for Butler to score 16 points; in games against Louisville and Indiana, Marshall has scored 20 and 16, respectively.