Men's Basketball Scoreboard (Jan. 16)
Cleveland State 86, Oakland 76
Milwaukee 67, UIC 63
Cleveland State 86, Oakland 76
CLEVELAND, Ohio – A short-handed Cleveland State squad shot 60-percent from the field and received a career-high 29 points from Trey Lewis to earn an 86-76 win over Oakland in a Horizon League contest on Thursday night in the Wolstein Center.
The win improves CSU to 11-8 overall and 3-2 in league play, while Oakland fell to 7-13 overall and 2-3 in the Horizon League.
Lewis just missed becoming the first CSU player to reach 30 points since Norris Cole scored 35 at Old Dominion in February of 2011, hitting 9-of-14 from the floor and 4-of-7 from three-point. He added four rebounds and three steals.
Bryn Forbes added 15 points and five rebounds, while Charlie Lee finished with 11 points, five rebounds and five assists. Jon Harris tallied 16 points and seven rebounds off the bench and Marlin Mason and Devon Long chipped in six points each.
The Vikings were playing without starting center Anton Grady – who had started all 18 games this year – and key reserve Sebastian Douglas, who ranks second in the league in field goal percentage. Both players missed the game with concussions suffered at practice on Wednesday.
CSU found themselves trailing by eight (67-59) after a Corey Petros free throw with 7:49 left, but an 11-2 run that included three-pointers from Forbes and Harris and was capped with a Lewis driving layup and free throw, put CSU on top, 70-69, with 5:15 to play.
The teams traded baskets and Oakland tied the game for the 10th and final time on a Petros tip-in with 3:47 to play.
Lewis took over down the stretch.
He found Harris open in the corner for a three-pointer that broke a 73-73 tie with 2:34 left and after a defensive stop, Lewis beat the shot clock with a floater off the glass and finished the three-point play with a free throw to put the Vikings up 79-73 with 1:35 left.
Forbes converted a breakaway layup and after two free throws from Lee, Harris capped a 12-0 run with a left-handed dunk, giving the Vikings an 85-73 lead with 24 seconds left.
CSU opened up a nine-point lead in the first half (25-16; 9:06), but Oakland would close to within two (39-37) at halftime.
The Grizzlies converted 17 offensive rebounds into 24 second chance points and committed just two turnovers, but shot just .403 (25-62) from the field.
Forbes also drew the defensive assignment on Oakland's Travis Bader, the second leading scorer in the league at just over 20 points per night, and held him to a season-low six points on 1-of-10 shooting from the floor.
Tommie McCune led the Grizzlies with 23 points, while Petros had 15 points and 13 rebounds.
Milwaukee 67, UIC 63
Jordan Aaron scored 18 points and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee overcame a 13-point halftime deficit to claim a 67-63 win over UIC Thursday night at the UIC Pavilion.
After struggling through the first 20 minutes, Milwaukee claimed the lead back within the first eight minutes of the second half and then hung tight down the stretch.
The Panthers (13-6, 3-2 Horizon) received a wide variety of contributions in their comeback effort. Matt Tiby had 13 ponts while Steve McWhorter had 10 points and eight assists. Off the bench, freshman Cody Wichmann had 11 points and Malcolm Moore added eight points and nine rebounds.
Milwaukee turned the game with a determined effort in the second 20 minutes. The Panthers held UIC to just 27 percent shooting in the second half while UWM consistently pounded it inside, resulting in 54.5 percent shooting and 19 free throw attempts.
It's the fifth time this season the Panthers have overcome a double-digit deficit to claim a win.
Marc Brown had 18 points to lead UIC (5-13, 0-4).
"We made a point to really touch the post, regardless of whether those guys were really jamming or doubling," Milwaukee head coach Rob Jeter said of the second-half turnaround. "We needed post touches to try to soften things up. I thought we were better about that in the second half. We were obviously more aggressive."
Aaron said the players took it upon themselves to get the game turned around.
"We were very lackadaisical the way we came out and we can't start games like that. We have to play with energy and effort for 40 minutes," Aaron said. "But I think we came out in the second half and did a better job giving that energy and effort."
UWM's set the tone for its second-half rally quickly, getting Tiby to the foul line in each of its first three possessions of the half. Milwaukee eventually got within 45-40 on a basket by Moore before a Wichmann three made it 45-43.
The Panthers' first lead of the game came at 48-47 on a Wichmann three with 12:00 remaining, and the Panthers eventually led 53-49 on an Aaron layin with 7:25 left.
UIC did grab one lead from there, pulling ahead 54-53 on a pair of free throws by Brown. But Aaron answered with the next five points for Milwaukee to restore order. From there, the Panthers made 7-of-8 from the line and Aaron nailed a 17-footer just before the shot clock in the final two minues to help UWM hang on for the win.
Wichmann was obviously a major spark for Milwaukee, recording a double-digit point effort off the bench for the second-straight road game.
"Huge," Jeter said. "Obviously Austin (Arians) being in foul trouble and his presence to be able to stretch zones, Cody was able to do that in the absence of Austin."
"We've been trying to get Cody to just go out there and play basketball. We know he's a great, great player," Aaron said. "We've been waiting for him to just come out and play and I think tonight he was a spark for us and one of the main reasons we were able to get back in the game and win it."
The strong second half effort allowed Milwaukee to quickly move past its struggles in the first 20 minutes. The Panthers trailed nearly the entire way after falling in a quick 6-0 hole. Milwaukee did fight back to tie the game at 12-apiece on an Aaron three but UIC answered with the next nine points to seize control.
UWM's best push back came when Wichmann hit a three to make it 23-18, and then the two teams traded hoops to make it 25-20. But UIC finished the half on an 11-3 run to carry a 36-23 lead into the break.
Tags: Cleveland State - Men's Basketball · Milwaukee - Men's Basketball
