CIT Scoreboard (March 19)
Cleveland State 86, Western Michigan 57
NIT Scoreboard (March 19)
Illinois State 69, Green Bay 56
Cleveland State 86, Western Michigan 57
Cleveland State shot 57-percent from the field and hit 13 three-pointers as the Vikings rolled to an 86-57 victory at Western Michigan in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament on Wednesday night.
The 13 three-pointers were one shy of equaling the CSU single game record.
The Vikings improved to 19-14 overall, while WMU concludes its season at 20-14.
Charlie Lee led the Vikings with 28 points and seven assists. He hit 10-of-13 from the field, including 8-of-11 from three-point, one shy of equaling the single game school record for three-pointers.
Anton Grady added his 10th double-double of the season with 21 points and tying his career-highs in rebounds (14) and assists (6). Marlin Mason tallied 13 points and four rebounds, while Trey Lewis finished with 13 points and three rebounds.
Kaza Keane made four steals to lead the CSU defense, which held WMU to .309 (17-55) shooting from the field.
The Vikings used a hot shooting first half to take a 49-31 lead after 20 minutes. CSU hit 20-of-32 (.625) from the floor in the opening stanza, including 8-of-14 (.571) from three-point. Lee did most of the damage from behind the arc, hitting 6-of-7 in the first half en route to 20 first half points.
CSU continued its torrid shooting in the second half, hitting 14-of-28 (.500) from the floor as the Vikings led for 38:24 of the contest.
CSU advances to the second round of the CIT and will find out its opponent after the conclusion of all 16 first round games.
Illinois State 69, Green Bay 56
Fifth-seeded Green Bay (24-9) saw its 2014-15 season come to an end on Wednesday night, falling 69-56 in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament at fourth-seeded Illinois State (22-12). The Phoenix led 31-24 at the break, but the host Redbirds used a 10-0 run late to pull away for the victory.
Senior Keifer Sykes (Chicago, Ill.) scored 14 points in the final game of his career to lead the Phoenix, finishing his illustrious career with 2,096 points (2nd in program history), 526 assists (3rd), 467 rebounds and 155 steals (7th). Fellow senior Alfonzo McKinnie (Chicago, Ill.) added 11 points and senior Greg Mays (Chicago, Ill.) added eight points.
Illinois State opened the game with an 11-2 lead, but the Phoenix responded with the next six points. Trailing 16-11, Green Bay went on a 12-2 spurt 23-18 with 3:34 to play in the first half. A jumper by Mays just before the halftime buzzer provided the Phoenix with a 31-24 halftime lead. Green Bay's defense held the Redbirds to just 5-of-25 shooting in the first half.
An 11-1 run early in the second half gave the Redbirds a 40-34 lead, but Sykes capped a 5-0 run with a triple at the 9:26 mark to tie the game at 44-44.
The score was tied at 48 after a left-handed hook in the lane by McKinnie with 5:53 remaining, but Illinois State’s Daishon Knight answered with five-straight points. Moments later, the Redbirds went on the 10-0 run.
