CSU, UWM & Valpo Secure Wins on Saturday

#HLMBB Scoreboard (Jan. 31)
Cleveland State 76, Green Bay 62
Milwaukee 78, Detroit 74
Valparaiso 70, UIC 65

Cleveland State 76, Green Bay 62
Trey Lewis recorded his first career double-double with 25 points and 12 rebounds and Anton Grady scored 24 points as Cleveland State reclaimed first place in the Horizon League with a 76-62 win over Green Bay on Saturday afternoon in the Wolstein Center.

The Vikings improved to 13-10 overall and 7-2 in the league, while the Phoenix fell to 17-5 overall and 6-2 in the Horizon League.

The 7-2 start in the Horizon League equals the 2007-08 squad for best start after nine league games.

Valparaiso is tied for first place in the league with CSU after winning at UIC on Saturday afternoon.

Lewis, who posted his 13th career 20-point game, hit 9-of-15 from the field, including 4-of-7 from three-point, while the 12 rebounds were a career-high. Grady hit 8-of-13 from the field, adding six rebounds, snapping his streak of consecutive double-doubles at four.

Charlie Lee added 12 points and seven assists, while Andre Yates and Demonte Flannigan scored five points each off the bench.

CSU was playing without starting forward Marlin Mason who missed his third straight game.

CSU opened the game by making 12 of its first 16 shots, racing out to a 25-8 lead midway through the first half. However, the Vikings hit just two of their final 11 shots of the half, but a strong defensive effort helped CSU maintain an 11-point (32-21) lead at the break.

The Phoenix scored the first six points of the second half to slice CSU's lead to five points (32-27), but Lewis hit a three-pointer to jump start a 14-4 CSU run that gave the Vikings a 46-31 lead with 12:32 to play.

An 8-1 spurt by the Phoenix allowed them to cut the lead back under double-digits (47-39) midway through the second half, but Andre Yates converted a three-point play that started a 12-3 CSU run that opened up the Vikings' largest lead of the game (59-42) with 6:16 to play.

Green Bay would get no closer than 11 points (65-54; 2:35) the rest of the way as the Vikings hit 11-of-14 free throws over the final 2:17 as the Phoenix extended the game with fouls to stop the clock.

CSU shot .568 (25-44) from the field, including 11-of-17 (.647) in the second half. CSU also hit 20-of-26 (.769) free throws in the second half after going just 1-of-5 (.200) in the opening stanza.

The Vikings controlled the boards, 32-26, while both teams made eight steals.

Milwaukee 78, Detroit 74
Akeem Springs matched a career high with 21 points and was one of four players to score in double figures in the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's (9-14, 4-5 Horizon) 78-74 victory over Detroit (11-13, 4-5 Horizon) this afternoon at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. Milwaukee, which turned the ball over just nine times on the day, has now won four straight games at home.

"These guys have battled and persevered and I like how we are coming together," Milwaukee Head Coach Rob Jeter said. "We hit some big shots. The guys have stuck together and are playing good basketball. I'm really proud of them."

Matt Tiby, who scored 13 of his 16 points in the first half, fueled Milwaukee's fast start by scoring 10 of his team's first 15 points as the Panthers raced out to a 15-4 lead. Milwaukee led by as many of 12 points (18-6) in the opening 20 minutes, but after a sluggish start, Paris Bass helped the Titans get back into the game by pouring in seven points during a 12-4 surge that cut the Panthers' lead to 22-18.

Milwaukee, which held Detroit's leading scorer Juwan Howard, Jr., scoreless in the opening period, would build its lead back to eight points late in the half, but Detroit closed out the half with six unanswered points to get within 35-33 at intermission. The teams combined to shoot 29 free throws in the opening period, with the Panthers draining 15 of 16 attempts from the charity stripe.

Howard, Jr., got heated up in the second half and his three-pointer with 14:53 to go gave Detroit its largest lead of the game at 47-42. But, Milwaukee responded back and after a bucket by Steve McWhorter, Justin Jordan and Cody Wichmann knocked down back-to-back threes for a 50-47 UWM lead.

After the Titans drew even at 52, Springs book-ended a decisive 15-5 Milwaukee run with three-pointers as the hosts took a 67-57 lead. Detroit wouldn't go down without a fight though and a 10-2 spurt cut the Panthers' lead down to 69-67 with a shade under two minutes to play.

A big three from Wichmann, his third of the day, extended the Milwaukee lead to 72-67 and the Panthers were able to hit 6 of 10 shots from the charity stripe down the stretch to hang on for the victory.

Springs equaled a career high with 21 points and added eight rebounds and four assists to lead Milwaukee.

"Different matchups allow me to do different things on offense, but my scoring is really just my teammates finding me and us sharing the ball," Springs said.

McWhorter added 16 points, six assists and a half dozen steals, while Tiby (16 points) extended his streak of games with 10 or more points to 14. Jordan added 14 points and four assists.

Howard, Jr. scored 21 points, all of which came in the second half, to lead Detroit.

Valparaiso 70, UIC 65
The Valparaiso men’s basketball team led by as many as 18 points and held off a UIC surge in the second half, eventually coming out on top 70-65 in Chicago on Saturday afternoon.  During the win, which moved the Crusaders into a tie atop the Horizon League standings, senior Vashil Fernandez (Kingston, Jamaica/Princeton Day [Md.] Academy) broke Valpo’s single-season record for blocked shots.

Fernandez came into the game with 69 blocks on the season, two shy of the single-season mark set last season by Moussa Gueye.  The senior picked up the record-tying block with 6:04 to play in the first half, swatting a layup attempt by Jake Wiegand.  Fernandez then rejected a jumper by Jason McClellan with 18:49 remaining in the game for the record-breaker, and added another block later in the contest – his 73rd of the season.

Four Crusaders scored in double figures on Saturday, led by 19 points from sophomore Alec Peters (Washington, Ill./Washington), who went 8-of-15 from the field and added seven rebounds.  Freshman Tevonn Walker (Montreal, Quebec/Vanier College) scored 14 points on Saturday, including an impressive tip dunk late in the second half, and also came up with three steals.  Walker scored seven of his points in the second half and played a team-high 18 minutes despite suffering an ankle injury late in the first half.

Playing in his home city of Chicago, junior Darien Walker (Chicago, Ill./Simeon [John A. Logan/Arizona Western]) recorded his first career double-double as a Crusader, scoring 11 points and grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds, leading the way as Valpo out-rebounded UIC, 45-26.  Junior E. Victor Nickerson (Atlanta, Ga./Norcross [Charlotte]) went 4-of-6 from the field, chipping in 10 points in the winning effort.

The Crusaders needed all the big efforts to offset a career-best effort from UIC’s Ahman Fells.  Fells went 11-of-13 from the field and hit six 3-pointers to finish with a game-high 28 points.  Outside of Fells’ performance, however, Valpo limited the rest of the Flames to just 9-of-39 shooting from the field.

Leading by 14 at the half, the Crusaders surrendered the first basket of the second half but then scored on three straight possessions, as Peters, Nickerson and Darien Walker all connected to give Valpo a 45-27 lead with 18:14 to play.  UIC scored the next four points, but the lead would remain in the mid-teens for the next few minutes, as the second of back-to-back Peters’ 3-pointers made it 55-40 Valpo with 12:46 remaining.

The Crusaders would be held to just six points over the next 10 minutes, however, as UIC went on a 20-6 run over that span to close within one point.  The Flames hit eight free throws during the run, and a 3-pointer by Fells with 5:05 to play made it a one-possession game for the first time since the game’s early stages.  Two trips later, Paris Burns connected on a fast-break layup to cut Valpo’s lead to 61-60 with 3:46 remaining.

Two trips later, Nickerson connected on two free throws to push the lead back to three points.  After forcing a miss on the defensive end, Valpo ran down the shot clock nearly all the way before a driving effort by Peters was just off the mark.  Tevonn Walker was there though, leaping over two of his teammates for a one-handed tip dunk to make it 65-60.  Walker didn’t stop to celebrate either, hustling back on the defensive end and stripping Burns before being fouled, hitting two free throws to make it a seven-point lead.

Burns would connect on a 3-pointer to keep UIC alive, and McClellan hit two free throws with 30 seconds to play to cut Valpo’s lead to two points at 67-65.  Darien Walker was fouled for the Crusaders, hit the first and missed the second, but hustled to grab his own rebound and keep the possession.  Tevonn Walker split a pair with 15 seconds to play to make it a two-possession game, and the Crusaders would not allow UIC to hit another shot, closing out the five-point win.

Valpo took the lead for good very early on in the first half and extended the advantage slowly over the course of the opening period.  A layup by Nickerson 9:33 into the game pushed the lead into double figures for the first time and capped a quick 7-0 spurt as the Crusaders led 22-11.  The lead reached 16 points on a putback by sophomore Jubril Adekoya (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew) with 4:43 to play in the half, and Valpo eventually took a 39-25 lead into the locker room at the break.

Valpo finished the game shooting 46.4% (26-of-56) from the field and was just 5-of-15 from 3-point range.  The Crusaders did enjoy a 38-18 advantage in the paint over UIC (5-18, 1-7 Horizon).  Despite Fells’ standout performance, the Crusaders limited the Flames to just 38.5% shooting overall.