Horizon League Teams Survive Nail-Biters to Post 5-0 Evening

Three of five Horizon League men's basketball games went down to the wire on Friday night, with Cleveland State, Valparaiso and Youngstown State all coming out on top, joining victorious Milwaukee and Detroit squads to give the League a 5-0 start to the weekend.

#rv/rv Cleveland State 67, St. Bonaventure 64
Trailing by nine points with 9:31 to play, Cleveland State rallied for a dramatic 67-64 win over St. Bonaventure in front of a rocking Wolstein Center. The Vikings sealed the result on Trey Harmon's three with 2.8 ticks left on the clock.

Cleveland State (3-0) trailed by three at the half, only to find itself down 41-32 just 1:35 into the second half. The Vikings would stage the first of two rallies over the next three minutes, with a Jeremy Montgomery free throw capping a 9-0 run. However, Cleveland State would not lead over the next 13 minutes, constantly trying to get over the hump.

Down five with 4:07 to play, the Vikings came back once more, finally taking the lead with three minutes left on another Montgomery free throw. A Tim Kamczyc runner in the lane put CSU up three before a three-point play by St. Bonaventure tied the game at 64, setting the stage for Harmon's last-second heroics.

With 30 seconds remaining, Cleveland State set up a play for Harmon, with Aaron Pogue setting a down screen and Harmon circling up to the top of the three-point arc. Harmon took the pass from Kamczyc and drained a three from the top of the arc, giving the Vikings a win over the team pegged to finish fourth in the Atlantic 10.

Harmon's three gave him 20 points on the night, with D'Aundray Brown and Jeremy Montgomery each recording 12 points.

Youngstown State 53, UC-Riverside 49 (ot)
In a defensive struggle, Youngstown State made enough plays late, overcoming a late deficit to knock off UC-Riverside, 53-49, in overtime.

Youngstown State moved to 3-0 for the first time since 2000-01 behind Damian Eargle's near triple-double. The center finished with 11 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocks, with Eargle's final two points helping the Penguins close a three-point gap with under a minute to play.

The Penguins then locked down on the defensive end, with Ashen Ward coming away with a rebound. On the offensive end, Kendrick Perry drew his defender into the air and was fouled, resulting in two free throws with 26 ticks left on the clock. Perry's converted free throws put YSU ahead, 50-49, and following another stop by the Penguins, UC-Riverside coach Jim Wooldridge was whistled for two technicals for arguing the foul call.

Perry hit 1-of-4 of the technical free throws, but DuShawn Brooks hit both of his freebies to ice the game.

Ward led the 'Guins with 15 points, with Perry finishing with 10 points. Eargle's eight blocks tied for the third-most in YSU history.

Detroit 113, Concordia 68
Detroit (2-1) bounced back from a disappointing loss early in the week by rolling past Concordia, 113-68, at Calihan Hall. In Head Coach Ray McCallum's 100th game with the program, the Titans recording their highest points total since putting up 115 22 years ago.

Six Titans finished in double figures, led by Jason Calliste's 19 points. Doug Anderson tallied his first career double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds, while Ray McCallum and Nick Minnerath each posted 17. LaMarcus Lowe and Chase Simon had 12 apiece as all nine Titans who appeared in the game had at least six points.

Shooting 62.5-percent in the second half, Detroit blew open the game, outscoring Concordia, 65-31, in the final 20 minutes of play. Calliste led the way, knocking down five three-pointers over a 5:05 stretch of the half.

Valparaiso 62, Akron 59
In a back and forth contest, Valparaiso overcame a 10-point deficit in the first half and scored the last five points of the game to narrowly beat Akron, 62-59, in the subregional round of the 2k Sports Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.

Valparaiso (3-1) turned its 10-point deficit into a nine-point lead just 3:40 into the second half, but then went back and forth with defending MAC champion Akron throughout the second half in a game that featured 11 lead changes and five ties.

With 3:18 to play, a Kevin Van Wijk layup cut the Crusaders' deficit to three, 59-56, and after a loose ball foul, Matt Kenney drained a pair of free throws to trim the gap to a single point. Another stand resulted in an Akron turnover and resulted in Jay Harris being fouled shortly after coming away with a steal. Harris's subsequent free throws put Valpo up, 60-59, with 1:42 to play.

A missed Akron jumper came into the hands of Ryan Broekhoff, who sank 1-of-2 free throws after being fouled. Now up 61-59, Valparaiso got its much-needed final stop when the Zips took a quick three instead of playing for a tie. Kenney would split a pair of free throws after grabbing the rebound. Akron's final attempt was long, giving Valparaiso a momentum-building win.

Van Wijk posted a career-high 21 points, dominating the low block, while Harris was a perfect 8-of-8 at the free throw line en route to 14 points. Broekhoff and Kenney added 13 and 11, respectively, as the Crusaders won despite going 0-for-14 from behind the three-point arc.

Milwaukee 62, IUPUI 49
Milwaukee was able to break open a close game with defense, holding visiting IUPUI to 30 percent shooting in a 62-59 win at U.S. Cellular Arena. The game was part of the Auto Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational.

Milwaukee (3-0) limited the Jaguars to 19.2 percent shooting in the second half, helping the Panthers rally after IUPUI briefly took the lead with 16 minutes left. Leading 31-23 at halftime, Milwaukee saw IUPUI score the first eight points out of the locker room and take a 35-33 lead.

From there, however, the Panthers locked down, holding the Jaguars without a field goal over the next 11 minutes. In that time, Milwaukee went on a 17-6 run, assuming a 50-41 lead with 4:45 to play.

On the offensive side of the ball, Kyle Kelm and Ryan Allen led the way with 14 points, while James Haarsma continued to pace the Panthers for the third straight game with seven rebounds.