Men’s Basketball Scoreboard (Dec. 28)
Cleveland State 79, Rio Grande 59
Cleveland State had four players in double figures and used a strong second half to claim a 79-59 win over Rio Grande at the Wolstein Center.
Cleveland State (8-5) improved to 5-0 at home this season and extended its win streak in the Wolstein Center to seven straight dating to last season.
Charlie Lee and Marlin Mason paced the Vikings with 14 points each, while Tim Kamczyc and Bryn Forbes scored 11 apiece. For Forbes, it was his sixth double figure scoring game in the last seven contests.
Lee dished out nine assists, one shy of tying his career high, as the Vikings handed out 22 assists on their 29 baskets. Forbes added four assists, while Kamczyc had three.
Sebastian Douglas added eight points and three steals for CSU.
The Vikings, who led 35-32, outscored the Red Storm, 44-27, in the final 20 minutes.
CSU raced out to a 19-11 lead midway through the first half, but a 15-6 run by the Red Storm allowed them to take a 26-25 lead on a Karl Moore layup with 4:36 to play in the half. The teams traded baskets for the remainder of the half until a Kamczyc three-pointer with 1.7 seconds left in the half gave the Vikings a 35-32 lead at the half.
It was just the third time all season that the Vikings went into the locker room with the lead.
CSU wasted little time in breaking open the game in the second half, using a 21-7 run over the first 13 minutes to assume a 17 point lead, 56-39, with 13 minutes to play. The Vikings used four three-pointers in the run, including two by Lee.
The Red Storm would not get within 12 the rest of the night as CSU extended the lead to as many as 24 points late in the second half.
CSU shot better than 50-percent from the field for the fifth time this season, hitting 29-of-56 (.518) field goals, including 9-of-20 (.450) from three-point. The Vikings also held Rio Grande to just .351 (20-57) shooting from the floor, just the second opponent to shoot under 40-percent against CSU this year.
The Vikings forced 21 turnovers which they turned into 25 points and used a 19-4 advantage in fast break points. Both teams finished with 35 rebounds.
