Milwaukee, Cleveland State, Valparaiso Pick Up League-opening Wins

INDIANAPOLIS -- Road teams went 2-1 on Thursday night, as Cleveland State and Valparaiso each picked up its first Horizon League win as the visiting squad, while Milwaukee rode Anthony Hill to victory.

Hill's hot hand led Milwaukee (4-4, 1-0 Horizon) past Youngstown State (4-2, 0-1 Horizon), 76-67, at U.S. Cellular Arena.  Pounding the ball inside, Hill finished the night with 30 points on 14-of-20 shooting.  The senior added 12 rebounds and two blocks, recording just the 11th 30-point, 10-rebound effort in Division I this season.

The Panthers iced the game at the free throw line after Youngstown State closed within 70-67 late, as Kaylon Williams hit 8-of-11 attempts from the charity stripe to help close the contest.  Williams joined Hill in double figures, finishing with 14 points.

Devonte Maymon posted 16 points, knocking down four of Youngstown State's eight three-point field goals in the game.  Vytas Sulskis was just 3-for-10 from the floor, but led the Penguins with 18 points on the strength of an 11-for-15 effort from the free-throw line.

Cleveland State (9-0, 1-0 Horizon), opening the Horizon League season in one of its worst venues, recorded just its second win in 11 trips to Green Bay, knocking off the Phoenix, 83-75, at the Resch Center.

In the first half, it was Trey Harmon carrying the Vikings, who shot 57 percent for the game, scoring 13 of his 19 points in the first 20 minutes of action.  Down the stretch, Norris Cole put Cleveland State on his back, finishing with a game-high 26 points.

The Vikings led for 35 minutes, taking the lead for good with just over two minutes to go in the first half and eventually leading by as many as 13 against the short-handed Phoenix.  Cleveland State closed the game from line, going a season-high 31-for-38 on the night.

Rahmon Fletcher, who entered the game leading Green Bay (3-4, 0-1 Horizon) with 17.5 points per game, was hampered by the effects of the flu and stifling Viking defense, finishing with nine points.  With Fletcher limited, Bryquis Perine led the Phoenix with 22 points, while Daniel Turner added 15 and Troy Snyder 13.

Valparaiso (5-2, 1-0 Horizon) trailed by 14 points with 7:30 to play, but closed the second half on a 18-4 run to force overtime.  The Crusaders completed the run with the first six points of overtime, holding off UIC in the final seconds to post a come-from-behind 68-66 overtime win at the UIC Pavilion.

Ryan Broekhoff's three with a minute to play knotted the game, while Brandon Wood gave the Crusaders their first lead since 1-0 with a layup to start the overtime session.  Wood led a quartet of Crusaders with 10 or more points, finishing with 19.  Cory Johnson added 15, helping Valpo score 40 of its points in the paint.  Howard Little added 12, while Broekhoff finished with 10.

For UIC (4-4, 0-1 Horizon), Paul Carter led the way with 18 points while Brad Birton posted 11 points and seven boards.  Turnovers hampered both teams throughout the night, as both the Flames and Crusaders ended the night with 20 turnovers; Valpo turned the miscues into 22 points while UIC finished with 18 points off the takeaways.

Youngstown will travel to Green Bay for a Saturday meeting with the Phoenix, with both teams looking to avoid a 0-2 start to the conference season.  Conversely, both Cleveland State and Milwaukee will get together Saturday attempting to open 2-0 in League play.

Valparaiso will attempt to sweep its Chicago road trip against a hungry Loyola (7-1, 0-1 Horizon) squad Saturday, as well.  All three games will be carried live on HorizonLeague.com.