Cleveland, OH-It was a gritty, tough performance from the Cleveland State men’s basketball team on Wednesday night as the Vikings defeated Canisius 71-61 to cap a 3-0 run at the Wolstein Center to start the home season. Cleveland State improves to 3-1 overall, Canisius falls to 1-2.
The Vikings clamped down defensively in the second half, turning a slim 35-34 halftime lead into a double-digit victory by holding Canisius to just 27 points on 9-30 from the field in the final 20 minutes. The Golden Griffins came into the game averaging 11 made three-pointers per game, however the Vikings held them to just four makes from beyond the arc and 17 percent shooting.
Tristan Enaruna recorded his first double-double of the season with a 19-point, 10 rebound performance. Enaruna has scored in double figures in every game so far this season and continues his streak of 26 consecutive games with 10 or more points. He finished 7-11 from the field and added three assists and three steals.
Tae Williams and Drew Lowder each finished in double figures. Williams registered 14 points on 6-12 shooting from the field. Lowder finished with 13 and connected on 3-9 from three-point range in the game.
Canisius got off to a fast start, scoring the game’s first six points. The Vikings fought back and took their first lead of the night on a Lowder three-pointer which made it 8-7 at the 14:50 mark.
The Golden Griffins took the lead back and stretched it as high as six points midway through the first half, pulling ahead 21-15 with 9:13 remaining before halftime. Cleveland State responded with a 9-0 run capped by back-to-back buckets from Tevin Smith which put the Vikings up 24-21 with 6:57 remaining in the half. Smith scored nine points, all in the first half, which is a season best.
The two teams traded punches throughout the final six minutes of the first half, with Cleveland State holding a 35-34 lead headed into the locker room.
The Vikings came out of the locker room with a spark. Back-to-back threes from Enaruna and Lowder pushed the CSU lead to seven less than two minutes into the second half.
Canisius fought back to cut the deficit to one with just under 13 minutes left, but a Williams second-chance bucket pushed the Viking lead back to three and forced a Canisius timeout with 12:39 remaining.
The momentum shifted following the Canisius timeout, as the Vikings proceeded to go on a 10-0 run capped by back-to-back fast break buckets from Chase Robinson which stretched Cleveland State’s lead to 11 points, 58-47. The Golden Griffins were forced to call a second timeout with 9:42 remaining to attempt to stop the bleeding.
The Vikings remained in control the rest of the way, with the lead growing as high as 15 points down the stretch. Cleveland State was solid at the free throw line in the game’s final minutes to secure the double-digit victory.
The Vikings will head back on the road this weekend for a Saturday afternoon matchup with Eastern Michigan. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. in Ypsilanti, MI. Listen to the game on News Radio WTAM 1100