Cleveland, OH-It was the start of a throwback holiday weekend inside Woodling Gymnasium Wednesday night. With several Viking alumni in attendance who played in the historic facility, the 2023-24 Vikings conjured up some of the magic from the past in earning a 72-70 come-from-behind victory over East Tennesee State in the opening game of the Viking Invitational. Cleveland State improves to 4-2 on the young season with all four victories coming at home.
Woodling Gymnasium served as the primary home venue for the Vikings for over 20 years until the Wolstein Center was built in 1991. The Vikings donned throwback uniforms similar to the look worn by the Viking teams of the past who played predominantly in Woodling Gymnasium.
ETSU gave CSU all it could handle, with the game coming down to the final seconds. The Vikings struggled from the field and at the free throw line throughout the game but made the necessary plays down the stretch to come away with the victory.
Tristan Enaruna had a career night, finishing with 28 points. 18 of those points came in the second half, including several critical baskets down the stretch. Enaruna scored the final four points of the game, including a driving layup with four seconds remaining which proved to be the difference. He finished with seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. Overall he was 11-17 from the field and connected on three of four from beyond the three-point arc, setting a new single game high in three-point makes.
Drew Lowder tallied 14 points on 6-15 shooting from the field. He recorded six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Lowder and Enaruna combined for all five of the Vikings’ three-point field goals in the contest.
The visiting Buccaneers got off to a fast start, scoring 10 of the game’s first 12 points to open up an eight-point advantage less than four minutes in.
ETSU’s lead never was higher than nine points, as the Vikings chipped away and kept within striking distance throughout the first half. With a little under nine minutes remaining, the Vikings caught fire. Cleveland State went on a 9-0 run over the next two minutes to take its first lead, 23-22 with 6:50 left in the first half. Enaruna tallied six of those nine points on three made field goals. The exclamation point that capped the rally came on an alley-oop dunk that brought the Woodling crowd to its feet.
The two teams traded mini runs down the stretch of the first half, with ETSU ultimately holding a 34-31 lead at the break.
The Bucs once again came out of the locker room hot, stretching the lead to eight points just under three minutes into the second half. The Vikings punched back quickly, as Lowder and Enaruna connected on back-to-back possessions to cut the lead back to three, and a Dylan Arnett second-chance bucket forced an ETSU timeout with 14:51 left and the lead down to one.
The Vikings fed off the momentum from the home crowd and surged to their largest lead, 55-49 with 9:06 remaining. Enaruna connected on a three-point bucket to cap the rally and swing the pendulum back in Cleveland State’s favor.
ETSU had an answer of its own, responding with an 8-2 stretch to tie the score back up at 57 with 6:44 remaining. From then on, neither team held more than a one possession lead.
Enaruna split a pair of free throws with 2:42 remaining to give the Vikings a two-point advantage. ETSU responded with back-to-back buckets, connecting on a three-pointer and a layup, to move back in front 69-66 with 1:34 remaining.
After back-to-back 1-2 trips at the free throw line, ETSU held a one-point advantage with the ball with 50 seconds left. With the game hanging in the balance, Enaruna took over, making back-to-back incredible plays to secure victory for the Vikings.
He started by stealing the ensuing ETSU inbounds pass and racing all the way to the basket for a fast-break layup that put the Vikings up one with 36 seconds remaining. The Buccaneers proceeded to draw a foul at the other end, and Quimari Peterson split a pair of free throws to tie the score at 70 with 28 seconds remaining. With the shot clock turned off, Enaruna once again drove to the basket on the ensuing possession, finishing with his left hand on a layup at the rim with four seconds remaining to put the Vikings ahead for good 72-70. ETSU’s final three-point attempt at the buzzer was no good, as the Vikings held on for the victory.
Cleveland State returns to the Woodling Gymnasium court on Saturday night as the Vikings play host to Alabama A&M at 7 p.m. Listen to the game on Fox Sports 1350 The Gambler