Norris Cole has 24 points, Tre Harmon 17 and Charlie Woods 10 in the Vikings' season-opening victory.
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland State put its offensive firepower on display Friday in the second game of the World Vision Classic at CSU's Wolstein Center with a 71-57 victory over the Bryant Bulldogs in front of 1,450 fans.
But inside the 24 points delivered by senior guard Norris Cole, the 17 from junior Tre Harmon and the 10 from 6-7 sophomore Charlie Woods was a strong performance from the man CSU needs most this season, center Aaron Pogue.
"I thought he did a great job," CSU head coach Gary Waters said. "Aaron was very active. He's changed his whole mind-set on the floor."
The 6-9, 275-pound pivot delivered a solid nine points and team high six rebounds in 33 relatively foul-free minutes. He also had three assists and two steals, delivering the all-around performance the Vikings will need from him all season. CSU's struggle to dominate the Bulldogs on the boards (28-26) until deep into the game is evidence of Pogue's overall importance to CSU's season-long success.
The Vikings did not put the Bulldogs away until the final eight minutes. A 57-50 lead for CSU jumped to 69-52 as Harmon scored five of his points and Cole three to let CSU cruise to the win. Yet Pogue was also in the midst of it, rebounding, kicking out passes and delivering a clutch hoop and free throw.
"I knew if I attacked the glass and got the basket, and free throw, we could get the crowd into it," Pogue said. "After that, we didn't look back."
CSU found Bryant far tougher than a team that finished 1-29 last season. The Vikings' starters all played deep into the game as only one bench player, Woods, had double-figure minutes. Meanwhile, four of five CSU starters played more than 30.
The Vikings needed every bit of their 53.6 percent shooting in the opening half to take a 41-36 lead into the break. That included 5-of-11 shooting from behind the 3-point arc. And still CSU could not shake Bryant.
The Bulldogs also made their early 3-pointers, but had a 17-14 halftime advantage on the boards that included seven on the offensive end. Clearly the return of 6-5 swingman Cecil Gresham (15 points), who missed last season with a knee injury, was a boost for the Bulldogs, along with sophomore Frankie Dobbs.
Greshman had 11 of his points at halftime, including three 3-pointers, while Dobbs, a product of St. Edward High, had eight of his 15 points to go along with his five halftime assists.
The Vikings (1-0) return to action tonight against Iona (0-1) at 6 p.m.