Jeremy Montgomery adds 12 points as the Vikings improve to 13-1 on the season.
View full sizeCleveland State's Norris Cole, left, had 25 of his 27 points in the second half for the Vikings.CLEVELAND, Ohio — Jeremy Montgomery held down the offensive fort in the first half for the Vikings, then joined Norris Cole for a second-half offensive explosion that lifted Cleveland State to a 69-62 men's basketball victory over the Big East South Florida Bulls before 4,711 Wednesday night at the Wolstein Center.
Montgomery scored nine of his 21 points in the opening half while Cole sat the bench in foul trouble. But with Cole delivering 25 of his 27 points in the second half, the Vikings (13-1) were able to offset a whopping 49-26 rebounding mismatch with the Bulls (6-7), who also got 10 blocked shots.
CSU's saving grace was getting the Bulls to commit 25 turnovers, many of them leading to easy layups. The Vikings go into the holiday break with an impressive 13-1 record.
"Our guard play really struggled," South Florida coach Stan Heath said. " [CSU] wouldn't let us get it across.
South Florida was certainly long, but Cleveland State physically matched up in size far better on the court than it did in the program, particularly when 6-9 freshman Ludavic Ndaye (seven points, seven rebounds) entered the game early on.
Ndaye's work on the boards helped the Vikings stay close, trailing 9-7, despite only making three of their first 14 shots.
View full sizeCleveland State's Josh McCoy steals the ball from South Florida's Mike Burwell during the first half.South Florida turnovers, many of them unforced, also kept the Vikings close. The Bulls had six miscues eight minutes into the game. But as the subs began to rotate in and out of the game, it became clear rebounding was going to be a major factor.
"You look at these statistics you'd say we don't win this game," CSU head coach Gary Waters said. "But I thought we fought, we got loose balls and we got steals [14]."
And they got big games out of Montgomery and Cole.
Montgomery, the Vikings' big-game playmaker, stepped up. Driving to the basket for layups or pull-up jumpers, then knocking down a big 3-pointer were key in a 9-5 run that allowed the Vikings to earn a 22-22 tie. South Florida, despite 13 turnovers and 38.5 percent shooting, led the Vikings at halftime, 26-24. That set the stage for Cleveland State's triumph.
"They could have went up big on us," Waters said of the Bulls. "I thought he [Montgomery] took over, and he had to."
Cleveland State, which only made 1 of 9 3-point attempts in the opening half, made two quick ones after intermission to loosen things up, and shot 48.6 percent overall in the second half. Much of that work was done by Cole. South Florida led, 41-36, before a Cole 3-pointer stopped the run.
It was the start of personal 8-0 run to give CSU another lead, 44-43, as once again the turnovers started taking their toll on South Florida. With the time starting to dwindle, plus Cole in a scoring groove, the Vikings started to inch away.
"That kid can play at any level, any gym, anywhere," Heath said of CSU's 6-2 guard.
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