Vikings' latest win bolsters confidence entering next Friday's showdown with defending Horizon League champion Butler.
View full sizeCleveland State's Norris Cole sneaks in an arm to pry free the ball from Illinois-Chicago's Brad Birton (right) and Robo Kreps during the first half of Saturday's victory at the Wolstein Center.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Early in the second half of Saturday's game against Illinois-Chicago, Cleveland State's basketball Vikings made like a cop in a squad car, squawking into his radio.
Over, and out.
The Vikings rolled to an 83-59 victory at the Wolstein Center. CSU's lead was 18 or more points throughout most of the second half.
CSU stands at 15-1, 4-0, with the 24-point win over the Flames (5-10, 0-3) just the latest for a team with an average margin of victory at 12.7 points. In league play, it's 18.2 points.
That should be enough to bolster the confidence of any team about to face its toughest road challenge of the season -- defending Horizon League champion Butler on Friday. That game will leave the HL with just one undefeated team in league play after only the second full week of the season.
"The Butler Invitational," CSU head coach Gary Waters began. "We've got to stop that."
The Vikings' defensive pressure has led to lots of opponent turnovers and enough layups and dunks to eliminate any suspense about the outcome.
With 15:52 left in the game, the Flames already had 17 turnovers, with the Vikings scoring 17 points off those miscues for a 53-42 lead.
"Fear," Waters said teams show against CSU's pressure. "You see it in their eyes and hear it in their voice."
Long and athletic, the Flames were the kind of team that could give the Vikings trouble. But the tenacity of CSU's defense was evident immediately -- UIC missed its first six shots and also had a pair of turnovers. As the miscues mounted, CSU's Tre Harmon knocked down his first four 3-point attempts on his way to a season-high 24 points. The Vikings' lead grew to 22-10 with nearly 12 minutes to play in the opening half.
"They play with a tempo and ferocity I don't think anyone in our league can match," UIC coach Howard Moore said.
A brief 7-0 run by the Flames gave them hope, but inside hoops from Jeremy Montgomery (13 points) and Joe Latas (6), promptly pushed the lead back out to double figures.
"Once we see they're tired, we put our foot on the gas," said senior guard Norris Cole, who had 21 points.
Key to the win was a combined 15 points and eight rebounds from the 6-10, 265-pound Latas, which brought the 2,142 fans to their feet. On one possession he twice missed close in, but muscled for the rebound and finally was rewarded when his layup circled the rim three times before falling through the hoop.
The next game is now.
"Butler is a different monster at home," Waters said. They're confident at home. Players come to the forefront at home. You have to be at your very best to beat them at home."
None of which seems to faze this bunch of Vikings.
"They got to prepare for us, too," Harmon said.