Central State Holds Off Cleveland State’s Second Half Rally as Vikings Fall 74-73

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Dontel Highsmith scored 17 points and Bobby Word had 15 points, but Cleveland State’s second half comeback fell just short in a 74-73 setback to Central Connecticut on Friday night in the Wolstein Center.

CSU fell to 1-4, while CCSU improved to 3-3.

STAT LEADERS

• Highsmith scored 17 points off the bench, hitting 8-of-12 from the field. He also added five rebounds, an assist and a blocked shot.
• Word nailed 5-of-6 from three-point, scoring 15 points.
• Stefan Kenic tallied 11 points with a steal, while Kenny Carpenter finished with six points, four rebounds and a steal.
• Tyree Appleby netted eight points and four assists, while Anthony Wright grabbed five rebounds.

COACH SPEAK

• “Our halftime talk centered around intensity and effort. We had a long list of points and about eight of them were on the defensive end. We reminded them to don’t go out and try to get back into it in one possession, but to do it methodically and it started with stringing together stops. I liked that we were tougher and more consistent attacking the paint, which is what we wanted to do from the beginning.”  – Head Coach Dennis Feton

FIRST HALF RECAP

• CCSU opened up a seven point lead (12-5) six minutes into the game, but the Vikings responded with eight straight points – capped by Highsmith’s three-pointer – to take a 13-12 lead at the 12:09 mark.
• The Blue Devils came right back, using a 21-6 run over the next seven-plus minutes to take a 33-19 lead with just over four minutes left.
• Tyree Appleby and Word ended the half with three-pointers as CCSU led at the half, 43-29, after leading by as many as 20 points late in the half.

SECOND HALF RECAP

• The Blue Devils opened up an 18 point lead (53-35) four minutes into the second half, but CSU turned to the three-pointer to crawl back into the contest.
• CSU nailed five consecutive three’s as part of a 22-6 spurt that pulled the Vikings within two points (59-57) on Stefan Kenic‘s three-pointer with just under nine minutes left.
• The Blue Devils responded with a 6-1 run to take a 65-58 lead with 6:45 left, but CSU came back to take a 69-67 with 2:36 left on Kenic’s three-pointer.
• Austin Nehls answered with a three-pointer on the other end to give CCSU a one point lead (70-69) and pushed the lead to three points (74-71) on two free throws from Nehls with 32 seconds left.
• Appleby made a driving layup with 24 seconds left and drew a foul, but missed the free throw that would have tied the game.
• CCSU knocked the ball out of bounds, giving the Vikings the ball back, but CSU couldn’t inbound the ball and was called for a five second violation.
• The Blue Devils turned the ball over on the inbound play, giving CSU one last chance, but Kenic’s three-pointer just before the buzzer was off the mark.

KEY STATS

• The Vikings hit 13 three-pointers, one shy of tying the single game school record.
• CSU shot .491 (26-53) for the game, including 15-of-28 (.536) in the second half.
• CCSU held a 38-29 advantage on the boards and grabbed 14 offensive rebounds which led to 13 second chance points.
• The Viking bench out-scored CCSU, 32-17.
• CCSU shot .467 (28-60) for the game, including 17-of-29 (.586) in the first half.

UP NEXT

• CSU remains at home to host Arkansas State on Wednesday (Nov. 29) at 7:00 pm in the Wolstein Center.
• The Vikings then hit the road to play at Kent State on Saturday (Dec. 2) at 7:00 pm.