by CLEVELAND, Ohio– It took a little bit of everything for Cleveland State to fight back Saturday afternoon against Detroit.
Senior forward Torrey Patton found guard D’Moi Hodge for a go-ahead layup, putting the Vikings up 71-70 with four seconds left. Hodge followed that up with an inbounds steal where he sunk one free throw which would end up giving the Vikings (11-4, 7-1) a 72-70 win against Detroit Mercy (5-9, 3-2).
“I thought our players responded in a great way, not only to the loss we had to Oakland but the first-half run that Detroit focused on,” head coach Dennis Gates said. “They fought and fought and that’s a sign of a great team, but I’m excited about what our guys did.”
With key role players Jayson Woodrich and Broc Finstuen struggling shooting the ball in the last couple of games, coach Gates used a series of depth players to help pull out the win against the Titans, one key player being senior guard Nathanael Jack.
“Nate Jack and Chris (Greene) deserved the moment,” Gates said as Jack ended the game with 12 points while knocking down four 3-pointers. “Sometimes you just want an opportunity and we always say be prepared for that opportunity and here was the crack and he delivered.
“To be able to come in and make the impact he made, that’s a beautiful thing,” Gates added.
Cleveland State set the tone early on, led by its defense that forced a myriad of turnovers for Detroit. With the game tied at seven all in the opening minutes of the game, Chris Greene’s corner 3-pointer started an impressive scoring run that spanned nearly twelve minutes.
From there, the Vikings would go on a 21-9 run, including limiting Horizon League’s leading scorer Antoine Davis to seven points on 2-of-6 shooting during that span. Seven different Viking players scored during that span and really controlled the game led by its stout defensive performance that caused the Titans to a myriad of turnovers.
That’s when things took a turn for Cleveland State. Detroit Mercy ended the final five minutes of the first half on a 19-3 run. Torrey Patton made the only Viking field goal with a layup with three minutes to go during the quarter-ending run from the Titans.
Detroit took a 33-31 lead heading into halftime as Antoine Davis and DJ Harvey paced the Titan offense with 13 and 12 points offensively.
D’Moi Hodge and Torrey Patton helped spark a comeback to start the second half. They each scored six points in the first seven minutes of the half to get the Vikings within one point.
As he did for much of the game, Antoine Davis found a way to get to the basket and make a play. His and-one layup pushed the Titan lead to six points with eight minutes left in the game.
The Vikings finally gained momentum with Nathanael Jack starting to gain confidence from behind the arc. He hit a corner 3-pointer to give them their first lead of the second half, 62-61, with just under five minutes left.
“Coming off playing about two minutes against Oakland and not playing the game before it is difficult for me to stay locked in just because obviously, I want to be out there supporting my team and playing as hard as I can but like coach Gates said, my heart is in the right place,” Jack said. “When my name is called I’m prepared to shoot the ball and help the team as much as I can”
No lead felt safe with under two minutes remaining in the game. Senior guard Yahell Hill was able to knock down a 3-pointer, giving the Vikings a 69-68 lead prior to Antoine Davis’ layup putting the Titans up one with under 30 seconds left.
But once Patton found Hodge for a cutting layup with under five seconds left, that’s when Detroit Mercy wasn’t able to get another shot attempt off on their side of the floor as the Vikings win their seventh conference game of the year.
“We’ve built that chemistry over time and he knows I’m going to find him if he back cuts,” Patton said about finding Hodge in the closing seconds. “It was just a play we make all the time in practice so I was happy to deliver it to him.”
Leading the way for the Vikings was D’Moi Hodge with 16 points. Tre Gomillion added 13 points along with 13 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists from Torrey Patton to help spark a second-half surge for the Vikings.
For Detroit Mercy, Antoine Davis led the way with a game-high 35 points and seven turnovers. D.J. Harvey and Madut Akec added 14 and 11 points during the loss.
“I’m proud of my guys, I’m proud of my staff and I’m proud of our fans.” Gates said after the win.
Up next for the Vikings is another conference matchup against Youngstown State on Jan. 21. The Vikings were able to defeat the Penguins in their first matchup back on Jan. 9 86-80.
