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CLEVELAND, Ohio– After leading by double digits for most of the game, Cleveland State (16-6, 12-3) faced a few scares late in the second half. One too many actually.
Kevin Johnson’s last-second jump shot sealed a 76-75 win for UIC (9-13, 5-8) over the Vikings.
“My hats off to UIC…I thought they did a wonderful job not wilting whenever we had a lead,” Cleveland State head coach Dennis Gates said. “That was a game where we held the lead for 38 minutes and only played behind 19 seconds and UIC was able to win that game. I thought we allowed some frustration to impact us on the free-throw line.”
D’Moi Hodge paced the Vikings, finishing with game-high 31 points. Torrey Patton and Yahel Hill also provided big sparks throughout the game, ending with 24 and 13 points, respectively.
It didn’t take long for the Vikings to make an impact shooting the ball, particularly D’Moi Hodge and Torrey Patton. As a team, the Vikings started the game off sinking their first four 3-pointers, including knocking down 7-of-10 shots from the floor to take a commanding 13-2 lead just three minutes into the game.
However, UIC would respond on a couple of small runs to get back within the game. They got within six–21-15–with just under 12 minutes left following a Filip Skobalj 3-pointer.
But it was just too much of D’Moi Hodge and Torrey Patton for the Flames to stay within control of the game. The two of them combined for 32 of the team’s 44 points in the first half as the Vikings connected on 9-of-16 3-pointers to help head into halftime with a 44-33 lead.
UIC battled with Cleveland State throughout the second half as they never let the game get totally out of their control. Through the first 10 minutes of the second half, the Flames outscored the Vikings by four as Hodge continued to light up the stat sheet to keep the Vikings in front.
He ended up scoring 11 of the team’s first 16 points in the second half while displaying a consistent outside jump shot for most of the night.
With under ten minutes to play in the second half, UIC started to inch closer. A double-digit lead swiftly turned to just a three-point Viking lead following a 3-pointer from Jaime Ahale with just five minutes remaining.
The Flames ended up tying the game at 70 following a Damaria Franklin 3-pointer with 2:30 left in the game.
Both teams traded leads in the closing minute of the game. After Michael Diggins gave the Flames a 74-72 lead with 59 seconds left, Torrey Patton ended up tying the game right back after finishing a layup. However, a missed free throw would be costly.
The Vikings then took a 75-74 lead 30 seconds later after Hodge connected on 1-of-2 free throws. Again, missed free throws proved to be the difference-maker down the stretch as Kevin Johnson buried a mid-range jump shot to send UIC off with a one-point come-from-behind win against the hottest team in the Horizon League.
“D’Moi Hodge free throws and Torrey Patton free throws, I’ll still have those guys shoot those same free throws and if they’ll have to do that again, they will definitely come away with finishing on the line,” Gates said.
“Turnovers hurt us, this was one of the first games in a long time where we had a negative assist-to-turnover ratio and our opponent had a positive,” Gates added. “Ultimately, that’s what cost us second chance points along with points off turnovers as well.”
The Vikings will close out its final homestand of the season as they host IUPUI Saturday afternoon.
