After its upset victory over the nationally ranked Vanderbilt Commodores Sunday afternoon, Cleveland State could easily have been expected to face a bit of a letdown Tuesday night when the Vikings squared off against the Rio Grande Red Storm in their home opener at the Wolstein Center. Rio Grande is an NAIA school from southern Ohio, and some fans may have even expected the Vikings to overlook the Red Storm in their anticipation of Friday night’s matchup against the St. Bonaventure Bonnies.
As the Vikings headed onto the floor, the Wolstein Center crowd’s excitement about the home opener was tempered by the fact that senior center Aaron Pogue was not in uniform. Pogue later joined the team in street clothes on the bench to scattered applause with 2:25 left in the first half but did not play in Tuesday’s victory. Sophomore forward Ludovic Ndaye started in his place and scored seven points and pulled down seven rebounds. After the game, Vikings coach Gary Waters said Pogue’s lack of playing time was injury related and not a disciplinary matter.
Showing no signs of a letdown, the Vikings jumped out to a 14-6 lead. The Red Storm tied the game at 17-17 with 9:27 left in the first half. However, the Vikings proceeded to rip off a 9-0 run and grew their lead to 26-17 with 5:45 remaining in the first half. Fueled by their relentless full-court pressure, which forced eight first-half turnovers, the Vikings slowly extended their lead during the remainder of the first half. Notably, senior guard Jeremy Montgomery had a special moment as he surpassed 1,000 points in his Cleveland State career with a basket during the first half.
Following an acrobatic turnaround jumper at the buzzer by senior forward D’Aundray Brown, the Vikings headed into halftime with a 40-27 lead. Brown led all scorers in the first half with 13 points and has shown no signs of rust in the first two games after missing last season due to a finger injury.
In the second half, the Vikings opened with a 13-6 run in the first five minutes to extend their lead to 53-33. Jermaine Warmack, who came off the bench to score 24 points for the Red Storm, single-handedly kept the Vikings’ lead to around 20 for much of the second half.
However, the Vikings steadily expanded their lead throughout the course of the second half and led by 80-52 with 3:57 left in the second half after a spectacular three-point play by Brown.
The Vikings’ bench again played a key role in the victory. After a foul-plagued first half, freshman forward Anton Grady rebounded in the second half with 12 points, seven rebounds, and six blocks, many of which sent the Wolstein Center crowd to their feet in appreciation. In his postgame comments, Waters said he hopes to limit the starters’ minutes throughout the season and that the starters will receive further bench support when freshman Ike Nwamu, who has missed the Vikings’ first two games with a concussion, is cleared for play. However, Vikings fans shouldn’t count on seeing Marlin Mason in action this season, as Waters said he hopes to redshirt Mason this season to develop his ability to play the small forward position.
The Vikings’ next game will be this Friday at home against the St. Bonaventure Bonnies, which Waters as “a very big team” with a future high NBA draft pick in the frontcourt.
