When the Horizon League conference schedule was first announced earlier in the year, Saturday’s match up between the Cleveland State Vikings and Detroit Titans looked to be one of the more intriguing early -season match ups on the schedule.
Although the Vikings were losing talented senior guard Norris Cole to the NBA, Cleveland State coach Gary Waters’ senior-laden squad still returned four starters from last year’s team and would be replacing Cole with the experienced D’Aundray Brown. The Titans, who also returned an impressive corps of players, were picked by some national analysts to be the team that would knock Butler off of its perch atop the Horizon League.
In the meantime, however, a series of events have transpired that have combined to create a perfect storm of turmoil for the Titans. Prior to the season, center Eli Holman was involved with a physical altercation at a fraternity house that led the Titans to place him on an indefinite leave of absence. Although Holman has recently returned to team activities, the Titans have already lost several games without him. Additionally, starting forward Nick Minnerath suffered a knee injury and will miss the remainder of the season.
In contrast, the Vikings have not missed a beat since last season’s successful campaign. After upsetting nationally ranked Vanderbilt to start the season, the Vikings have won three games in the final seconds and defeated a variety of quality opponents on their way to an 8-1 start to the season. The Vikings’ debilitating pressure defense has helped them rack up a Horizon League-leading 10.2 steals per game and make it difficult for opponents to get the ball across the halfcourt line. Bolstered by strong bench play and dramatically improved play by senior center Aaron Pogue, the Vikings appear to be a strong contender for the Horizon League title this season.
Despite their struggles, the Titans took their home floor ready to play on Saturday afternoon against the visiting Vikings. Although they came up on the losing end of a 61-66 decision, the Titans showed that they still have a great deal of fight left in them and that the disappointments of this season have not killed their desire to compete.
Although the Vikings jumped out to an early 8-0 lead, the Titans retaliated with a 14-2 run to take a 14-12 lead with 11:32 remaining in the first half. The score was relatively close for much of the first half until a late Vikings run sent Cleveland State into the locker room with a 37-31 lead. With multiple starters plagued with foul trouble, the Vikings’ quality bench play helped them take the lead against a Titans squad that still boasts a significant number of talented players, such as guards Ray McCallum, Jr. and Chase Simon.
In the second half, the Titans hung tough and were able to pull within three points with slightly more than two minutes left in the game. However, a three-pointer from senior guard Jeremy Montgomery extended the Vikings’ lead to six points and the Titans could only whittle their deficit down to five points during the remainder of the game before heading to the locker room with their sixth loss of the season.
The Vikings will continue their long stretch of road games as they travel to Pittsburgh to square off against the Robert Morris Colonials on Thursday. The Titans will remain at home for a matchup against St. John’s in a game that will celebrate the dedication of their new home floor to famous ESPN broadcaster and former Titans head coach Dick Vitale.
