Longtime Cleveland sports fans are familiar with the “Kardiac Kids,” which was the nickname bestowed on the 1980 Cleveland Browns team that won multiple games in the waning seconds of the game.
Although the 2011-12 college basketball season is still somewhat young, the Cleveland State Vikings have already given that famous Browns squad a serious challenge for this nickname. For the second time in less than a month, the Vikings won a game with a 3-pointer against a quality opponent in the final seconds as they defeated the Akron Zips by a score of 69-66.
Playing its second game in less than 48 hours, the Vikings hosted the Zips in a game billed as the “Backyard Battle” on Saturday afternoon in front of a large crowd at the Wolstein Center. Saturday’s match up was the Vikings’ first home game since their thrilling contest against St. Bonaventure Nov. 18, and a crowd filled with both Vikings and Zips fans from nearby Akron were eager for a contest between two strong mid-major programs.
As might have been expected after Thursday night’s hard-fought contest against Robert Morris, the Vikings came out a bit flat against the well-rested Zips, who last played Dec. 4 against Middle Tennessee State. After scoring the first points of the game, the Vikings eventually fell behind by a score of 15-9 with 13:27 remaining in the first half. Initially, the Vikings struggled to contain Zeke Marshall, the Zips’ talented junior center who dominated on both sides of the court. Eventually, the Vikings managed to slow him down with near-constant double teaming. The Vikings rallied with a 16-4 run that ended with a thundering block by senior center Aaron Pogue leading to a 3-pointer by freshman Ike Nwamu in transition that gave the Vikings a 25-19 lead with slightly over seven minutes remaining in the first half.
At halftime, the Vikings headed into the locker room with a 35-30 lead.
In the second half, the Vikings came out hot and extended their lead to 42-33. By the time the Vikings stretched their lead to 13 with 13 minutes left in the game, some fans may have expected Cleveland State’s intense pressure defense to clamp down on the visiting Zips and to take away any remaining chance they had of winning the game.
Instead, Cleveland State’s sloppiness nearly stripped them of a chance to win the game.
Multiple turnovers and missed shots by Cleveland State allowed Akron to rally and take a 65-64 lead on a layup by Chauncey Gilliam with 3:31 remaining in the second half. A foul shot by Demetrius Treadwell extended the Zips’ lead to 66-64 with 1:48 left.
However, those were the Zips’ last points of the game, and they could do nothing but watch as Cleveland State’s Jeremy Montgomery proceeded to single-handedly lead the Vikings’ tenth victory of the season.
After being fouled by Akron’s Alex Abreu, Montgomery sank two free throws to tie the game at 66-66. Following an Akron turnover, the Vikings regained possession with a chance to take the lead. After the Vikings missed two shots, Montgomery took a pass from Tim Kamczyc and hoisted up a 3-pointer with 22 seconds remaining that hit nothing but net and gave the Vikings at 69-66 lead.
Akron had one last chance to tie the game, but Demetrius Treadwell’s 3-point attempt was short and the Zips could not stop the clock with a foul before time expired.
With today’s win, the Vikings’ record improved to 10-1 and they currently have a firm grip on first place in the Horizon League. Before the game, Cleveland State honored the accomplishments of last season’s squad, who advanced to the second round of the NIT and won the school’s first regular-season Horizon League men’s basketball championship. Based on the Vikings’ current progress this season, their potential for improvement, and ability to close out close games, they have the potential to exceed the accomplishments of last year’s storied squad.
The Vikings will have over a week off to take finals before taking their talents to South Florida for a road game on December 19th.
