The Cleveland State Vikings started 2012 off on a winning note with a 69-48 victory at home on Saturday afternoon over the visiting Loyola Ramblers.
In his pregame radio comments, Vikings coach Gary Waters stated that the Ramblers’ 5-10 record heading into Saturday’s matchup was deceiving and that the Ramblers were much better team than their record indicated. The Ramblers’ performance in the first half reflected Waters’ statements, as the Ramblers hung tough for most of a low-scoring first half. After falling down by a score of 3-1 early in the game, the Ramblers regrouped and took a 5-3 lead with slightly more than 14 minutes left in the first half.
The Ramblers did not relinquish this lead until Vikings guard Trevon Harmon sunk a 3-pointer to give the Vikings a 13-11 lead with approximately eight minutes left in the first half. Harmon’s perfect shooting performance from 3-point range in the first half helped the Vikings head into the locker room with a 32-17 lead at halftime. Harmon, who missed Thursday’s game with a concussion suffered during the Vikings’ matchup against Youngstown State on New Year’s Eve, led all scorers in the first half with 12 points. The Vikings’ solid defense held Ramblers standouts Ben Averkamp and Walt Gibler to five points each.
In the second half, the Ramblers refused to quit and narrowed the Vikings’ lead to 13 with slightly more than 13 minutes remaining. The Vikings pushed back and extended their lead to 19 on a 3-pointer from senior D’Aundray Brown with approximately 12 minutes remaining. Although the Ramblers refused to allow the Vikings to pull away, they were never able to narrow the Vikings’ lead to less than 13.
After the Vikings extended their lead to 23 on a fast-break layup from Brown, Waters was able to empty his bench with 2:36 remaining in the game. Freshman Marlin Mason, who made his collegiate debut on Thursday night, quickly brought the crowd to their feet with a powerful two-handed dunk. Mason later converted an impressive 3-point play to finish the game with five points. Although Waters had frequently stated that he intended to redshirt Mason this season and only played him because of Sebastian Douglas’ injury, Mason’s solid play in his first two games of action make it clear that he will be a valuable contributor to the Vikings this season and beyond.
The Vikings ended the day with a 69-48 victory, raising their record to 14-3. The Ramblers fell to 5-11.
Harmon, who only missed one shot all game long and sank a career-best six 3-pointers, led all scorers with 20 points. Gibler, Averkamp, and Denzel Brito led the Ramblers with 10 points each.
Next weekend, the Vikings will travel to Indiana for two Horizon League conference games. On Friday, the Vikings will battle the Butler Bulldogs in a highly anticipated matchup that will be televised on ESPNU. The Vikings will end the weekend with a contest against Valparaiso on Sunday. The Ramblers will return to Chicago for a home matchup with UIC.
