Cleveland State Men’s Basketball Falls to Kent State – Cleveland State University

Cleveland, OH-The Cleveland State men’s basketball team dropped a non-league game to Kent State on Saturday night by a final score of 68-52. The Vikings fall to 3-4 on the season while Kent State improves to 4-1.
 
The Vikings struggled from the field finishing at 30 percent for the game and just 15 percent from three-point range. Kent State held the lead from start to finish, but the game was closer than the final margin indicated for much of the contest. Cleveland State rallied multiple times to cut the Kent State lead to single digits and had the deficit as low as one possession early in the second half before the momentum shifted and the Golden Flashes pulled away.
 
Dylan Arnett and Chase Robinson each tallied 11 points for CSU with Tahj Staveskie finishing with 10 points. Arnett recorded his second double-double of the season and his third double-digit rebounding performance with 11 rebounds to go along with his 11 points. Five of those boards came on the offensive end of the floor. Staveskie finished 3-of-4 at the charity stripe and added two rebounds. Robinson was 6-of-8 from the free throw line and added three assists and three steals.
 
Kent State scored the first six points of the game and quickly built a double-digit lead at 13-3 headed into the under-12 media timeout. The Golden Flashes’ lead climbed as high as 15 points with just under five minutes remaining in the first half.
 
The Vikings fought back late in the first half and closed it on a 7-1 run which narrowed the gap to seven points at the break. Arnett recorded all seven points in the run converting three free throws and two made baskets to give Cleveland State momentum headed into the second half. Kent State led 36-29 at the break.
 
The Vikings continued the momentum early in the second half scoring the first five points to cut the deficit to two. Just as Cleveland State was poised to climb all the way back, a technical foul call on Tevin Smith with just under 14 minutes remaining shifted the momentum back to Kent State. The Golden Flashes converted both of the ensuing free throws and added another bucket to push the lead back to double digits once again.
 
Cleveland State got no closer than six points the rest of the way as Kent State kept its double-digit lead for the majority of the rest of the game.
 
The Vikings are back in action on Tuesday as Cleveland State prepares to host the Thanksgiving Throwback Tournament at Woodling Gymnasium. The opening game of the tournament will see CSU take on the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) at 6:00 p.m. Tuesday. Admission to all games of the tournament will be free of charge for all spectators.