With starting center Aaron Pogue in foul trouble much of the game, Ludavic Ndaye is called to duty and comes through for the Vikings with a solid effort.
View full sizeNorris Cole had 22 points on Thursday for the Vikings.CHICAGO — Sometimes, even on a night when it looks like a struggle, the better team wins.
That was Cleveland State on Thursday night as the Vikings weathered a hot first-half shooting effort by Illinois-Chicago, then used a gift-wrapped spurt early in the second half to finally take a lead and roll to a 63-49 victory over the Flames in the UIC Pavilion.
Key to the run was an intentional foul by the Flames that allowed the Vikings to start padding a tenuous lead, which was inspired by offensive play from 6-9 freshman Ludavic Ndaye.
With starting center Aaron Pogue in foul trouble much of the game, the spindly Ndaye was called to duty. The most he had played this season was seven minutes. But against the Flames the product of Montreal was on the court for 14 minutes and finished with seven points, three rebounds and three blocked shots. That backed up a 22-point night from guard Norris Cole and 13 from Jeremy Montgomery.
Ndaye made his first shot, a 15-footer off the baseline, and the game seemed to flow smoothly for him from there.
"I'm starting to understand my role," Ndaye said. "Then after my first shot, I was able to exhale and play."
Four of his points came on a layup and dunk as CSU turned a 39-37 deficit into a 47-40 lead. The Vikings never trailed after that and improved their record to 19-3, 8-2, while the Flames remained winless in league play (5-16, 0-9).
"He was key," CSU head coach Gary Waters said. "Very, very strong quality minutes, rebounding and playing defense."
While the Flames entered the game winless since Dec. 18, the last notch on their belt was a big one, 57-54 over Illinois. The Flames had their way early, working inside for layups and short-corner jumpers for an 8-3 lead while the Vikings were misfiring from the field, missing six of their first seven shots. The Vikings didn't make their second field goal until 14:19 to play. But by the time they scored again on a Joe Latas stickback, then got a steal and layup from Cole, they were right back in it, trailing, 12-10.
But it wasn't long before things went sour again for the Vikings. Cole picked up his second foul with 9:57 to play and had to sit. The Flames promptly went on a 7-0 run for a 21-12 lead that had Waters calling his first timeout of the game. When a few CSU miscues followed, Waters had seen enough and sent Cole back into the contest.
In short order he scored six straight to get the Vikings within 23-21 with 3:50 to go. CSU's pressure stepped up after that as the Vikings forced four of UIC's 10 turnovers inside the final 3:30 of the half. Playing strong to the final whistle, the Vikings were able to keep the margin within one possession, 31-29, even as the Flames were shooting 50 percent from the field and had a slim 15-14 edge in rebounds.
With Cole already in the books for 11 of his points, and with a rare seven minutes of first-half rest, the final 20 minutes looked to have CSU's name on it. Defensively CSU held the Flames to 26.9 percent the second half. The rest was primarily Ndaye. His layup to started a 10-3 second-half run to give CSU the lead for good, then anchored the spurt with a dunk for a 47-40 advantage the Flames never overcame.
The road trip ends for the Vikings, 4 p.m. Saturday vs. Loyola.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: ealexander@plaind.com, 216-999-4253
Source: http://www.cleveland.com/sports/csu/index.ssf/2011/01/cleveland_state_mens_basketbal_26.html
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