ETSU men’s basketball played Cleveland State on Nov. 22 inside Woodling Gym in Cleveland, Ohio. In a game that came down to the final seconds, ETSU fumbled with a final score of 72-70 in favor of the Vikings.
ETSU started the game off hot and established a 16-7 lead early in the first half. After turnovers on back-to-back possessions from ETSU, Cleveland State was able to capitalize and was within two points of tying things up with eight minutes to go in the first half.
From here on out, it was a back-and-forth game that included two ties and seven lead changes. A layup by Jadyn Parker (Shallotte, N.C.) put the Bucs up by six, but the Vikings answered back with a made three-pointer to end the half. Parker had a solid first half as he grabbed six points and six boards to help ETSU take a 34-31 lead into the final 20 minutes of play.
ETSU started the second half much like the first. A three-pointer to get things started by Ebby Asamoah (Rockville, Md.) put the Bucs up by six. The Vikings answered once again after a steal and a made jumper cut the Bucs lead to one.
Cleveland State regained the lead with 13:15 in the second half after a basket in the paint. With the Vikings ahead for most of the second half, a triple from Asamoah tied things up at 57 with 6:44 left to go. Asamoah had a team-high 21 points and was electric from deep, shooting 5-9 from beyond the arc. The Vikings once again had an answer for the Bucs on the next possession with a three of their own to give them a three-point lead.
With 1:34 left in regulation, Jaden Seymour (Charlotte, N.C) finished a layup to put the Bucs up by three. Seymour had 16 of his own and pulled down eight rebounds. A free throw from Cleveland State’s Tristan Enaruna cut the Bucs’ lead to two, and then a foul committed by ETSU’s D.J Hughes (Indianapolis, Ind.) sent Viking player Tevin Smith to the line. Smith missed the first and made the second to score 69-68 in favor of ETSU.
A layup from Cleveland State quickly pushed them forward by one. Quimari Peterson (Gary, Ind.) was fouled and sent to the line, where he made the first and then missed the second with 28 seconds left to play. Enaruna could drive to the basket and finish the layup with only four seconds left to play. This was enough to give the Vikings the win.
ETSU now sits at 3-3 on the season, and the win moves Cleveland State to 5-2.
