Cole, Montgomery lead Cleveland State past Youngstown State 77-69 in Horizon League play

Cleveland State beats Youngstown State 77-69

CLEVELAND — Norris Cole scored 19 points and Jeremy Montgomery added 18 to help Cleveland State beat Youngstown State 77-69 on Saturday.

D’Aundray Brown had a double-double with 11 points, 12 rebounds and six steals for the Vikings (10-12, 6-4 Horizon League). Trevon Harmon finished with 14 points.

Cleveland State, which never trailed, scored the game’s first nine points and went into halftime with a 30-21 lead. The Vikings pushed their margin to 17 points — their largest of the game — on a 3-pointer by Montgomery with 10 minutes left in the second half.

The Penguins (8-13, 2-9) attempted a rally, cutting Cleveland State’s lead to 72-66 on Kelvin Bright’s 3-pointer with 37 seconds to play. But the Vikings hit their free throws down the stretch to pull away.

DeAndre Mays led Youngstown State with 27 points. Bright had 12 points and Vance Cooksey added 10.