CLEVELAND, Ohio-- A second-half Detroit dryspell helped lift host Cleveland State to a 77-64 win at the Wolstein Center Thursday night in Horizon League action. The victory keeps CSU in the hunt for a No. 2 seed in the upcoming HL postseason tournament.

Detroit did not hit a field goal in the final 9:14 of the game to allow Cleveland State to erase a six-point halftime lead and take the victory.  Despite being in foul trouble, the Viking bench filled-in with 25 points, 20 coming from the freshmen duo of Charlie Lee and Ike Nwamu.

The Titans (17-13, 10-7) got off to a great start, scoring 12 straight points after the first bucket by CSU (21-9, 11-6 HL) for the early advantage.  Back-to-back threes by Ray McCallum and Doug Anderson kick-started the run, followed by an Anderson dunk, an Eli Holman jumper and a put-back by Chase Simon forced a Viking timeout.

CSU's third field goal of the half didn't come until the 11:15 mark and Detroit led comfortably, 16-6.  The Vikes whittled the margin down to three on a triple from Jeremy Montgomery, who was fighting signs of cramping all night as his team is in the midst of a stretch with four games in seven nights.  

Chase Simon, who led the Titans with 17 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth career double-double, immediately answered the three on the other end and Detroit ended the opening period with a 38-32 lead.  At the break, UDM out-rebounded CSU 27-17 and turned the ball over just five times.

It would be a different story in the second half.  Detroit mustered just five field goals in the entire second 20 minutes.  CSU re-took the lead at the 11-minute mark on a Nwamu triple but a McCallum jumper gave the Titans a 51-49 lead with 9:15 left.  It would prove to be the final bucket of the game for the visitors as Detroit misfired on its final nine shots from the floor.

The Titans made a concerted effort to get to the free throw line, however, shooting 38 from the charity stripe.  But, Detroit missed 11 freebies and CSU was able to outscore the Titans 45-26 in the second stanza.

Cleveland State had four players in double figures led by 16 from Trevon Harmon.  Marlin Mason added 15 with 12 from Lee and 10 from Tim Kamczyc.

Detroit had three players in double digits, paced by Simon's 17-point output.  McCallum chipped-in 13 and Jason Calliste added 10 for the Titans.  With the loss and other results around the league Thursday, Detroit can finish no higher than the third seed for the HL tournament pairings.  

Detroit ends the regular season Saturday afternoon when it heads to Youngstown State for a 2:05 tip.  The game is the Horizon League Game of the Week and will be televised live in the Detroit area on WADL-TV 38 and online via the Horizon League Network.

Notes:  LaMarcus Lowe did not play due to a violation of team rules ... Cleveland State's 45 second-half points were the most by a Detroit opponent in the second half this season ... Detroit's 29.6 percent shooting from the floor was a season low ... Simon's double-double was his second of the season and the ninth by a Detroit player in 2011-12.