INJURY-LADEN COUGARS POWER PAST VOL STATE
In their second to last home game of 2016, the Cleveland State Cougars demonstrated that they had no problem playing off their bench.
In their second to last home game of 2016, the Cleveland State Cougars demonstrated that they had no problem playing off their bench.
The Cougars (8-1, 4-1) handled the Volunteer State Pioneers (5-5, 0-4) in an 88-70 win Friday evening. The conference win gives CSCC a 5-0 record at home and is their eighth of the season.
"The record looks good, but we've really been dealing with a lot of stuff," Cougars head coach Lee Cigliano stated. "It seems like we've been dealing with injuries since August and we're just working thin right now and the guys that we have are doing their best. We're just going to try and hang on until Christmas break."
The ball-hungry Cougars made quick work of the Pioneers in the first half and just seven minutes in had a 22-6 lead. Following the remaining 13 minutes, Vol State got into the game and picked up 27 points, but Cleveland State netted 25 more points to take a 47-33 lead into halftime.
Unfortunately for the Cougars, the first half also came with a steep price. Freshman forward Victor Curry went down with an apparent knee injury just four minutes into the game. Curry had six points and four rebounds in the limited minutes he played.
Curry is the second Cougar to go down with an injury this week and third of the season.
Freshman guard Romero Hill, who has been recovering from a sprained ankle, came off the bench Friday night. Hill put in 31 minutes for the Cougars and had eight points and eight rebounds for the night, seven of which were defensive.
"I really appreciate how they've stepped up. (Friday) night, Romero had a sprained ankle and he played," Cigliano explained. "He hadn't practiced for most of the week, but we needed him and I thought he played really well and helped us a lot."
Cleveland State found itself challenged by a recharged Vol State squad in the second half, who put up 37 points to the Cougars' 41.
Despite the pep that showed up in the Pioneers' step, the Cougars' strong start and finish was more than enough to secure them their eighth win in what has been a highly successful season thus far. When asked about his team's performance in Friday's game, Cigliano was most impressed with their effort.
"It's not so much that we have to do better, it's just now that we have so many people in different positions, we have to figure out how we want to play," the coach commented. "I don't think we could have done any better with our effort, I think our effort is really good as far as hustle and overcoming adversity."
Freshman guard Tevin Olison led the Cougars with 24 points, which included a trio of treys, and six rebounds, with sophomore guard Jordan Olison following closely with 21 points and three rebounds.
Sophomore forward Jordan Williams post 14 points in the game and nine total rebounds, five offensive and four defensive.
Cleveland State had a total of 39 rebounds, 26 defensive and 13 offensive. The team shot 47 percent from behind the arc and went 4-for-7 from the free throw line. In terms of overall shooting, the Cougars were at 55 percent for the night.
The Cougars hit the road for their final game of 2016, which will be at Gadsden State Community College on Thursday. Cleveland State returns from Christmas break with a conference game against Wallace State Community College-Hanceville on Jan. 7 at 5 p.m.
