Written by Tom Mieskoski

---

The Cleveland State men's basketball team got a lift off the bench as Jon Harris and Sebastian Douglas each had good nights offensively in the Vikings’ 73-63 win over Detroit on Wednesday night at the Wolstein Center.

Harris, a Miami of Ohio transfer, led the Vikings with a game-high 18 points, while Douglas added 14.

"We needed (the bench) today because our guards went a combined 5-for-27 from the field. If we didn't have them today we probably could have lost the game," said Vikings head coach Gary Waters.

CSU's usually consistent starting guard tandem of Bryn Forbes (16.4 points per game), Trey Lewis (13.8) and Charlie Lee (9.8)  had a rare off night, shooting a combined 5-for-27 from the floor for 16 points. They went a combined 3-for-14 from three-point range.

"They are not going to play us man-to-man anymore because our weapons are starting to create for themselves," said Waters. "So we are going to see a lot of zones and we got to hit some shots."

The Vikings, who have won four of its past five games, improved to 10-7 and 2-1 in the Horizon League, while the Titans dropped to 8-9, 1-1 HL.

Waters called this the best bench that he has had in his seven seasons at CSU. He said the team goal is to score 25 points from the bench every game. On Wednesday, CSU's bench combined to score 34 points against the Titans.

"The difference between this team is (I know) I can write down 25 points (from the bench) before we play the game," said Waters. "I know Jon and Sebastian will get their points. That is a great insurance to go out and play the game."

Harris made all seven of his shots from the floor and was 3-for-4 from the line. He also grabbed six rebounds and dished out three assists. The Twinsburg native is averaging 9.8 points per game and is eighth in the HL in rebounding at 6.2 per game.

"Jon's been a blessing," said Waters. "He's a complete player."

Douglas was 6-for-8 from the field and 2-for-3 from the line. He also added five assists and four rebounds.

"Sebastian's been shooting phenomenal," said Waters.

Douglas came into the game second in the Horizon League in field goal percentage at .640 (55-for-86).

Harris led the Vikings with 12 first half points as CSU took a 37-27 lead at the half.

The Vikings led by as much as 15 points in the first half. They shot 41.4 percent in the opening half, while holding the Titans to only eight field goals in the first 20 minutes.

Detroit would cut the lead down to 66-62 on Evan Bruinsma's layup with 3:33 left, but the Vikings would clamp down on defense, holding the Titans without a field goal for the rest of the game (0-for-8).

"I told them (during the timeout) that we needed five stops," said Waters.

A layup from Douglas and a jumper from Harris sparked a 7-1 run by the Vikings to end the game.

Bruinsma and Anton Wilson led the Titans with 17 points each.

CSU held advantages in points in the paint (42-26) and in points off turnovers (21-2).

"Our game plan was to go inside to Anton (Grady) and share the basketball," said Waters.

The Vikings stuck to the game plan as Grady had a solid game (15 points and eight rebounds), while CSU had 25 assists on its 26 field goals and a season-low six turnovers.

CSU travels to rival Youngstown State on Monday.

Luda update: Senior forward Luda Ndaye, who injured his shoulder in the preseason that required surgery, has yet to play in a game.

Waters is still hoping that Ndaye can play this season.

"Luda's about three weeks away," said Waters. "He will probably practice in two weeks, then need a week of practice before he plays in games."