The ticket has been punched.

Cleveland State men’s basketball has clinched its first berth in the NCAA tournament in twelve years as it defeated Oakland, 80-69, in the Horizon League Championship game at Indiana Farmers Coliseum on Tuesday night.

The Vikings awaits their fate and next opponent as the national seeding for the NCAA tournament will be announced on Sunday. Cleveland State busted more than a few brackets in its last tournament appearance, as the No. 13 Vikings downed No. 4 Wake Forest in the opening round of the 2009 NCAA tournament. CSU also reached the Sweet 16 in 1986.

This year, the Horizon League co-champions battled through adversity to reach the championship game, trailing multiple times in all three of their contests in the postseason.

It was a total team effort each time as the heart and hustle of Cleveland State basketball was on full display.

Tuesday was no different, only this time it was on the national stage.

Four Vikings reached double figures with Torrey Patton scoring a game-high 23 points while Tre Gomillion added 15. D’Moi Hodge and Craig Beaudion chipped in for 15 and 11 points respectively. Both Patton and Gomillion posted double-doubles, with a combined 23 rebounds.

Shortly after the victory, Patton was announced as the Horizon League tournament MVP. The senior stood out with a physical performance on the big stage.

“I feel like I played well tonight,” Patton said. “I just try not to stress myself out. I just try to come out there and play my game, and try and get my teammates involved. I feel like that’s how we played all season though, just trying to be more physical and trying to be the scrappy team.”  

On a night when they shot 51 percent, top-seeded Cleveland State (19-7) came out firing on all cylinders in the first half, shooting near 56 percent from the field as they broke a back-and-forth 15-minute affair to build a 36-28 lead on a Hodge 3-pointer. Gomillion quickly pushed the lead to double digits on a floater under the basket as Vikings coach Dennis Gates reeled in his excited team for the huddle.

“It’s not what I said, it’s what the team said,” Gates said. “They said let’s keep doing the fundamental things that we have been doing. Not settling for outside shots, getting into the paint. Our team’s leadership stood out in that moment. Our guys defended, they defended from the beginning to the end.”

In addition to a solid defense that held their opponents to just 21 field goals, the Vikings dominated the points in the paint battle throughout the night, tallying a 64-18 edge.

Cleveland State closed out the half on a 13-2 run in a span of 4:27, capping it off with a Beaudion bucket as they took a 40-28 lead into the break.

That turning point took a toll on the Golden Grizzlies. 

“They just played better than we did,” Oakland coach Greg Kampe said after the game. “They played at a championship level tonight. I give them all the credit in the world for that. They were tougher than we were. From the 15-minute mark until the end of the first half was really what destroyed us.”  

Cleveland State opened up the second half with a 6-2 run as the national audience got a close-up view of a bench that was looking to erupt.

“The bench, they give us a lot of energy,” Patton said. “They just pump us with confidence the whole game. Especially with us not having fans and having to feed off each other. Just having that energy coming from the bench, it just gives us a big boost of confidence.”

The frenzied sideline appeared to contribute to at least one turnover by the Golden Grizzlies as they poured out their energy in the nearly empty arena.

Gates pointed to one of the team's core values - love. 

“Our guys love each other, they play for each other, they play with each other and they leave whatever they have on the court," Gates said. “They are literally connected as any connected group I have been a part of.” 

The Vikings maintained a double-digit lead on the Grizzlies (12-18) throughout the ensuing minutes, despite Oakland attacking the basket, and racking up free throw opportunities. The Grizzlies' Jalen Moore sliced the lead to 66-55 with 4:47 left after knocking down a pair. His teammate Zion Young cut the lead to eight on a 3-pointer.

Oakland's Moore finished with 22 points, four rebounds and seven assists while Rashad Williams, a former Viking transfer, chipped in 15 points in the loss.

The Golden Grizzlies were pressing on offense, but couldn’t slow down the Vikings steady and balanced attack as Patton pushed it back to 10 points with a quick answer. Oakland continued to hoist 3s in hopes of cutting the lead, but to no avail, as they finished 11-of-38 from deep.

The Vikings pulled away to clinch the tournament berth that had eluded them time and time again, as Indianapolis will become their temporary home.  

“We are looking forward to Selection Sunday to see who we match up against... we are going to be here in Indianapolis, and we are excited about that,” Coach Gates said. “What we do know is that our guys will play together and they will play as best they can and will leave it all out on the court.”