Men's basketball

Cleveland State and Youngstown State slugged it out in Indianapolis, Indiana on Monday for the right to advance to the Horizon League Championship Game.

CSU's in-state rivals prevailed 56-54 as the Vikings came up just short in the program's fifth consecutive trip to the Horizon League semifinals.

Both teams struggled to settle into a rhythm offensively throughout the night. The game featured seven lead changes and six ties. Despite trailing on the glass and in the turnover margin, Cleveland State hung tough and held the lead in the closing minutes before a late YSU rally pushed the Penguins over the top.

Tevin Smith, playing in his final tournament game, led the Vikings with 14 points. Smith made five field goals including 2-for-5 from three-point range and added four rebounds and two assists. He connected on both of his attempts from the free throw line.

Je'Shawn Stevenson finished with 11 points including eight in the first half. He connected on 3-of-4 from three-point range with all three makes coming at critical points in the game. Tahj Staveskie tallied 10 points on 3-for-5 from the field. Staveskie was perfect on two three-point tries and added three boards and two assists.

Neither side had much of an advantage in a tight game throughout.

Youngstown's Ty Harper put the Penguins in front 56-54 with 43 seconds to play. Cleveland State had multiple looks on its final offensive possession but could not get a shot to fall to even the score.

The Vikings shot 41 percent from the floor and 66 percent (8-12) from three-point range on the night. They held YSU to 36 percent from the field and just 32 percent from long range.

Women's basketball

The women's game, also in Indianapolis on Monday, saw the Vikings drop an 83-65 decision to Purdue Fort Wayne in their semifinal.

Destiny Leo opened the scoring for the Vikings during the contest, sinking a three-pointer just over one minute into the contest, before Purdue Fort Wayne responded with a 14-2 run, gaining a 10-point lead at 15-5 midway through the opening quarter. Another Leo three-pointer stopped the PFW scoring run, and brought the Vikings back within seven points, before ending the first frame with the score at 19-12 Mastodons.

PFW had the advantage throughout, pulling away with a 13-point lead at the halftime break at 48-35. They continued that momentum into the third quarter, taking a 60-48 lead into the final 10 minutes of action. The Mastodons then took control of the game with an 11-5 run in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter before cruising to an 83-65 victory.

Mickayla Perdue paced the Vikings with 33 points, setting a CSU single-season scoring record, and finishing with 663 points for the year.

Leo added 11 points, bringing her career point total to 1,920 and her career three-point total to 317, including a single-season record with 93 on the year.

The trio of Jordana Reisma, Sara Guerreiro and Grace Ellis grabbed six rebounds.

As a team, Cleveland State recorded 15 assists on the day, including six from Perdue.

The Vikings combined for four blocked shots, including two from Reisma.

CSU was playing in the semifinals of the Horizon League Tournament for the sixth straight season and 12^th time in program history.