Relentless effort. 

It had been a staple of Cleveland State’s championship regular season, and it came into play once again on Tuesday night as the top-seeded Vikings survived triple overtime to defeat the No. 10 Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons, 108-104, in a Horizon League tournament quarterfinal at the Wolstein Center. 

The Vikings advanced to face No. 8 Milwaukee in a Horizon League semifinal matchup at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis on Mar. 8 at 6:30 p.m. on ESPNU. 

One overtime after the other, and throughout the entire night, the Vikings (17-7) just kept fighting. Going toe-to-toe with a team that they had played four times already in the regular season. Being top overall seed meant nothing. It was all heart and hustle for nearly three hours of basketball.

Each player had their moment at different times throughout the night, but there was perhaps none bigger than Algevon Eichelberger’s game-tying three with Cleveland State trailing 89-86 in the final seconds of the second overtime. For Eichelberger, a season full of injury and small opportunities was forgotten in that one moment as the Vikings’ dream season was on the brink.

The senior received an inbound from Tre Gomillion and with a dribble and a heave, sent his bench into euphoria with the bank shot off the glass.

“I remember last year I drew up a three point shot to win the game against Wright State, and he was so hard on himself, and so I said if anyone is going to shoot this ball, it’s going to be Al,” Vikings coach Denis Gates said.” I didn’t draw up the pull up part when he took it off the dribble, but that was the play that he executed and he was in that slot and was able to knock it down.”

Eichelberger, who logged a season-high 37 minutes, finished with a season-high 20 points, six rebounds and five assists. 

Cleveland State continued to battle into the third overtime as Eichelberger came through with a bucket to put the Vikings up 93-92. He also tacked on a pair of free throws. A couple of attacking drives from senior guard Torrey Patton and a bucket from Crag Beaudion helped the Green and White push ahead 107-104, setting up a masterful coaching move from Gates, the back-to-back HL Coach of the Year.

With Purdue Fort Wayne’s Jalon Pipkins inbounding, Gates sent out 7-foot-2 center Mabor Majak, who had barely played all season, to disrupt the inbound pass attempt to a red-hot Jarred Godfrey. The coach's call worked to perfection as CSU's Patton came away with the steal, and the eventual game-clinching free throw with four seconds left.

“I think the entire season has prepared us for that moment,” Gates said. “There wasn’t a situation that we hadn’t gone through this season, in our first phase, that we couldn’t use in this game. And our guys just went back to their mental rolodex. They were able to not panic, and in those situations they were able to keep their composure.” 

Cleveland State outrebounded Purdue Fort Wayne 50-36, and dominated the points in the paint matchup, with a 66-44 advantage. 

The Vikings were led by a game-high 30 points and 13 rebounds on 13-of-24 shooting from Patton. Gomillion - the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year - added 22 points, 13 rebounds and six assists while Beaudion chipped in 17 points and five assists.

 The stats were piling up, but so was their confidence. 

“I thought we prevailed, made some tough buckets, some tough plays and we didn’t blink in the overtimes, and we didn’t blink in regulation,” Gates said. “We stood toe-to-toe. We competed at the best of our ability, and we left it all on the floor.”

While the Vikings were thriving off the pressure, the Mastodons (8-15) were playing their best game of the season. The shots were falling, especially from Godfrey, who tallied 23 points, 12 assists and five rebounds. He nabbed a layup with six seconds left to tie the game at 67 in regulation. 

Pipkins chipped in 19 points and five rebounds in the loss.   

Purdue Fort Wayne, which took a 28-27 lead into halftime, kept even with Cleveland State throughout most of the night, matching them bucket for bucket. After squandering a chance to close out the game with free throws, The Mastodons crept ahead of the first overtime on back-to-back buckets, triggering their first two-possession lead of the game.

The Vikings stormed back with a layup from Patton to tie the game at 76 with 20 seconds left. The second-ranked defense then took center stage, holding the Mastodons in check, and without a shot, to force the second overtime. 

In the second extra session, The Mastadon’s took an 86-81 lead, only to relinquish it thanks to an attacking Patton, who eventually tied the game at 86 on a three-pointer with 50 seconds left.   

It was a scratch and claw mentality for Gates and the Vikings all evening long.    

“I guess that is what it looks like when you play a team five times,” Gates said. “There is no secrets. There is nothing we didn’t know about them. There is nothing they didn’t know about us, and at that point, players make plays. I thought they went on some short spurts, and some short runs, but I told my guys there is no such thing as March without a little madness.”

The Vikings’ biggest tournament threats found that out the hard way as No. 2 seed - and co-regular season champion - Wright State floundered away its season with a 94-92 loss to No. 8 Milwaukee. No. 5 Detroit Mercy, who gave the Vikings issues in a few regular season games, also bowed out with a 70-69 defeat at the hands of Northern Kentucky.

Gates, unaware of his next opponent at the time, offered his take on what the Vikings’ “easier” path will bring.

“We are going to reset and just watch the film and see what we can do better,” Gates said. “Not look too far ahead of ourselves, nor too far behind. I thought this game, it took a lot of grit, it took a lot of fight, a lot of toughness, but also it took alot of unselfish spirit, and I thought our guys showed how galvanized we are. I don’t know who we play, but we will prepare, and be prepared.”