CLEVELAND -- Norris Cole scored 26 points as Cleveland State cruised to a 73-61 win over Illinois-Chicago on Tuesday night in the first round of the Horizon League tournament.
The third-seeded Vikings (25-7), who claimed a share of their first Horizon regular-season title Saturday, set a school record with their 16th home win.Cleveland State will play No. 6 seed Wright State in the second round on Friday in Milwaukee.The Flames (7-24), the No. 10 seed, ended the season with their fifth straight loss.The Vikings shot 50 percent in the first half (14 of 28) en route to a 40-23 lead at the break.The Flames got within five points twice, the last time at 51-46 with 8:55 to go, then Cole answered with a 3-pointer.Jeremy Montgomery added 17 points for the Vikings and Trevon Harmon had 13.Paul Carter led Illinois-Chicago with 18 points, hitting 13 of 16 free throws.
