MILWAUKEE — BJ Freeman's 31 points led Milwaukee past Cleveland State 81-72 on Saturday, costing the Vikings what would've been a share of their third straight regular season conference title.
Freeman also added eight rebounds for the Panthers (20-10, 14-6 Horizon League). Ahmad Rand added 12 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. Justin Thomas recorded nine points.
Tristan Enaruna finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds and two steals for CSU (19-12, 14-6). Tae Williams added 21 points, 11 rebounds and two steals for the Vikes, and Yahel Hill finished with 11 points and two steals.
Cleveland State led by five at halftime, but a 27-8 run by Milwaukee proved to be its undoing. The loss broke the Vikings' five-game winning streak and handed the outright conference championship to Youngstown State.
Settling for the No. 3 seed in next week's Horizon League Tournament, CSU will still get a first-round bye and host a quarterfinal game Thursday night at the Wolstein Center. The Vikes will face the highest remaining seed that makes it out of the opening round, which could be any one of the following four teams:
- (6) Robert Morris (15-16, 10-10)
- (7) Wright State (17-14, 10-10)
- (8) Detroit Mercy (13-18, 9-11)
- (9) Purdue Fort Wayne (17-14, 9-11)