The Cleveland State Cougar basketball team took care of business late in the game as they defeated the Roane State Raiders 60-58 in the TCCAA East finals.
Trailing by five with seven and half minutes to play, the Cougars went on a 10-0 run to take a 54-49 lead and held on for the win. They will play at 4:30 p.m. CST at Volunteer State against the winner of the West finals.
Both teams traded buckets for most of the first half, but Cleveland would build a 25-15 lead at 6
and half minutes to go in the first half. They would maintain that lead and go to the locker room
with a 32-24 lead. Damian Forrest was big in the first half with 12 points.
Roane made a push defensively and fought their way back in the second half to take the lead, but
the Cougars responded to the run and took the lead back on a ;Juan Banks three point play.
They would maintain a five point advantage the rest of the way, hitting key free throws down the
stretch to preserve the triumph.
Forrest and Maurice Dickson led the Cougars with 14 points a piece. Khristian Green also had
double digits with ten points. Forrest had ten rebounds while Banks and Dickson chipped in with
eight and seven. The Cougars’ record now stands at 11-6 on the season.