Deante Johnson putback lifts Cleveland State past Robert Morris

CLEVELAND — Deante Johnson tipped in an offensive rebound with two seconds left to give Cleveland State a 57-55 win over Robert Morris on Friday night.

Drew Lowder drove the lane as the clock wound down, but his shot caromed off and the initial putback attempt carried long, but Johnson was there to put down the game-winner.

“We’re creating opportunities, but we’re coming up short,” RMU coach Andrew Toole said in a news release. “The communication is where it needs to be. I don’t know why we can’t seem to start the game with the urgency that is required. Credit our guys for battling back, but we all need to be ready to go from the jump and handle the responsibility when you touch down, whether you’re a starter or coming off the bench. Unfortunately there aren’t any mulligans in basketball.”

Deshon Parker had 12 points and contributed six rebounds for the Vikings (15-11, 10-5 Horizon League). Tristan Enaruna scored 11 points and added six rebounds. Lowder shot 4 for 12, including 2 for 6 from beyond the arc to finish with 11 points.

Enoch Cheeks finished with 17 points, five assists and four blocks for the Colonials (11-15, 6-9). Robert Morris also got 11 points, nine rebounds and two blocks from Kahliel Spear. In addition, Stephaun Walker had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

“(Stephaun) played a great game,” Toole said. “He needs to be smarter on some of his fouls, but he had a couple of putbacks that kept us in the game early on. Then we started to guard. We were able to string together some stops to get ourselves back into the game. Unfortunately we just can’t sustain that effort and take care of all the details that are necessary to win.”

These two teams both play Sunday. Cleveland State hosts Youngstown State while Robert Morris visits Purdue Fort Wayne.