TREMBLAY, France – Bryn Forbes scored 23 points and Cleveland State remained undefeated on its European foreign tour with an 83-78 victory over Tremblay on Wednesday night.
The Vikings are now 4-0 in Europe with their final game of the trip tomorrow night.
Forbes, who is now averaging 22.3 points on the tour, hit 7-of-11 from the field, including 4-of-6 from three-point. He also made all six of his free throws, while tallying five assists and four rebounds.
Anton Grady finished with 15 points and six rebounds and Trey Lewis scored 10 points with five assists. Devon Long had nine points, while Sebastian Douglas tied Grady for team-high honors with six rebounds.
CSU rode the hot hand of Forbes to a 27-18 lead after one quarter. Forbes, last season's Horizon League Newcomer of the Year, scored 13 points in the opening 10 minutes, hitting 3-of-4 from three-point and four free throws.
The Viking lead swelled to 10 points on two occasions in the second quarter, but a 5-1 run by Tremblay over the final 1:30 of the quarter helped them pull to within 45-41 at halftime.
Tremblay took its first lead of the night (50-49) with six minutes to play in the third quarter, but a Forbes layup and back-to-back three-pointers from Marlin Mason, helped put the Vikings back on top, 57-50, with 4:20 left in the third quarter. Tremblay pulled back within two points with 16 seconds left, but a Long dunk just before the buzzer off a Lewis pass put the Vikings up 65-61 heading into the final quarter.
CSU dominated the first seven minutes of the final stanza, outscoring Tremblay, 17-5, to assume its largest lead of the night, 82-66, with 3:25 to play. Tremblay hit a pair of three-pointers and three free throws after a foul on a three-point attempt to make the final score closer.
The Vikings shot .475 (28-59) from the field and hit 12-of-23 (.522) from three-point. CSU out-rebounded its opponent for the fourth straight game, 33-32. The Vikings forced 24 turnovers, converting them into 28 points on the other end.
The Vikings conclude their foreign tour on Thursday night (Aug. 22) when CSU plays Juvissy at 8:00 p.m.