Cleveland State cruises as Devezin sits

Marist faced Cleveland State for the second straight year Saturday night. Although the Red Fox team was different, the result was not.
Marist shot 34.7 percent from the field and dropped an out-of-conference game, 66-47, to the Cleveland State Vikings.
The result does not come as a complete surprise since Marist faced the Horizon League preseason favorite without standout point guard David Devezin. Devezin injured his heel last week against Memphis and the coaching staff decided to hold him out for tonight's game. Marist does not return to action until Dec. 20 in the Aeropostale Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden.
Marist head coach Chuck Martin said that Devezin remains day-to-day and will be re-evaluated throughout the week as he gets treatment.
Devezin's injury forced freshman R.J. Hall into a starting role. In his first career start, the Bloomfield Tech product scored six points and dished out four assists in 31 minutes of action.
Martin also chose to start freshman forward Alex Vouyoukas. Vouyoukas had the most productive night of any Red Fox. He tallied seven points on 3-of-3 shooting in 14 minutes. Vouyoukas' role has increased steadily throughout the year and this will continue to be the case come conference play.
Forward Ryan Schneider led the Red Foxes in scoring with 14 points. Schneider's scoring output was a game high. The senior captain also grabbed five rebounds and notched three assists. With Devezin sitting, Schneider emerged as a marked man for Cleveland State. In their last three games, the Vikings have held opponents to 32.5 percent shooting. Marist proved no different.
Cleveland State and Horizon League star J'Nathan Bullock led the Vikings in scoring with 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting. Bullock also hauled in eight rebounds and had three steals.
After Marist grabbed an early 7-6 lead, Cleveland State embarked on a 19-1 run. Marist closed the deficit to five after a 12-0 run capped off by an R.J. Hall three-pointer.
Cleveland State regained the momentum, however, when Cedric Jackson nailed a buzzer-beating three-pointer at the end of the first half. The Vikings went into halftime with a 32-22 lead. MORE TO COME.