D'Aundray Brown converted a tip-in with .3 seconds left as Cleveland State defeated Wright State 45-43 in the Horizon League opener for both teams Thursday at WSU's Nutter Center.

The Vikings led 16-8 at the 12:13 mark of the first half thanks to a 12-2 run, only to see the Raiders close out the period with a 13-5 burst, capped off by a Cole Darling three to tie the game at 21 heading into halftime.

Neither team had more than a four-point lead during the second half and there were five ties and seven lead changes until two Vance Hall foul shots gave Wright State a 42-41 edge with 1:52 remaining.  A Jeremy Montgomery jumper in the paint put the Vikings up one before Darling hit the second of two free throws to tie it at 43 at the 1:06 mark.

After a Cleveland State missed three and a Raider turnover, CSU had the final shot with 27 seconds left.  Montgomery missed a jumper, but Brown was there for the tip-in to give the Vikings the victory.

The final shooting percentages were nearly identical as Wright State shot 41 percent to Cleveland State's 40 percent, but the Vikings were five of 17 from three-point range and eight of nine at the foul line compared to two of nine from behind the arc and nine of 14 from the stripe for the Raiders.  CSU also held a 12-4 edge in second-chance points thanks to a 10-6 advantage in offensive rebounds.

AJ Pacher led Wright State with nine points while Darling had eight and Matt Vest and Reggie Arceneaux seven each.

Tim Kamczyc paced Cleveland State (7-1, 1-0 Horizon) with 12 points and seven rebounds while Montgomery had nine points and Brown eight.

Wright State (2-5, 0-1 Horizon) hosts Youngstown State in another league contest Saturday at 3:00.