Austin's career-high 21 pts leads Samford past Cleveland St.

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CLEVELAND (AP) — Brandon Austin scored a career-high 21 points and Samford beat Cleveland State 73-60 on Sunday.

Samford is 5-0 for the first time since the 1997-98 season. That team finished 19-9 and won the former Trans America Athletic Conference's West Division. The TAAC changed its name to the Atlantic Sun in 2001.

DeAndre Thomas' 3-pointer gave the Bulldogs a 28-14 lead with 8:30 remaining before halftime. Cleveland State (2-3) got back in it and eventually scored the final eight points of the half and reduced its deficit to 35-34. The Vikings took a brief 36-35 lead before Samford went on a 14-0 run to seize control.

Ruben Guerrero scored 14 points with nine rebounds, Myron Gordon scored 11 and Robert Allen grabbed 11 rebounds for Samford.

Stefan Kenic paced the Vikings with 15 points and six rebounds and Dibaji Walker scored 10.