GAME #30
vs. Youngstown State
7:00 p.m. EST | Tues., Feb. 25
Cleveland, Ohio • Wolstein Center
Audio | Live Stats | Video
THE OPENING TIP:
• Cleveland State concludes the regular season home slate when the Vikings host Youngstown State at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday (Feb. 25) in the Wolstein Center.
• The Vikings are 19-10 overall and in second place in the Horizon League at 10-4.
• CSU holds a one-game lead over third place Valparaiso (9-5) and is two games ahead of fourth place Wright State (8-6).
• The Vikings have won eight of their last nine games, including a 74-50 win over Milwaukee on Saturday.
• YSU is 15-14 overall and is in a four-way tie for fifth place in the league at 6-8.
• The Penguins dropped a 68-66 contest at Valparaiso on Saturday.
• CSU leads the all-time series with YSU, 41-39, and has won 10 of the last 14 contests. Tuesday's game will be the 82nd all-time meeting, the most by an opponent vs. CSU.
• The Penguins won this year's first meeting, 67-66, in Youngstown on Jan. 13 behind 31 points by Kendrick Perry.
• Bryn Forbes was one of three CSU players in double figures with 17 points in the first match-up. Trey Lewis had 15 and Marlin Mason scored 10.
ONE WEEK TO GO:
• With one week to play in the regular season, Cleveland State is in second place in the Horizon League with a 10-4 mark.
• CSU can still finish anywhere between the No. 2 and No. 4 seed for the league tournament depending on outcomes this week.
• CSU is one game ahead of Valparaiso (9-5) and two games clear of Wright State (8-6) with two games to play.
• The Vikings host YSU and play at Valparaiso this week. Valpo is at Wright State and hosts CSU, while Wright State hosts Valparaiso and plays at UIC to finish the regular season.
• The Vikings can clinch the No. 2 seed in the league tournament with a win over YSU on Tuesday and a Wright State victory over Valparaiso.
FOR THREE:
• CSU is shooting .415 from three-point (217-523) this year, the second best percentage in the nation this year (Creighton; .428).
• The Vikings have reached 200 three-pointers in a season for the fifth time in school history and the fourth straight season.
• The school record is 237 three-pointers by the 2010-11 squad.
• CSU has made a three-pointer in 496 straight games, including a school-record tying 14 three-pointers at Oakland (Feb. 6).
• The last time CSU failed to make a three was Feb. 21, 1998, when the Vikings were 0-for-8 in a 60-57 win over Detroit.
• The Vikings have made at least three trey's in 45 straight games, the longest streak in school history.
10 IN THE LEAGUE:
• CSU's win over Milwaukee on Saturday gave the Vikings 10 Horizon League wins. It is the sixth time in the last seven years that CSU has reached 10 league wins.
• It is the 11th time overall that the Vikings reached double-digit league wins.
THE CENTURY MARK:
• Charlie Lee has 102 assists this year, while Trey Lewis has dished out 98 dimes.
• The duo is closing in on becoming the seventh set of teammates to hand out 100 assists in the same season.
• Lee and Lewis would be the first CSU duo to reach 100 assists in the same season since Gravelle Craig had 167 and Craig Caldwell tallied 102 assists in 1992-93.
PROTECTING THE ROCK:
• The Vikings tied a school-record with just four turnovers in Saturday's (Feb. 15) loss to Green Bay.
• It was the second time in school history CSU had just four turnovers in a game. (vs. South Florida; 12/22/10).
FROM THE FIELD:
• CSU has shot 60% or better from the field four times (vs. Ball State, Notre Dame College & Oakland twice), tying the school record for most games in a season with the 2010-11 team.
• Prior to Gary Waters arriving at CSU in 2006-07, CSU shot better than 60% from the floor just once in the 11 prior seasons.
• CSU has shot better than 50% from the floor in 15 games - including each of the last five contests - this year, going 12-3.
• The Vikings top the Horizon League and are 27th in the country in field goal percentage (.476).
WATERS SETS CSU WINS RECORD:
• Gary Waters became the all-time winningest coach in CSU history on Jan. 28 with his 150th career win at Eastern Illinois.
• He now has 155 career wins at CSU.
• He passed Ray Dieringer who won 149 games (1969-83).
• Waters' .584 winning percentage at CSU is second all-time, trailing Kevin Mackey's .673.
• Waters is 326-245 (.573) in 18 seasons as a head coach.
• Led his team's to the postseason 10 times in his first 17 seasons, including four times at CSU (one NCAA and three NIT's).
A LOOK AT SCORING:
• CSU is averaging 74.2 points per game.
• The Vikings are on pace to average at least 70.0 points for just the second time in the last 14 years.
• The 2010-11 squad averaged 71.0 points.
• CSU has scored 80 or more points in 10 games this year, the most since it topped 80 points 12 times in 1999-00
• CSU's 97 points in a Dec. 18 win over Notre Dame (OH) were the most since the Vikings scored 113 in a win over Wilberforce on Dec. 12, 2009.
AT THE CHARITY STRIPE:
• CSU is shooting .744 (435-585) at the free throw line to rank first in the league and rank 29th in the nation.
• It puts CSU on pace to shoot better than 70-percent at the free throw line for the eighth straight season under Gary Waters.
• Prior to Waters arriving at CSU (2006-07), the Vikings shot 70-percent or better just two times (1979-80; .724 & 1986-87; .700).
• The school record for free throw percentage in a season is .749 (477-637) in 2009-10.
FABULOUS FORBES:
• Bryn Forbes ranks sixth in the Horizon League in scoring (16.0 ppg) and second in three-pointers per game (2.5).
• Missed first career game against Green Bay (Feb. 15) with a stomach virus, the first game he missed in his career.
• Forbes has 13 career 20-point games, including nine this year.
• Had career-high 27 points vs. Notre Dame (OH) and at Detroit.
• He has 854 career points and is the fourth player in CSU history to reach 800 points as a sophomore (Ken McFadden, Clinton Ransey, Franklin Edwards).
• Made a three-pointer in all 28 games he has played in this year.
• His 70 three-pointers this year are tied for the second most in a season in school history and two away from breaking Trey Harmon's record of 71 three's in 2011-12.
• Forbes made 30 straight free throws to open the season and is sixth in the league in free throw percentage (.818; 99-121).
• Last year's Horizon League Newcomer of the Year, he was a preseason second team all-league pick.
GENERAL LEE:
• Charlie Lee is 27th in the league in scoring (9.7), sixth in assists (3.9) and steals (3.9), second in FT% (73-80; .913) and three-point percentage (39-87; .448).
• He dished out a CSU season-high nine assists vs. Detroit (Jan. 8), one off tying his career-high.
• He has 329 career assists and is 10 assists shy of moving into the CSU career top-10 (Lee Reed, 339 assists from 1979-83).
• Lee has made 27 straight free throws with his last miss coming against Oakland on Jan. 16.
• It is the second time this season that Lee has made 27 consecutive free throws.
THE SIXTH MAN:
• Jon Harris is a strong candidate for Horizon League Sixth Man of the Year, coming off the bench in all 28 games.
• The Miami (OH) transfer ranks 22nd in the league in scoring (10.9) and seventh in rebounding (6.2).
• He is fifth in the league in field goals percentage, shooting .558 (111-199) from the field.
• Notched his first career double-double with 17 points and a career-high 11 rebounds against Wright State (Jan. 19).
• Second career double-double at UIC (Jan. 22) with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
• Scored a career-high 27 points at Drexel (Dec. 4), breaking his old high of 21 points against Akron last year.
• Scored in double figures in 15 games this year, the most in a season by a CSU reserve (Anton Grady had 13 in 2011-12).
• Has 37 assists, 27 steals and 23 blocked shots, the 13th player in school history with at least 20 of each in a season and the first to do it without starting a game.
A VERY GRADY SEASON:
• After missing all but six games last season with a knee injury, Anton Grady has rounded back into form this year.
• He is 24th in the league in scoring (10.4), sixth in rebounding (6.6) and 10th in blocked shots (1.0).
• In league only games, Grady tops the circuit with 8.6 rebounds per game and is 18th in scoring (11.5).
• He has five double-doubles this year with four coming in league play (Green Bay, Milwaukee, UIC, Wright State).
• After scoring in double figures in just four of the first 12 games, he has reached double figures in 11 of the last 15 contests.
• He is fifth in CSU history with 80 blocks.
LOOKIN' AT LEWIS:
• Trey Lewis is 10th in the league in scoring (13.4) and ninth in assists (3.4). He sat out last year after transferring from Penn State.
• Has started 22 of the 29 games this year.
• Made a career-high five three-pointers, going 5-of-6, on Jan. 13 at Youngstown State.
• Scored a career-high 29 points vs. Oakland (Jan. 16), going 9-of-14 from the field.
• Played 53 of 55 minutes in triple overtime at Drexel (Dec. 4), the third most minutes played by a player in school history.
• Has scored in double figures in 22 of 29 games this year with four 20-point games.
TEACH ME HOW TO DOUGLAS:
• Sebastian Douglas is averaging 8.3 points and 3.4 rebounds off the bench this year.
• Played in 24 games with seven starts, missing five (Jan. 16-28) games with a concussion.
• Returned to the lineup at Detroit (Jan. 31), scoring 14 points with four assists.
• Leads the Horizon League in field goal percentage (.625), hitting 85-of-137 from the field.
• He has been perfect from the field in four games this year, going 4-4 against Robert Morris, 6-6 versus Western Carolina, 5-5 at Kent State and 3-3 at Green Bay.
NDAYE RETURNS:
• After missing the first 27 games with a shoulder injury, Ludovic Ndaye returned against Green Bay (Feb. 15).
• Played eight minutes, scoring two points with two rebounds and two blocks.
JUMP SHOTS
• CSU's 73-59 win over Iona (Nov. 9) matched the second largest halftime deficit CSU has overcome to win. The Vikings trailed at the half, 44-29. CSU came back from a 21-point deficit (44-23) against Detroit on Feb. 5, 2005.
• CSU's 82 points at San Francisco were the most points in a loss since an 87-83 setback to Milwaukee on Feb. 24, 2011.
• The Vikings had five players foul out at Eastern Michigan, the most in a game in school history (old record was four players done multiple times).
• CSU had six players in double figures vs. Robert Morris (Forbes -18, Lee - 17, Grady and Lewis - 13, Harris - 11, Douglas - 10).
• The 21,067 fans that CSU played in front of was the second largest crowd in CSU history, topped only by the 21,713 that watched CSU defeat St. Joseph's in the NCAA East Regional at the Carrier Dome (3/16/86).
• CSU's 97 points against Notre Dame College were the most since the Vikings defeated Wilberforce 113-61 on Dec. 12, 2009.
• LaRoche was 0-for-1 at the free throw line on Dec. 23. The zero free throws are tied for the least by a CSU opponent with St. Francis, Pa. (12/13/72). The one attempt is tied for the second fewest in a game by a CSU opponent. St. Francis, Pa., did not attempt a free throw on Dec. 13, 1972.
• CSU held Milwaukee to 0-of-16 from three-point on Jan. 4. It was the 16th time in program history that a team failed to make a three-pointer against the Vikings.
• The Vikings had a 96.2% assisted-basket% on Jan. 8 vs. Detroit, assisting on 25 of their 26 baskets. It is the best percentage in a game in the nation this year.
• The 4.17 assist-to-turnover ratio (4.17) against Detroit on Jan. 8 was the best in school history in a game.
• CSU had a season-low four turnovers vs. Green Bay (Feb. 15), tied for lowest in a game in school history (South Florida; 12/22/10).
UP NEXT:
• The Vikings travel to Valparaiso on Saturday (March 1) in the regular season finale.
• Tipoff is slated for 4:00 p.m. EST and the game will be broadcast live on SportsTime Ohio.
