GAME #30
Valparaiso (25-5, 12-3 HL) at Cleveland State (17-12, 11-4 HL)
Friday, February 27 | 10:00 p.m. EST | Wolstein Center
Live Stats | Watch Live
TV: ESPNU
RADIO: AM 1420 WHK & AM 1380 WDLW
PDF GAME NOTES
vs. Valparaiso
THE OPENING TIP:
• Cleveland State closes the regular season when the Vikings host Valparaiso on Friday (Feb. 27) at 10:00 pm in the Wolstein Center.
• The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU, while Al Pawlowski will have the live play-by-play on AM 1420 WHK and AM 1380 WDLW.
• The Vikings are 17-12 overall and in second place in the Horizon League with an 11-4 record, tied with Oakland and one-half game ahead of Green Bay (10-4).
• Valparaiso is 25-5 this season and in first place in the Horizon League with a 12-3 record. The Crusaders have clinched at least a share of the league regular season title.
• CSU split two games in Wisconsin last weekend, winning in overtime at Green Bay, 66-61 and falling at Milwaukee, 66-60.
• Valpo had its seven game win streak snapped with a 63-60 setback at Detroit on Wednesday night.
CHASING A LEAGUE TITLE:
• A CSU win over Valparaiso on Friday would give the Vikings a share of the regular season Horizon League title and the possibility of earning the No. 1 seed in the league tournament, depending on the outcome of Saturday's final league games.
• Valparaiso has already clinched a share of the regular season league championship, while Green Bay or Oakland can also finish with a 12-4 record.
• It would be the second Horizon League regular season title in program history.
• The Vikings were tri-champions of the league in 2010-11 with Milwaukee and Butler after all three finished 13-5.
• CSU has won four regular season league titles, claiming the 1984-85, 1985-86 and 1992-93 Mid-Continent Conference titles and the 2010-11 Horizon League championship.
THE VALPARAISO SERIES:
• Friday's game will be the 45th all-time meeting between the two schools with CSU leading the series, 30-14.
• Valpo has won five of the last seven meetings, including a 58-56 win at home on Jan. 10 in the first meeting this year.
• CSU won both match-ups with the Crusaders last season and is 16-5 vs. Valpo all-time in Cleveland.
MILWAUKEE RECAP:
• The Vikings closed the league road slate with a 66-60 loss at Milwaukee on Sunday (Feb. 22).
• Anton Grady had 24 points and 10 rebounds, while Trey Lewis added 19 points and 10 boards.
• The Vikings built a 55-51 lead with six minutes left on a Charlie Lee three-pointer, but UWM closed the game on a 15-5 run to secure the win.
BLOCK PARTY:
• CSU blocked a season-high 11 shots in the Feb. 15 win over UIC, including a career-high tying six by Anton Grady.
• The 11 blocks are tied for the second most in a game in school history, topped only by 12 blocks against Central State (11/22/03).
FOR THREE:
• The Vikings hit 10 three's at Milwaukee on Sunday, extending its school record streak to 530 straight games with a three.
• CSU has hit at least three three's in 79 straight games.
• 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.
WATERS COACHES 600th CAREER GAME:
• Head coach Gary Waters coached his 600th career game on Feb. 7 against Wright State.
• Waters is 345-259 in his 19th season as a head coach.
• He was 92-60 in five seasons at Kent State, 79-75 in five years at Rutgers and is 174-123 in his ninth season at CSU.
• Waters' 174 wins at CSU are a program record.
• He has led 11 of his teams to the postseason, including three NCAA tournament appearances and seven NIT berths.
HOME SWEET HOME
• The Vikings are 12-2 at home this season, including 7-0 in the Horizon League.
• CSU has been undefeated in home league games three times in school history, going 7-0 in 1985-86 and 1986-87 in the AMCU-8 and 8-0 in the Mid-Continent Conference in 1992-93.
• It is the 17th time in program history that CSU has won at least 10 home games in a season.
• It marks the seventh time in nine seasons under head coach Gary Waters that CSU has reached double-digit home wins.
• In nine years under Waters, the Vikings have posted a 104-35 (.749) record in the Wolstein Center.
DOUBLE DIGITS IN THE LEAGUE:
• CSU has 11 league wins this year, marking the seventh time in the last eight years that CSU has won at least 10 league games.
• CSU has double-digit wins in league play 12 times overall in school history.
• Head coach Gary Waters has guided CSU to seven of the 12 seasons of double-digit league wins in his nine seasons.
LEWIS GETS THREE-POINT RECORD:
• Trey Lewis has made a CSU single-season school record 84 three-pointers this year.
• He broke the old CSU single season record of 81 three's set by Bryn Forbes last season.
• Lewis has 141 three-pointers in his CSU career, needing two more to move past Forbes (142 three's) and into 10th place on the all-time list in CSU history.
GRADY & LEE REACH 1,000 POINTS:
• Charlie Lee and Anton Grady both reached 1,000 career points in the Feb. 4 win over Youngstown State.
• Lee became the 21st player in school history to reach the milestone with a three-pointer late in the first half.
• Grady became the 22nd player in CSU history with 1,000 points when he hit two free throws early in the second half.
• Lee and Grady are the first CSU players to reach 1,000 career points since Jeremy Montgomery and Trey Harmon accomplished the feat during the 2011-12 season.
... AND LEWIS JOINS THEM WITH 1,000:
• Trey Lewis reached 1,000 career points in the Feb. 20 win at Green Bay, giving CSU three players on the roster with 1,000 career points.
• Lewis has 927 points in his two seasons at CSU after totaling 111 points as a freshman at Penn State in 2011-12.
• He is 73 points shy of becoming the 23rd player to score 1,000 points in the CSU program.
GRADY HITS EXCLUSIVE NUMBERS:
• Anton Grady is the only player in CSU history with 1,000 points, 600 rebounds, 100 steals and 100 blocked shots for a career.
• Grady is currently at 1,092 points, 670 rebounds, 125 blocks and 111 steals for his career.
SCORING & DISHING IT OUT:
• Charlie Lee became just the fourth player in school history to record 1,000 points and 400 assists in a career.
• He has 1,085 points and 444 assists during his career.
• The other players in CSU history with 1,000 points and 400 assists in a career are Ken "Mouse" McFadden, Franklin Edwards and Norris Cole.
GRADY DOUBLES UP (AGAIN & AGAIN & AGAIN):
• Anton Grady posted his eighth double-double in League play with 24 points and 10 rebounds at Milwaukee (Feb. 20).
• Grady has recorded eight double-doubles this year, all in league play, and has 18 for his career.
• Grady's eight double-doubles are the second most in the Horizon League this year and rank 56th in the country.
• His eight double-doubles are the most in Horizon League games, four more than anyone else in the league.
GRADY IN THE LEAGUE:
• Anton Grady is the only player in the Horizon League ranked in the top-five in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, steals and blocks.
• Grady is fifth in scoring (16.2), first in rebounding (9.1), second in steals (1.8), third in blocks (1.9) and fifth in field goal percentage (.554).
• Overall, Grady is posting 14.0 points and 7.4 rebounds, while shooting .492 (161-327) from the floor.
• Grady is fourth in CSU history with 125 career blocks.
• He will be playing in his 100th career game on Friday night.
30 FOR 30:
• Trey Lewis is the only player in the Horizon League with two 30-point games this year.
• Lewis had a career-high 32 points in a win over Mount Vernon (Dec. 15) and had 30 points in a victory over Detroit (Jan. 23).
• He is the first CSU player with multiple 30-point games in a season since Norris Cole had two (41 vs. Youngstown State and 35 at Old Dominion) in 2010-11.
WORKING OVERTIME:
• CSU improved to 44-40 all-time in overtime games with a 66-61 victory at Green Bay on Feb. 20.
• The win at Green Bay was the first time CSU won a true overtime road game since a 91-89 win at UIC on Jan. 8, 2000.
• CSU's three overtime games this year are tied for the second most in a season in program history and the most in a season since the Vikings played four OT contests in 1987-88.
• The game at Green Bay was CSU's sixth OT game over the last three seasons.
• Prior to the 2012-13 season, the Vikings had not played an overtime contest since a 69-66 win over Florida State on Nov. 17, 2007, a school record span of 170 games.
LEWIS ON THE OFFENSIVE:
• Trey Lewis is fourth in the League at 17.1 points per game, including 11, 20-point performances and two 30-point games.
• Lewis is second in the league in three-pointers (2.8), ninth in steals (1.3) and 10th in assists (3.0).
• He recorded his first career double-double with 25 points and a career-high 12 rebounds vs. Green Bay (Jan. 31) and had his second with 19 points and 10 boards at Milwaukee (Feb. 22).
• He is a two-time League Player of the Week, earning the award on Jan. 19 and Jan. 26.
• Lewis hit nine three-pointers in a Dec. 15 win over Mount Vernon Nazarene, tying the CSU single game record.
• He was 9-of-11 from three-point, equaling the mark of Percell Coles who hit nine three's against Duquesne on Nov. 27, 2002.
• The nine three-pointers made are the second most by a Division I player this season (Chase Fischer of BYU made 10).
• Lewis scored 18 of CSU's 22 first half points at Louisville (Nov. 26), finishing with a game-high 24 points.
• Lewis has 15 career 20-point games and two 30-point games in his career.
GENERAL LEE:
• Charlie Lee ranks 14th in the league in scoring (12.3), second in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.9) and fourth in assists (4.1).
• Lee is fifth in school history with 444 career assists, 12 shy of moving past Craig Caldwell (1991-95) and into fourth place.
• He is 258-of-293 at the line for his career (65-of-73 this year) with his .881 career percentage tops in CSU history.
• Lee ranks 13th in the nation in free throw shooting this season at .890.
• Lee has played in 118 career games at CSU, needing two more games to move into a tie for 10th place for most career games played.
GOOD BLOODLINES:
• CSU signed three student-athletes to National Letters of Intent during the early signing period in November.
• Joining the Vikings will be Jibri Blount (Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary), Rob Edwards (Detroit Cass Tech) and Jeron "Budda" Rogers (North Farmington, Mich.).
• Blount is the son of NFL Hall of Famer, Mel Blount, while Rogers is the son of former NBA player Carlos Rogers, the 11th pick in the 1994 NBA Draft.
UP NEXT:
• The Vikings will begin the Horizon League tournament with a game in the second round on Friday (March 6) or in the semifinals on Saturday (March 7).
• The complete bracket will be announced by the league at the conclusion of all regular season games.
