GAME #32
Horizon League Championship Semifinals
No. 4 Cleveland State (18-13) at No. 1 Valparaiso (26-5)
Saturday, March 7 | 9:30 p.m. EST | Athletics & Recreation Center
Live Stats | Watch Live
RADIO: AM 1420 WHK; AM 1220 WHKW; AM 1440 WHKZ; AM 1320 WOBL
PDF GAME NOTES
at Valparaiso
THE OPENING TIP:
• Fourth-seeded Cleveland State continues play in the Horizon League Championship when the Vikings play at top-seeded Valparaiso in a semifinal game at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday (March 7).
• The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU with Mike Couzens and Sean Harrington providing the commentary.
• Al Pawlowski will have the play-by-play of the second round game on AM 1420 WHK, AM 1220 WHKW, AM 1440 WHKZ and AM 1320 WOBL.
• The Vikings are 18-13 overall and advanced to the semifinals for the sixth time in the last eight seasons with a 70-53 win over Detroit in the second round on Friday night..
• Valpo finished the regular season at 26-5 overall and in first place in the league with a 13-3 mark. Valpo hasn't played since a 56-53 win at CSU to end the regular season last Friday (Feb. 27).
THE VALPO SERIES:
• CSU leads the all-time series with Valparaiso, 30-15.
• The Crusaders have won eight of the last 12, including both meetings this season.
• The teams have met once in the league tournament with CSU earning a 78-73 win in the 2008 semifinals at Butler.
CSU IN THE LEAGUE TOURNAMENT:
• The Vikings are 12-18 all-time in the Horizon League tournament and 23-25 all-time in conference tournaments.
• This is the sixth time in the last eight seasons that CSU has advanced to the semifinals of the league tournament (2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015).
• CSU is 9-7 in the HL tournament under Gary Waters.
• CSU won the 2009 tournament title, winning four games, including a 57-54 win at Butler in the championship game.
A LOOK AT THE TOURNAMENT:
• CSU enters the tournament as the No. 4 seed. Here is a breakdown of this year's tournament schedule.
Tuesday, March 3 – First Round (at Higher Seeds)
Game 1: #5 Detroit 77, #8 Youngstown State 67
Game 2: #6 UIC 60, #7 Wright State 57
Friday, March 6 – Second Round (at Valparaiso)
Game 3: #6 UIC 72, #3 Oakland, 69
Game 4: #4 Cleveland State 70, #5 Detroit 53
Saturday, March 7 – Semifinals (at Valparaiso)
Game 5: #6 UIC vs. #2 Green Bay, 7:00 p.m EST
Game 6: #4 Cleveland State at #1 Valparaiso, 9:30 p.m. EST
Tuesday, March 10 – Championship (at Highest Remaining Seed)
Game 7: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner, 7:00 pm EST
WATERS COACHES #300 AT CSU:
• Gary Waters coached his 300th career game at CSU on Friday, second most in CSU history (Ray Dieringer; 360).
• Waters coached his 600th career game on Feb. 7 when CSU defeated Wright State.
• Waters is 346-260 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 175-125 in his ninth season at CSU.
• Waters' 175 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.
GRADY, LEWIS & LEE EARN ALL-LEAGUE HONORS:
• Anton Grady and Trey Lewis were both named to the five-member first team All-Horizon League team that was announced on March 3.
• Grady and Lewis are the first CSU teammates to earn first team all-league honors in the same season since 1993 when Gravelle Craig and Sam Mitchell were first team All-Mid-Continent Conference picks.
• Grady and Charlie Lee were also named to the five-member All-Horizon League Defensive team.
• Grady and Lee are the first CSU players to be named to the all-league defensive team since 2011-12 when D'Aundray Brown and Trey Harmon were voted to the team.
FOR THREE:
• CSU made nine three's vs. Detroit on Friday, extending its school record streak to 532 straight games with a three.
• CSU has hit at least three three's in 81 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.
HOME SWEET HOME
• The Vikings went 12-3 at home this season, including 7-1 in the Horizon League.
• 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 104-36 (.743) record in the Wolstein Center.
DOUBLE DIGITS IN THE LEAGUE:
• CSU won 11 Horizon League games 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 SETS THREE-POINT RECORD:
• Trey Lewis has made a CSU single-season school record 91 three-pointers this year.
• He broke the old CSU single season record of 81 three's set by Bryn Forbes last season.
• Lewis has 148 three-pointers in his CSU career, ranking seventh all-time at CSU.
• Lewis is 16 three-pointers shy of moving past Jermaine Robinson (2000-04) into sixth place on the CSU all-time list.
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 956 points in his two seasons at CSU after totaling 111 points as a freshman at Penn State in 2011-12.
• He is 44 points shy of becoming the 23rd player to score 1,000 points in the CSU program.
LEWIS LOGGING 1,000 MINUTES:
• Trey Lewis has played a team-high 1,102 minutes this year, the eighth most in a season in school history.
• He logged 1,044 minutes last year and is the sixth player in CSU history with multiple 1,000 minute seasons.
• Norris Cole had three 1,000 minute seasons during his career, while Ken McFadden, Cedric Jackson, J'Nathan Bullock and Tim Kamczyc all had two seasons of 1,000 minutes played.
LEWIS REACHES 500 POINTS:
• Trey Lewis has scored 524 points this year, the 12th most in a season in school history.
• Lewis is the first CSU player to score 500 points in a season since Norris Cole set a single season school record with 780 points in 2010-11.
40-40-40:
• Anton Grady is the first player in CSU history to tally at least 40 assists, steals and blocks in a season. He has 44 assists, 43 blocks and 48 assists.
• It is the third time in Grady's career that he has had at least 20 in each category in a season (2011-12, 2013-14, 2014-15).
• Grady had 33 assists, 45 blocks and 29 steals as a freshman in 2011-12 and 53 assists, 30 blocks and 23 steals last season.
LEE REACHES 100 ASSISTS:
• Charlie Lee has 100 assists this year, his third straight season of at least 100 assists.
• Lee is the fourth player in school history with three straight seasons of 100 assists.
• Craig Caldwell had 100 assists in four straight seasons (1991-95), while Franklin Edwards (1978-81) and Shawn Hood (1983-86) both had 100 assists in three straight seasons.
LEE AT THE LINE:
• Charlie Lee ranks second in the league and 12th in the nation in free throw percentage (66-75; .880).
• His .880 percentage is the third best in a season in program history.
• Lee set the CSU single season school record by shooting .904 (85-94) at the free throw line last season, becoming the first player in school history to shoot better than 90-percent from the free throw line in a season.
• Lee is 259-of-296 at the charity stripe for his career with his .875 percentage best in school history.
GRADY HITS EXCLUSIVE NUMBERS:
• Anton Grady is the only player in CSU history with 1,000 points, 600 rebounds, 100 steals and 100 blocks for a career.
• Grady is currently at 1,106 points, 688 rebounds, 126 blocks and 113 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 1,111 points and 450 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 60th in the country.
• His eight double-doubles were the most in Horizon League games, three more than anyone else in the league.
GRADY IN A LEAGUE OF HIS OWN:
• Anton Grady was the only player in the Horizon League ranked in the top-six in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, steals and blocks in league only games.
• Grady ranked sixth in scoring (15.5), first in rebounding (9.4), second in steals (1.8), third in blocks (1.9) and fourth in field goal percentage (.541).
• He grabbed at least 10 rebounds in 10 of the 16 league games this season.
LEWIS ON THE OFFENSIVE:
• Trey Lewis is fourth in the League at 16.9 points per game, including 11, 20-point performances and two 30-point games.
• Lewis is tops in the league in three-pointers (2.9) and 10th in steals (1.3) and 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 has 15 career 20-point games and two 30-point games in his career.
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.
30 FOR 30:
• Trey Lewis is one of just two players in the Horizon League with two 30-point games this year (Keifer Sykes, Green Bay).
• 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.
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).
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:
• A win on Saturday would send the Vikings into the championship of the Horizon League tournament.
• CSU would play the title game against the winner of the other semifinal between No. 2 Green Bay and No. 6 UIC.
