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Vikings Return Home to Host Bethune-Cookman at The Q on Saturday

Vikings Return Home to Host Bethune-Cookman at The Q on Saturday
Posted: Dec 02, 2016

GAME #7
Bethune-Cookman (2-5) at Cleveland State (1-5)
Saturday, December 3 | 12:00 pm ET
Cleveland, Ohio | Quicken Loans Arena
Live Stats | ESPN3 | AM 1420 WHK

PDF GAME NOTES
Bethune-Cookman at Cleveland State

GAME PREVIEW:
    •     Cleveland State returns home for the first time in almost three weeks when the Vikings host Bethune-Cookman on Saturday (Dec. 3) at 12:00 pm at Quicken Loans Arena.
    •    The Vikings are 1-5 and concluded a four-game road swing with a 78-51 setback at Arkansas State on Wednesday (Nov. 30).
    •    Bethune-Cookman is 2-5 this year and has not played since a 93-65 setback at Samford on Nov. 26.
    •    Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app with Al Palowski and Pat Vuyancih providing the commentary.
    •    Pawlowski and Vuyancih will also have the call on AM 1420 and AM 1440.

THE BETHUNE-COOKMAN SERIES:
    •     Saturday's game will be the first-ever meeting between CSU and Bethune-Cookman in men's basketball.
    •    This will be the third of five teams that CSU will be playing for the first time in program history this year (UT-Martin, Arkansas State, Bethune-Cookman, Purdue, Lake Erie).

GAME 6 REVIEW: ARKANSAS STATE 78, CSU 51 (11/30/16)
    •     CSU concluded a four-game road swing with a 78-51 setback at Arkansas State.
    •    Demonte Flannigan led CSU with 14 points and six rebounds in his first start of the season.
    •    Kenny Carpenter scored 10 points with five rebounds, while Jibri Blount added eight points and three rebounds.
    •    Terrell Hales and Kasheem Thomas both had two steals in the contest.

CSU AT "THE Q":
    •    Saturday's game will be the first of two games that CSU will play at Quicken Loans Arena this year.
    •    CSU also hosts Western Michigan on Wednesday (Dec. 7) at Quicken Loans Arena.
    •    This marks the second year that the Vikings will play a select number of home games at the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
    •    Last year, CSU played five games at The Q, hosting Kent State and Ohio in non-conference action and Youngstown State, Valparaiso and Wright State in the League slate.

FOR THREE:
    •    CSU has hit a three-pointer in a school-record 572 consecutive games.
    •    The Vikings have hit at least three three's in 120 straight games.
    •     The last time CSU failed to make a three-pointer was Feb. 21, 1998, when the Vikings were 0-for-8 in a 60-57 win over Detroit.

FLANNIGAN BACK IN STARTING LINEUP:
    •    Demonte Flannigan made his first start of the season on Wednesday (Nov. 30) at Arkansas State.
    •    Flannigan posted 14 points and six rebounds in 24 minutes.
    •    He missed the first four games of the season and made his season debut at Duquesne (Nov. 27), playing 19 minutes off the bench.
    •    The lone senior on the 17 player roster this year, Flannigan was second on the team in scoring (11.4) and rebounding (5.4) last year.
    •    He posted five double-doubles as a junior and poured in a career-high 30 points in a win at Youngstown State (Feb. 13).

CARPENTER PROVIDES SPARK OFF BENCH:
    •    Junior Kenny Carpenter has provided the Vikings with a spark off the bench over the last two games.
    •    In games at Duquesne (Nov. 27) and Arkansas State (Nov. 30), Carpenter has averaged 11.5 points and 4.5 rebounds, while shooting 9-of-19 (.474) from the field.
    •    He scored 13 points with four rebounds at Duquesne and tallied 10 points and five rebounds at Arkansas State.

EDWARDS NETS CAREER HIGH:
    •     Sophomore Rob Edwards scored a career-high 28 points in the Nov. 23 setback at No. 1 ranked Kentucky.
    •    Edwards also set career-highs in field goals made (12) and attempted (21) against the Wildcats.
    •    His old career-high was 26 points set last season at Detroit.
    •    Edwards has six career 20-point games, including two this year.

... AND PROVES WORTHY OF PRESEASON HONOR:
    •     Sophomore Rob Edwards was named to the preseason All-Horizon League second team.
    •    He ranks seventh in the Horizon League in scoring (15.7) and is 13th in field goal percentage (.473; 35-74).
    •    Edwards is 14-of-18 at the free throw line this year, ranking 14th in the League with a .778 percentage.
    •    Last year, he averaged 12.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game last year, earning a spot on the Horizon League All-Freshman team.
    •    He started 30 games last year, the most for a freshman in CSU history, and also logged a CSU freshman record 994 minutes.

KASH DROPPING DIMES:
    •     Freshman Kasheem Thomas ranks third in the Horizon League with 4.5 assists per game.
    •    Thomas' 27 assists are the fourth most by a Horizon League player this year.
    •    He has recorded at least six assists in three games this year with nine in the season opener vs. Kent State (Nov. 12), seven against Canisius (Nov. 15) and six assists at Duquense (Nov. 27).
    •    Thomas has a 1.9 assist-to-turnover-ratio, committing just 14 turnovers to his 27 assists to rank fifth in the League.

... AND HE'S JUST A FRESHMAN:
    •     Kasheem Thomas is averaging 7.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists this year, playing 26.7 minutes per game.
    •    Thomas became the first CSU freshman to start a season opener since 2003-04 (Walt Waters) when he drew a starting assignment vs. Kent State (Nov. 12).

ALL IN THE FAMILY:
    •     Sophomore Jibri Blount is the son of NFL Hall of Famer and former Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Mel Blount who played 14 seasons for the Black and Gold.
    •    As a starting forward this year, Blount is averaging 8.0 points and a team-leading 4.5 rebounds per game.
    •    Blount tied his career-high with 11 rebounds at UT-Martin (Nov. 18).
    •    Blount had a strong freshman season, averaging 5.7 points and 3.1 rebounds in 29 games, including five starts.

WORD UP:
    •     Junior Bobby Word made his CSU debut against Kent State (Nov. 12). He sat out last season after transferring from Oral Robets.
    •    He ranks 26th in the League in scoring (10.3) and ninth in three-pointers (2.2).
    •    Word scored a team-high 17 points in the season opener against Kent State (Nov. 12), hitting four three-pointers and 5-of-6 from the free throw line.
    •    As a sophomore at ORU, Word averaged 8.4 points and was tops on the team with 56 three's.
    •    He scored in double figures 14 times, including a career-high 22 points in the second round of the CBI against Loyola (Ill.).

SLOAN STEPS IN:
    •     With Demonte Flannigan out of the lineup to start the season, junior Derek Sloan stepped in to start the first five games of the season.
    •    Sloan has responded well, averaging 5.5 points and 3.3 rebounds, while shooting .650 (13-20) from the field.
    •    Sloan set career highs in points (10) and rebounds (7) against Canisius (Nov. 15), hitting five of his seven shots from the floor in just 17 minutes.
    •    He made 4-of-5 field goals at UT-Martin (Nov. 18), tying his career high with 10 points.

UP NEXT:
    •    CSU will play its second and final game of the season at Quicken Loans Arena on Wednesday (Dec. 7) when the Viking host Western Michigan at 7:00 pm.
    •    The Vikings travel to Purdue for a 12:00 pm game next Saturday (Dec. 10). The Boilermakers are ranked 15th in this week's AP Top-25 poll and 16th in the USA Today Coaches poll.