Vikings Tie School Record With 14 Three's to Give Felton First Win at CSU

VIDEO: Highlights
VIDEO: Dennis Felton Press Conference
VIDEO: Kenny Carpenter Press Conference

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Kenny Carpenter scored a career-high 26 points and notched his second double-double in three games and Cleveland State tied the school record with 14 three pointers to give head coach Dennis Felton his first win at CSU with an 80-56 victory over Coppin State on Friday night in the Wolstein Center.

The Vikings improved to 1-2 this year, while the Eagles fell to 0-4.

STAT LEADERS

• Carpenter scored his career-high 26 points, breaking his old high of 24 points set at UIC as a sophomore. He hit 10-of-17, including 6-of-11 from three-point. He added 11 rebounds, three assists and three steals.
• Carpenter's double-double was the second of his career and the second in three games this year. He had 11 points and a career-high 12 rebounds in the season opener at Akron.
• Stefan Kenic scored 13 points with three rebounds and three assists.
• Anthony Wright scored seven points and grabbed 10 rebounds as he drew his first starting assignment of the season. He added two assists and two steals.
• Bobby Word scored 12 points, while Tyree Appleby and Jamarcus Hairston chipped in seven points each.
• Hairston also had four rebounds, while Kasheem Thomas finished with five rebounds and five assists.

COACH SPEAK

• "We're really happy about the win. I knew we were a better shooting team that we showed the first two games and I kept reminding the team to move the ball, execute the offense and get high quality shots." Head Coach Dennis Felton
• "Kenny was ultra-aggressive and really got on a roll. He made the game easier for us the way he was hitting shots. He deserves this. He's worked harder than anyone since I arrived her in April." Head Coach Dennis Felton

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Carpenter hit three three-pointers in the opening four minutes to give the Vikings an early 11-2 lead.
• A pair of free throws from Tre' Thomas got the Eagles within five points (21-16) at the 8:54 mark, but CSU responded with an 18-4 run to open up a 19-point lead (39-20) with 2:29 to play in the half.
• Carpenter highlighted the run with three more three-pointers as he finished the first half with a career-high tying 24 points, hitting 6-of-8 from long range.
• The Vikings led at the half, 41-24.
• Thomas started the second half with a three-pointer to push the lead to 20 points and the lead reached as many as 32 points.

KEY STATS

• Today's win was the 185^th in the career of head coach Dennis Felton and his first at CSU.
• The Vikings tied the single game school record with 14 three-pointers.
• CSU finished 14-of-32 (.438) from long range and shot 28-of-51 (.549) from the field overall.
• The Vikings were 10-of-13 (.769) at the free throw line.
• CSU won the rebounding battle, 37-31, and also dished out 17 assists.
• The Vikings led the entire game.

UP NEXT

• CSU travels to ECU on Monday (Nov. 20) for a 7:00 pm contest and returns home to host Central Connecticut in the fourth and final game of the Showcase on the Banks on Friday (Nov. 24) at 5:00 pm.