GAME #25
Northern Kentucky (16-7, 9-2 HL) at Cleveland State (6-18, 3-8 HL)
Saturday, February 3, 2018 | 3:00 pm ET
Cleveland, Ohio | Wolstein Center
Live Stats | ESPN3 | AM 1420
PDF GAME NOTES
Northern Kentucky at Cleveland State
GAME PREVIEW:
• Cleveland State remains home to host Northern Kentucky on Saturday (Feb. 3) at 3:00 pm in the Wolstein Center.
• The Vikings are 6-18 overall and 3-8 in the Horizon League following a 77-74 win over first place Wright State on Thursday night in the Wolstein Center.
• Northern Kentucky is 16-7 overall and is now tied for first place with Wright State in the League at 9-2 after a 95-85 win at Youngstown State on Thursday night.
• Saturday's game will be broadcast on AM 1220, AM 1420 and AM 1440, as well as ESPN3 and the WatchESPN3 app with Al Pawlowski and Pat Vuyancih providing the call.
• Ed Daugherty will have the pre-game show on the radio beginning at 2:30 pm.
• Saturday is a Family Value Weekend with $1 hot dogs, and a FREE KidZone. The first 1,000 fans will recieve a CSU cereal bowl.
• Tickets are available by phone or text at 216-687-4848, in-person at the Wolstein Center Box Office or online at www.csuvikings.com.
THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY SERIES:
• Northern Kentucky leads the brief all-time series with CSU, 3-2.
• NKU won the first meeting this season, 70-55, on Jan. 15 in Highland Heights, Ky.
• CSU won both meetings in the 2015-16 season, while the Norse won both match-ups last season.
GAME 24: @CSU 77, WRIGHT STATE 74 (2/1/18):
• CSU tied a single game program record with 14 three-pointers to defeat League leading Wright State.
• Bobby Word scored 18 points, hitting 5-of-10 from three, while Tyree Appleby had 17 points, four rebounds and two steals.
• Kenny Carpenter added 14 points, four rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals and Jamarcus Hairston tallied seven points and seven rebounds.
CARDIAC VIKINGS:
• The Vikings have played in nine one possession games this year, posting a 4-5 mark in those games.
• Five of CSU's League games have come down to the final possession as the Vikings fell to Youngstown State (80-77), defeated Green Bay (80-79), lost at Detroit Mercy (85-84) and defeated IUPUI (70-67) and Wright State (77-74).
• CSU played in three straight one poessession games from Nov. 20 through Nov. 29, falling at ECU, 72-69 (Nov. 20), losing to Central Conn., 74-73, (Nov. 24), and topping Arkansas State, 75-72 (Nov. 29).
• It was the first time CSU played three straight one poessession games since the 1999-2000 season when CSU fell at St. Bonaventure, 71-69, (12/30/99), and won at Loyola, 70-68 (1/6/00) and at UIC, 91-89 (1/8/00).
• The Vikings also played a one possession game at Niagara (L, 79-77 on Dec. 19).
CARPENTER GOING TO WORK:
• Senior Kenny Carpenter is enjoying his best season to date. He ranks 17th in the Horizon League in scoring (12.8) and 14th in rebounding (5.2), while adding 2.2 assists.
• Carpenter is also 10th in the League in field goal percentage (.482).
• He has three, 20-point games this year and has 17 double figure scoring games.
• Carpenter also has three double-digit rebounding games.
• Carpenter scored a career-high 26 points against Coppin State (Nov. 17), bettering his old career-high of 24 points set at UIC as a sophomore.
• He scored 24 points in the first half vs. Coppin State and finished the game 10-of-17 from the field, including 6-of-11 from three-point.
• The six three-pointers are tied for the fourth most in a game in program history and the 17th time a CSU player made six three's.
• He became the first CSU player to make six threes since Charlie Lee hit six at Oakland on Feb. 6, 2014.
• Carpenter has posted two double-doubles this year, the first two of his career.
• Carpenter recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and a career-high 12 boards in the season opener at Akron (Nov. 11).
• He posted a career-high 26 points and 11 rebounds against Coppin State (Nov. 17).
IMPROVING AT THE LINE:
• The Vikings have shown continued improvement at the free throw line since going 13-of-37 (.351) over the first two games.
• Since those two games, CSU is shooting 209-of-287 (.728) at the charity stripe.
• In Horizon League play, the Vikings have hit 138-of-180 at the free throw line, ranking first in League play in free throw percentage (.767).
• Overall, CSU is shooting .694 (258-372) at the line this year.
APPLEBY APPEALING:
• Tyree Appleby is averaging 10.9 points, 2.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.5 steals in his first season of college basketball.
• He ranks third in the League in steals, fourth in assists and is 22nd in scoring.
• He is a three-time Horizon League Freshman of the Week, earning the award in back-to-back weeks (Dec. 4, Dec. 10) and again on Jan. 15.
• Appleby earned the first award after averaging 10.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals vs. Arkansas State and at Kent State, shooting .562 (9-16) from the floor.
• Appleby picked up his second straight honor after averaging 18.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 3.5 steals, while shooting .800 (12-15) from the field, including 5-of-6 (.833) from three-point at Western Michigan and vs. Notre Dame College.
• He won his third award after averaging 16.5 points, 7.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.5 steals in games at Detroit Mercy and Oakland.
• Appleby has dished out a career-best seven assists in five games this season.
• Appleby scored a career-high 24 points at Western Michigan (Dec. 6), hitting 8-of-10 from the field, including 4-of-5 from three-point and all four free throws, while adding three rebounds, three assists and three steals.
• It was the most points by a CSU freshman since Rob Edwards scored 26 points at Detroit Mercy on Jan. 4, 2016.
HAIRSTON EARNS FIRST CAREER START:
• Jamarcus Hariston earned his first career start at CSU vs. Green Bay (Jan. 4). He totaled two points, four rebounds and two steals in 26 minutes.
• In 11 League games (10 starts), Hairston is averaging 6.7 points and 5.1 rebounds, while shooting .527 (29-55) from the floor.
• He scored 16 points - hitting 4-of-7 from three-point - with seven rebounds vs. UIC (Jan. 20).
• Hairston posted six points and set career-highs in rebounds (8) and steals (4) in a win over IUPUI, playing a career-high 32 minutes. His tip-in with 22 seconds left gave CSU the lead for good (68-67).
• He had 14 points (5-6 FG) with six boards at Detroit (Jan. 10).
• Hairston scored a career-high 17 points at Niagara (Dec. 19), hitting 7-of-9 from the field, adding five boards and two assists.
WORD UP!:
• Senior Bobby Word has started all 56 games during his CSU career.
• He is 23rd in the League in scoring this year (10.7), while ranking third in the League in three pointers (2.4)
• Word has hit five or more threes in five games this year.
• Word scored a career-high 26 points - hitting a career-best seven threes - at No. 2 Michigan State (Dec. 29).
• He followed that up with a 24 point effort vs. Youngstown State (Jan. 1), which included nine points in the final 49 seconds. His three-pointer with nine seconds left tied the game at 77-77 before the Penguins won it with a buzzer beater.
• Word is the top returning scorer from last year's team (11.1).
VIKINGS TIE THREE POINT MARK WITH 14 MAKES:
• The Vikings have tied the single game school record with 14 made three-pointers four times this year.
• CSU was 14-of-32 from three-point in wins over Coppin State (Nov. 17) and Wright State (Feb. 1) and went 14-of-39 from long distance against Notre Dame College (Dec. 10).
• The Vikings were 14-of-31 from three at Detroit Mercy (Jan. 10).
• CSU has hit 14 three's in a game eight times in school history.
KASH IS MONEY:
• Kasheem Thomas has been one of the top sixth men in the Horizon League, averaging 7.1 points and 2.7 assists in League play.
• Thomas scored a season-high 11 points with six assists against Youngstown State (Jan. 1).
• He had eight points with six assists at Detroit Mercy (Jan. 10) and posted 10 points and six assists at NKU (Jan. 15).
• Thomas scored 13 points against UIC (Jan. 20), setting career highs in free throws made (11) and attempted (12).
• Thomas started 39 consecutive games to open his career, including all 31 last year, the most by a freshman in program history.
• Thomas has a career assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.8 (152 assists to 85 turnovers).
WORD HITS 1,000 CAREER POINTS WITH DOUBLE DOUBLE:
• With his 11 point effort vs. Green Bay on Jan. 4, Bobby Word reached 1,000 career points.
• Word scored 487 points during his two seasons at Oral Roberts and has 601 points during his CSU career for 1,088 career points.
• Word also notched his first career double-double vs. Green Bay.
• He scored 14 points and added a career-high 10 rebounds. His old career-high was seven rebounds.
CLAYBORNE'S BIG NIGHT:
• Evan Clayborne scored a career-high 10 points and tied his career-high with seven rebounds in a win over IUPUI (Jan. 18).
• He added two steals and a block in 24 minutes off the bench.
• Clayborne has slowly worked his way back from a knee injury suffered at Kent State (Dec. 2), which forced him to miss seven games.
KENIC SCORES CAREER-HIGH:
• Stefan Kenic scored a career-high 15 points at Detroit Mercy (Jan. 10).
• He hit 6-of-10 from the floor and his three-pointer from the top of the arc with 3.9 seconds left gave the Vikings an 84-83 lead before UDM won the game at the buzzer.
• Kenic is averaging 8.6 points and 3.3 rebounds this year, playing in all 24 games with 21 starts.
THE WRIGHT STUFF:
• Anthony Wright recorded his first career double-double on Dec. 2 at Kent State.
• Wright scored a career-high 21 points, hitting 8-of-11 from the field, including a career-best four three's (in six attempts). He also had a career-high tying 11 rebounds.
• Wright is averaging 7.6 points and ranks 10th in the League with 5.8 rebounds.
• Wright is shooting .806 (25-31) at free throw line and has made his last 11 free throws.
• After coming off the bench in the first two games, Wright started 14 straight games. He has missed the last six games with injury.
FOR THREE:
• CSU has hit a three-pointer in a school record 621 straight games.
• The Vikings have hit at least three three's in 170 straight contests, extending the streak with 14 threes against Wright State on Thursday.
• 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.
THE FELTON FILE:
• First-year head coach Dennis Felton earned his first victory at CSU with an 80-56 win over Coppin State (Nov. 17).
• Felton, who made his CSU regular season debut on Nov. 11 at Akron, was named the 15th head coach in CSU history on March 24.
• Felton, a coaching veteran with more than 30 years of experience, is in his 12th season as a head coach, having spent five years at Western Kentucky (1998-03) and five-plus seasons at Georgia (2003-09).
• During his time on the sidelines Felton has amassed 190 victories, won seven conference championships and led six of his teams to the postseason, including four NCAA berths.
UP NEXT:
• The Vikings hit the road for two games next week, beginning with a 7:00 pm contest at IUPUI on Thursday (Feb. 8).
• CSU will also play at UIC on Saturday (Feb. 10) at 8:00 pm ET.