CLEVELAND -- Fresh off of its first Horizon League win of the season, Cleveland State begins the second half of the conference schedule at Detroit Mercy on Thursday (Jan. 31) at 7 p.m. in Calihan Hall.
The Vikings closed the first half of the conference slate with a 72-62 victory over Youngstown State in the Wolstein Center. CSU used a stingy defense and timely shooting from freshman Rashad Williams to claim the win.
Cleveland State, which is 6-16 overall and 1-8 in the Horizon League, held the Penguins to just 30.6 percent shooting from the floor. Williams, who was named the Horizon League Freshman of the Week, paced the Vikings offense with a game-high 20 points which included making 6-of-8 three-point attempts. CSU also received 16 points from Tyree Appleby and Jaalam Hill.
Appleby, who is one of the top guards in the Horizon League, leads the Vikings averaging 17.3 points and 5.2 assists per game. He currently ranks second in the Horizon League in assists per contest.
Stefan Kenic ranks second on the Vikings averaging 10.2 points per game and is third on the team grabbing 4.1 rebounds per outing.
Williams is currently third on the squad averaging 9.9 points per game and tops the team with 56 three-pointers, while Hill is averaging 9.8 points and a team-leading 6.3 rebounds per contest.
Kasheem Thomas has started 16 games in the backcourt and is averaging 6.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.
Appleby has been even better in Horizon League games averaging 18.1 points per game, while Hill is averaging 11.6 points and Williams is scoring 11.2 points per contest in league play.
Detroit Mercy, which leads the all-time series 43-24, won the first meeting between the teams 73-61 in Cleveland. Antoine Davis, the leading scorer in the Horizon League, scored 17 points to lead the Titans while Hill lead four players in double figures for the Vikings with 13 points.
