Nov. 15, 2011
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Contact: Greg Murphy
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CLEVELAND, Ohio - D'Aundray Brown, the reigning Horizon League Player of the Week, scored a career-high 24 points and added nine rebounds and seven steals to lead Cleveland State to an 86-57 win over Rio Grande on Tuesday night in the Wolstein Center.
Jeremy Montgomery added six points, becoming the 19th player in school history to reach 1,000 career points. He has 1,004 for his career.
The win improved the Vikings to 2-0 this season, while the Red Storm fell to 4-2.
Brown, who had an old career-high of 18 points on Sunday at Vanderbilt, tied his career-high in steals, also set on Sunday.
He has 14 steals through two games. Brown ranked 13th in the nation in steals as a junior in 2009-10.
"D'Aundray has put some time in," head coach Gary Waters said. "When you put in time, you get results and that's what we are seeing with D'Aundray. He worked hard to understand where his weaknesses were and wanted to improve his left hand and jump shot. And we have really worked on his mid-range shot."
"Sitting out the whole year made me miss the game and made me hungry," Brown said. "It always feels good to get back out on the court. Coach told me to work on my shot and get in the gym and get up extra shots. I put in hard work and so far, it's paying off."
Through two games, Brown is averaging 21.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.0 steals per game.
Trey Harmon added 14 points tonight, while Tim Kamczyc added 13 points. Anton Grady had 12 points, seven rebounds and six blocked shots off the bench.
The six blocks are tied for the second most by a CSU player in a game and the most by a freshman in a game in school history.
Luda Ndaye tied his career highs in points (7) and rebounds (7) as he made his first career start, filling in for Aaron Pogue who missed the game due to illness.
"I thought our guys competed today," Waters said. "That's what I looked for. Oftentimes, when you play in a big game and come back and play in a game that isn't quite as big, it's hard to get up for that. We emphasized playing hard and we did that, forcing 28 turnovers and making 15 steals."
The Vikings also blocked 11 shots, one short of equaling the school record of 12 set against Central State on Nov. 22, 2003.
Rio Grande hung around for the first part of the first half, tying things for the third and final time at 17-17 with 9:27 to play. From there, the Vikings used a 23-10 run to close out the half and head into the locker room with a 40-27 lead.
CSU opened the second half on a 13-6 run to push the advantage to 20 points (53-33) with 15:38 left and the Red Storm didn't threaten from there.
CSU shot .500 for the second straight game, hitting 34-of-68 from the field. The Vikings pressure defense held the Red Storm to 16-of-51 (.314) shooting and forced 28 turnovers that CSU turned into 35 points.
The Vikings will stay at home for a Friday night contest against St.Bonaventure that will tip-off at 7:00 p.m. in the Wolstein Center.
POST GAME NOTES
Senior Guard D'Aundray Brown
• The reigning Horizon League Player of the Week set a career-high for the second straight game with 24 points. His old career-high was 18 points on Sunday at Vanderbilt.
• Hit 11-of-16 from the field, both career-highs.
• Added nine rebounds career-high tying seven steals (also had 7 on Sunday at Vanderbilt).
• Now has 14 steals this season after two games. He finished 13th in the nation in steals as a junior in 2009-10.
Senior Guard Jeremy Montgomery
• Became the 19th player in school history to reach 1,000 career points with a basket in the first half. He now has 1,004 points in his career.
• Played in his 108th straight game, including his 58th straight start. He has never missed a game in his career.
Sophomore Forward Luda Ndaye
• Made his first career start, filling in for Aaron Pogue who missed the game with illness.
• Tied his career-high with seven points and seven rebounds.
Freshman Forward Anton Grady
• Scored 12 points with seven rebounds and six blocked shots.
• His six blocked shots were tied for the second most by a player in school history and were the most by a freshman in a game in school history. He has 10 blocks in two games.
Junior Forward Tim Kamczyc
• Scored 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field and added three assists.
• Hit both of his attempts from three-point.
Game Notes
• Today was just the second all-time meeting between the two schools. CSU had won the first match-up, 40-35, in 1933.
• The game featured three ties, all coming in the first half. CSU has not trailed all season after leading from wire-to-wire on Sunday at Vanderbilt.
• Rio Grande stayed close through the first 10 minutes of the game, tying it for the final time at 17-17 with 9:27 to play. From there, the Vikings used a 23-10 run to close the half and take a 40-27 lead at the half.
• The Vikings opened the second half on a 13-6 run to take a 20 point (53-33) lead with 15:38 left.
• CSU forced 28 turnovers which the Vikings turned into 35 points. The Vikings had 15 steals for the second straight game.
• The Viking bench was once again strong, contributing 22 points and 15 rebounds.
• CSU blocked 11 shots, one shy of equaling the single-game school record of 12 set against Central State on Nov. 22, 2003.
