Jan. 31, 2001
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MASSIMINO & COMPANY Head Coach Rollie Massimino (Vermont, `56) is in his fifth season at Cleveland State with a 64-70 mark and his 28th year overall with a 489-349 record which includes stints at Stony Brook, Villanova and UNLV. Assisting Massimino are Mitch Buonaguro (Boston College, '77) and Paul Molinari (Villanova, '90), part of the original staff who arrived in 1996, along with Frank "Happy" Dobbs (Villanova, '84) who joined the staff in June of 1999.
LOGJAM AT THE TOP First place in the MCC is a popular place to be with the Vikings, Butler and Wright State knotted at 5-2.
MCC STANDINGS 1. CSU 5-2 13-9 Butler 5-2 13-6 WSU 5-2 13-6 4. UDM 4-2 13-7 5. UIC 3-3 9-10 6. UWM 2-5 10-10 UWGB 2-5 9-11 8. Loyola 1-6 6-14
MCC = HOME COURT ADVANTAGE The Vikings will be looking to snap the prevalent home court advantage in the MCC tonight at the UIC Pavilion. In the 26 conference games played so far, only three road victories have been posted. Detroit won at Wright State on Jan. 11, Butler beat UW-Milwaukee on Jan. 20 and UW-Milwaukee won at Loyola on Jan. 14. The Vikes are 5-0 in MCC games in Cleveland and 0-2 in road league contests.
THE VIKING-FLAMES SERIES The Vikings and the Flames meet for the 45th time this evening in a series that dates back to the 1981-82 season. The teams are tied with 22 wins apiece with neither school holding an advantage in the breakdown - they are 10-10 in Cleveland, 10-10 in Chicago and 2-2 on neutral courts. However, CSU has won four of the last five contests, including a 71-62 win earlier this season in Cleveland on January 6.
THE LAST CSU-UIC MATCHUP January 6, 2001 - Theo Dixon scored 23 points and Jamaal Harris added 19 as Cleveland State defeated Illinois-Chicago 71-62 at Goodman Arena.
It was a Dixon 3-pointer with 6:13 left that put the Vikings ahead 61-55 and the lead never fell below six points again.
Harris hit 7-of-10 free throws, leading the way as Cleveland State made 20-of-28 to UIC's 12-of-18.
Jordan Kardos scored 17 points, J.P. Mitchom added 15 points and Joe Scott had 10 for Illinois-Chicago. Tahric Gosley and Doc Taylor added 13 and 12 points, respectively.
The Vikes outrebounded the Flames 36-29 as Gosley pulled down a game-high eight boards.
VIKINGS ON THE WEB This evening's game, aired on WERE-1300 AM, also will be available through the Cleveland State Athletic Website, csuvikings.com, via live audio.
CSU's LAST OUTING The Vikings stayed atop the MCC standings with a 57-34 victory over visiting UW-Milwaukee on Saturday at Goodman Arena. After spotting the Panthers a 9-0 lead at the 15:14 mark, the Vikings tied the game at 12 at 9:03 and never looked back after Andre' Williams scored on a layup to give CSU the 14-12 lead at 8:28. UWM shot just 23.1 percent (12-of-52) from the field, including a dismal 5.3 percent (1-of-19) from three-point range. The Panthers entered the game ranked 17th in the country with 8.96 treys per game. Theo Dixon fired in 25 points to lead the Vikings while Chad Angeli and Clay Tucker reached double digits for the Panthers with 12 and 10 points, respectively. CSU dominated on the boards, 45-30, as Williams and Jamaal Harris pulled down eight each. Angeli took game honors with 10.
HOW LOW CAN YOU GO? The 34 points scored by UW-Milwaukee Saturday marked an all-time opponent low at Goodman Arena. The previous record had been taken by Butler last year in a 53-45 CSU victory. It also was the lowest scoring output by a CSU foe in a loss since the Vikings limited Walsh to 22 in a 24-22 victory on January 11, 1967.
WILLIAMS WIPES UP MCC GLASS Sophomore forward Andre' Williams, who has started every league contest, ranks fifth (along with UWGB's Mike King and UWM's Chad Angeli) in rebounding in MCC games only with 6.1 boards per game. Overall, the 6-5 Williams averages 4.9 caroms per game.
STREAKING THREES The Vikings have made a three-point field goal in 79 straight games, the longest streak in school history. The current streak began on Nov. 14, 1998 against Stony Brook. The second-longest streak of 74 was set from Dec. 16, 1995 to Feb. 19, 1998.
HOT HARRIS Senior guard Jamaal Harris poured in a career-high 29 points against UW-Green Bay last Thursday as he tied three others for a school record with seven three-pointers made and set a school standard for single-game three-point field goal percentage at 87.5 percent (7-of-8). Harris equalled the feats of Damon Stringer (vs. UW-Milwaukee, 1-29-00), James Madison (vs. Wright State, 1-17-98 & vs. UW-Green Bay, 1-29-98) and Craig Caldwell (vs. UW-Milwaukee, 2-9-95). In addition, he increased his career three-point total to 90, moving into a tie for seventh with Malcolm Sims on the career charts.
GETTING A SECOND CHANCE Fueled by 16 offensive rebounds, CSU scored 27 second-chance points against UW-Green Bay last Thursday. In comparison, UWGB had five offensive boards which were converted into four points.
REVVED UP ROSS Against UW-Green Bay Thursday, senior postman Kevin Ross hauled in a career-high 13 caroms to go along with 10 points for his second double-double of the year.
TAKING CARE OF THE ROCK A key in last Thursday's 76-72 win over UW-Green Bay was the Viking's ability to take care of the ball. CSU accounted for a season-low seven turnovers in the contest. Prior to that game, the Vikes low had been 12 miscues on several occasions.
"D"-ing UP AGAINST DETROIT Defense played a big role in CSU's 69-67 win over Detroit on Jan. 20. The Vikings limited the Titans to 38.5 percent from the field including 22.7 percent from three-point range. The Vikes held Rashad Phillips, the league's leading scorer at 19.4 ppg, to just eight points and no three-pointers, which ended his string of games in double figures at 23.
FREE THROWS PAY OFF After shooting a season-low 43 percent from the charity stripe against St. Bonaventure, the Vikes recovered Saturday against Detroit and used it to their advantage. CSU shot 69.2 percent from the line, making 27 of 39. The freebies proved to be the difference in the game. UDM made more field goals (25 to 20) and more three-pointers (5 to 2) but was 12-of-19 from the line
40 POINTS TO GO FOR DIXON With 960 career points for Theo Dixon, the junior needs just 40 more to become CSU's 14th 1,000-point scorer He will join Ken McFadden, Franklin Edwards, Clinton Ransey, James Madison, Darren Tillis, Weldon Kytle, Eric Mudd, Dave Youdath, David Kyle, Andre Battle, Anthony Reed, Gale Drummer and Dennis Lenk. In addition, should he accomplish the feat this year, he will be the eighth player to top the "Grand" plateau in three years, joining McFadden, Edwards, Ransey, Madison, Kytle, Kyle, Reed and Drummer.
BUILDING BLOCKS Sophomore Tahric Gosley, who has 46 blocked shots this season, is the third player to block 40 or more shots in a season, joining Darrin Tillis, CSU's all-time shot blocker, and the late Sam Mitchell. Gosley needs just six more blocks to break the single-season record of 51 rejections set by Tillis as a freshman in 1978-79. In addition, Gosley's total is the second-most ever by a sophomore trailing Tillis' 48.
TALES OF THE HALF The Vikings are 8-1 when leading at the half compared to 4-7 when they trail heading into the lockerroom. When tied, the Vikes have finished 1-1.
RECORD FOR 3s COULD FALL With all-time three-point leader James Madison along with single-season leader Damon Stringer, the 1999-2000 squad set the single season team record for three-pointers with 172. However, with the 2000-2001 squad firing in triples at a rate of 6.2 per game, that record may be short-lived. Based on that average and the Vikings' 10 remaining games (at least), this year's team would finish with at least 193. They currently have 132.
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME Cleveland State is 9-1 at home this year, the second-most win s in the Convo, as opposed to 3-6 on the road and 1-2 on neutral courts. The Vikings got off to a good start by downing Vermont, 68-53 to open the 2000-2001 season with a "W" and following with a 80-70 win over Yale. In their last home contest, the Vikes downed Florida State in double overtime, 87-85 to make the most of their one home December game. Last season the Vikes were 9-4 in the friendly confines of Goodman Arena, equalling the home wins of both the 1997-98 and 1998-99 squads. The record of 11 home victories is held by the 1992-93 team.
HITTING THE BOARDS The Vikings only have been outrebounded in five games all season and own a +3.3 rebounding margin.
COMING UP BIG IN THE CLUTCH Theo Dixon, CSU's go-to guy, got it done again against Detroit Saturday, drilling a three-pointer from the wing with 18 seconds left to give the Vikes a 68-67 lead and eventual 69-67 MCC win. Dixon scored off a play designed by Assistant Coach Mitch Buonaguro which was employed successfully three years ago on Dec. 2 at Kent when Michael Bowens hit a three at the buzzer to give the Vikes a 75-74 win. It was Dixon's second game-winner of the year and third of his career.
THREES? SCHMEES! For those who might have worried about what the graduation of James Madison, the most prolific three-point shooter in MCC and CSU history, and Damon Stringer might do to the Viking's three-point production, consider this - through 22 games last year, CSU was 130-of-375 (.347) from behind the arc with Madison hitting 42 and Stringer accounting for 48. Through 22 games this year, the Vikes have shot 136-of-365 (.373) from three-point range with the treys fairly evenly distributed among Jamaal Harris (47), Jermaine Robinson (40) and Theo Dixon (48).
CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN Senior postmen Anthony Jackson from Akron, Ohio and Kevin Ross from Buffalo, N.Y. are the Viking captains this season.
500 ON THE HORIZON CSU Head Coach Rollie Massimino, who began his collegiate coaching career at Stony Brook in the 1969-70 season, needs just 11 more wins to reach the 500-victory plateau. Massimino is 57th, tied with Jack Gardner, on the all-time victory list and 20th among active coaches (minimum 10 seasons at Division I) with his 489 "W"s. In addition, after coaching 838 contests and in 28 seasons, Coach Mass ranks 15th and 13th, respectively, on those longevity charts among active coaches (source, The NCAA Official 2001 Men's Basketball records Book.)
OUR THREES, YOUR THREES As a team, CSU ranks second in the MCC in three-point field goal percentage at .373 (136-of-365). On the flip side, the Vikings are very stingy when allowing opponents good three-point opportunities. The Vikes are second in the league in three-point field goal percentage defense, limiting opponents to .292 (113-of-387) from behind the arc. On Dec. 19, the Vikes held Florida State to just 2-of-18 from behind the arc while canning 10-of-18.
THIRTY 3s TIMES THREE For the first time since the three-point shot was instituted, the Vikings have three players with over 30 three-pointers made in one season. Jamaal Harris has fired in 47, Theo Dixon has dropped in 48 and Jermaine Robinson has accounted for 40.
BLOCK PARTY The Vikings lead the MCC in blocked shots with 4.1 compared to last year when they finished third in the league with 2.8. Sophomore Tahric Gosley leads the swat team with 46 blocks and ranks first in the MCC at 2.3 bpg. The other two main rejectors are Kevin Ross with 11 and Andre' Williams with 12.
CLOSE TO YOU Maybe the Vikings should add the Carpenters "Close to You" to their pre-game warmup tape. Thirteen of CSU's 22 games have been decided by eight points or less while seven have hinged on three points or less. Just how close have they been? Well, the Vikes have won on a shot as time expired (Loyola), lost two games when a last-second shot wouldn't fall (Southeast Missouri & Akron), held on for two wins when the opponent's last attempt was errant (UMKC and Detroit) and scored a go-ahead basket with eight seconds remaining in double overtime (Florida State).
GIVE ME FIVE The Vikings' loss at Butler on Jan. 11 snapped a five-game winning streak for CSU. The five-game skein matched the longest streak under Massimino, taken last year, as well as the longest since the 1992-93 team ran off 14 "W"s in a row.
ACTION JACKSON Senior Anthony Jackson has played in 107 straight games becoming the fifth player in school history to do so. He joins James Madison (113), Kenny Robertson (119), Clinton Ransey (125) and Eddie Bryant (125). Jackson first saw the court in a Viking uniform on Nov. 17, 1997. He and Tillis are 16th on the all-time games played list.
OPENING LEAGUE PLAY WITH A WIN After the Jan. 4th victory over Loyola, Cleveland State is 10-7 overall in conference openers, dating back to 1983 (AMCU-8, Mid-Continent and Midwestern Collegiate Conferences.) In addition, the Vikings are 6-5 in home conference openers. Last season, CSU opened league play with the Chicago schools, beating Loyola 70-68 and downing UIC 91-89 in overtime en route to a 6-1 conference mark in January.
DIXON EARNS MCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK Junior Theo Dixon was named the MCC's Player of the Week on Jan. 8 for the third time this season. On Jan. 4, Dixon fired in a game-winner with six-tenths of a second left to lift CSU to a 73-70 victory over Loyola in the MCC opener. He finished with a team-high 21 points and also dished out three assists without committing a turnover. Against UIC on Jan. 6, the 6-5 swingman poured in a game-high 23 points as CSU beat the Flames 71-62 to move to 2-0 in the MCC. In that game, he scored 16 points in the first half while also tying a career-high with four steals.
STOP, THIEVES! On Jan. 8 against Stony Brook, the Vikings swiped a season-high 14 steals. Tahric Gosley recorded a season-high four picks while Theo Dixon added three and Jermaine Robinson and Jamaal Harris had two apiece.
JUMPIN' JACKSON 6-8 Anthony Jackson snared a career- and game-high 11 rebounds against Loyola on Jan. 4 in 27 minutes of play off the bench. Jackson was equally effective on both ends of the floor, grabbing six offensive caroms and five defensive boards.
VIKES GARNER TV TIME ON ESPN2 The Cleveland State-Detroit game, always a good MCC clash, will be aired on ESPN2 on Sunday, February 18 at noon from Detroit's Calihan Hall.
MORE TV NEWS In addition to the ESPN2 game, the Vikings will appear on television 10 other times during the 2000-2001 season.
FoxSportsNet Ohio Nov. 19 vs. Yale 2:00 p.m. Dec. 2 at Siena 1:00 p.m. Dec. 19 vs. Florida State 7:05 p.m. Jan. 4 vs. Loyola Chicago# 7:05 p.m. Jan. 20 vs. Detroit 2:05 p.m. Feb. 8 vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 7:00 p.m. Feb. 22 at UW-Milwaukee# 8:00 p.m. FoxSportsNet Midwest Jan.11 at Butler # 8:30 p.m. FoxSportsNet Detroit Dec. 9 at Oakland 8:00 p.m. FoxSportsNet Bay Area Dec. 5 at California 7:30 p.m. PT Comcast Sportsnet Dec. 23 at Temple 8:00 p.m.
# MCC Game of the Week
CSU teams up with FoxSportsNET Ohio once again Cleveland State basketball will hit the airwaves once again this year with FoxSportsNet Ohio. The cable station will air seven contests with veteran sports announcer Les Levine calling the play-by-play action. Long known as the voice of the Vikings, Levine returns for his sixth season. Levine, who handled play-by-play for Kent football and basketball from 1976-79, also spent 11 seasons as CSU's radio play-by-play man. Color commentary will be done on a rotating basis by Franklin Edwards and Bill Needle.
SIGN ON THE LINE The Vikings signed a pair of players from Pennsylvania during the NCAA's early signing period in November. Walt Chavis, a 5-11 point guard from Steelton-Highspire High School in Steelton, PA, and Tyler Reynolds, a 6-9 forward from Athens, PA, will continue their athletic and academic careers at Cleveland State.
ONE OF EIGHT ... THAT'S GREAT! Did you know that Cleveland State is one of just eight programs to increase its win total over the past four years? When Coach Massimino arrived in 1996, the Vikes were coming off a 5-21 season. Since then, CSU has gone 9-19, 12-15, 14-14 and 16-14. The other seven programs are Creighton, Florida, Hofstra, Lafayette, Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois and Wofford.
BY GOSH, GOSLEY Postman Tahric Gosley made the CSU record books on Dec. 19 against Florida State when he swatted away five Seminole attempts, including two crucial rejections at the end of regulation. The five blocks tie the second-highest single-game effort, equalling Darren Tillis, who accomplished the feat on five occasions, as well as Shawn Fergus and Walter Evans. Gosley equalled the feat at Temple last Saturday.
The youngster already has moved into third on CSU's career charts for blocked shots with 79. This year, Gosley has batted away 46 shots after tallying 33 rejections as a rookie. Tillis (1978-82), an assistant coach at Clemson, holds the CSU career mark with 196 blocked shots.
AND GOLLY I CAN DISH TOO Tahric Gosley, a 6-8 sophomore, is known for blocking and rebounding for the most part, but Dec. 19 against Florida State he showed a new aspect of his game. Gosley dealt out a career-high three assists, tops on the squad, against the Seminoles.
JUST CALL HIM MR. BUZZER-BEATER For the second time in his career, junior Theo Dixon fired in the game winner as time expired against Loyola on Jan. 4. With Cleveland State and LU tied at 70, Dixon let a three fly from the right corner with six-tenths of a second left. After a bounce off one side of the rim, a bounce off the other and a bounce off the glass, the ball finally dropped through the net to give CSU a dramatic, come-from-behind 73-70 victory. The ball took so long to drop that the final buzzer already had sounded. Dixon finished the game with 21 points. As a sophomore, Dixon canned an 18-footer as time expired to lift the Vikings over Rhode Island at the Gatorade Rock-N-Roll Shootout on Dec. 27, 1998.
THE DOCTOR IS IN Doc Taylor checked in with one of his best performances of the season on Jan. 4 against Loyola. The 6-5 Taylor, who has started eight games this year, came off the bench to score a season-high 16 points, grab seven rebounds, grab two steals, record his first block of the year and deal out an assist in 29 minutes.
GUARDS CARRY THE LOAD A trio of CSU guards - Theo Dixon, Jamaal Harris and Jermaine Robinson - have carried the offensive load this season, scoring 61.2 percent of the Vikings' points. In addition, the three have accounted for all but one of CSU's three-pointers this year and all but 14 of the treys taken.
THAT'S A LOT OF THREES Twice this season, the Vikings have fired in 10 three-pointers, just two shy of the school record of 12 taken against Eastern Illinois in 1992. The Vikes went 10-for-18 behind the arc against Florida State on Tuesday after hitting 10 at Oakland on Dec. 9. Last season, the Vikes hit 10 threes in two games - a 109-105 overtime win at UW-Milwaukee and a 91-88 loss at Wright State.
"GRATZ" ROOTS This year, the Cleveland State roster sports three players who hail from Philadelphia's Simon Gratz High School, the alma mater of Rasheed Wallace. Sophomore Tahric Gosley returns for his second year with the Vikings while sophomore Jermaine Robinson will be seeing his first action for the Green & White this season. Freshman Percell Coles, the third player from Gratz, will sit out this season to concentrate on academics.
PERCENTAGE HIGHS Although the Vikings suffered a disappointing 82-80 loss at Akron on Dec. 21, there were some bright spots in the contest. CSU shot a season-high 86.4 percent (19-of-22) from the line to go along with a season-best 51.9 percent (28-of-54) from the field.
The Vikes matched their free throw effort at Temple on Dec. 23, once again hitting 19-of-22 from the stripe.
ON THE FLIP SIDE OF PERCENTAGES In Dec. 23 loss at Temple, the Vikings shot a season-low 22.4 percent from the field (11-of-49), including just 19.2 percent in the second half. CSU actually fared better behind the three-point line, hitting 26.3 percent from beyond the arc.
OVERTIME THRILLER The Vikings posted their fifth win of the season Dec. 19 with a double OT thriller against the ACC's Florida State. Rookie Jermaine Robinson scored the go-ahead bucket to give CSU an 86-85 edge with under 10 seconds to go right after the Seminoles had taken their first lead since the 1:59 mark of regulation. An Anthony Jackson free throw with a second left gave the Vikes the final 87-85 victory. The biggest difference in the game came from behind the arc as the Vikes connected on 10-of-18 3-pointers compared to 2-of-18 for the `Noles. The contest marked the first time this season that CSU has been outrebounded as FSU held a 55-43 advantage on the boards. The game was tied 12 times and saw 17 lead changes.
CSU & OVERTIME GAMES The double overtime game with Florida State on Dec. 19 marked the 60th overtime contest in CSU history and the eighth double overtime game. With the win, the Vikes improved to 34-26 in OT games, including 21-10 at home, and 5-3 in double OT outings. In addition, the Vikes are 5-2 in overtime tilts with Coach Massimino since 1996.
