March 1, 2010

Contact: Brian McCann

Complete Release in PDF Format

Game 32
2010 Speedway Horizon League Championship
No. 8 Loyola (14-15, 5-13) at No. 5 Cleveland State (15-16, 10-8)
Date: Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
Site: Goodman Arena (8,500), Wolstein Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Radio: WHKW 1220 AM (Cleveland) & WHKZ, 1440 AM (Warren) (Al Pawlowski)
TV: None live. Video Streamin online available through HLN.
(Highlights available on The Viking Basketball Report, which airs weekly on SportsTime Ohio.)
Promo: Indoor Tailgate Opens At 6:00 p.m.
(Dollar dogs, $2 drafts, cornhole and other games & more)
Series: Loyola Leads, 22-14
Last Meeting: CSU 59, @Loyola 56 (2/6/10)
Tickets: $10, $15 & $25. Horizon League students (with current ID) are free

SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State opens play in the 2010 Speedway Horizon League Championship as the No. 5 seed, hosting No. 8 Loyola (14-15, 5-13) in an opening round game on Tuesday, March 2 beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the Wolstein Center. This will be the second straight year that the Vikings, the defending tournament champions, will start the tournament at home. A victory would send CSU to a second round game at Butler's Hinkle Fieldhouse on Friday, March 5 at 8:00 p.m. against the winner of the No. 9 UIC and No. 4 Milwaukee game. The Vikings closed the regular season on a high note, snapping a four-game league losing streak with a 68-63 win over second place Wright State. Loyola enters the tourney having lost four straight, including an 87-71 decision at home against Green Bay on Saturday. Despite Loyola leading the all-time series, 22-14, CSU has won four straight meetings, including both games this year.

PREVIEWING CLEVELAND STATE: Gary Waters finds himself in a bit of a rebuilding season for the Vikings after posting the first back-to-back 20 win seasons since the late 1980's. With just two starters and four players back who saw significant action last year, Waters has had to incorporate eight new players into the lineup this season. The starting lineup is built around guard Norris Cole (16.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 4.2 apg), a first team preseason all-league choice this year who ranks fourth in the league in scoring, and small forward D'Aundray Brown (8.6, 5.6), the lone returning starters from a season ago. The strength of the returners is at guard where sophomores Jeremy Montgomery (12.7, 2.3 apg) and Trevon Harmon (11.0, 1.8) are back with each landing a spot in the starting lineup. Injuries to sophomore Josh McCoy (0.8, 1.0) and JC transfer Lance James (2.9, 0.9 apg) have hurt the depth at guard, allowing freshman Anthony Wells (1.4, 1.1) to see his first playing time. Brown is firmly entrenched at small forward with redshirt freshman Charlie Woods (1.8, 0.9) and redshirt freshman Tim Kamczyc (3.1, 2.5 rpg) also capable of seeing time at the position. Sophomore Joe Latas is the lone returner inside and he, along with JC transfers Jared Cunningham (5.4, 2.6) and junior Kevin Anderson (1.4, 0.7) spell sophomore Aaron Pogue (6.2, 5.5) at center.

CSU IN THE NCAA STATS: Cleveland State received several mentions in the most recent NCAA men's basketball statistics, which were released on Monday (March 1). As a team, the Vikings are 15th nationally in steals (8.9) and free throw percentage (.748), 20th in turnover margin (+3.6) and 63rd in turnovers per game (12.4). Individually, D'Aundray Brown ranks 16th nationally in steals (2.6 spg).

COLE & BROWN EARN HONORS: The junior tandem of Norris Cole and D'Aundray Brown were each represented when the Horizon League released its post season honors. Cole was one of five players named to the all-league first team while Brown was selected for the all-defensive team. Cole earned the honor after ranking third in the league in scoring (16.4) and assists (4.2), fourth in steals (1.8) and eighth in free throw percentage (.808). Brown, who is averaging 8.6 points and 5.6 rebounds a game, led the league and ranked 16th in the nation with 79 steals.

COLE PASSES CONSECUTIVE GAME MILESTONE: The Loyola game will mark the 103rd consecutive game in the playing career of junior Norris Cole, the ninth-longest streak in school history. The streak covers his entire career as he played in 33 games off the bench as a freshman and has started 69 straight games over the last two seasons (7th longest starting streak in program history).

. . . AND HE PASSED THE 1,000 MINUTE MARK: With 74 minutes played in the two games last week, junior Norris Cole became only the third player in school history to record multiple seasons playing 1,000 minutes or more. Cole, whose 1,213 minutes played last season was the second highest single season total in CSU history, has played 1,049 minutes in 31 games this year, joining Cedric Jackson and J'Nathan Bullock, both of whom accomplished the feat in 2007-08 and 2008-09. The 1,049 minutes are the eighth-highest total in CSU history and if he plays 22 minutes on Tuesday, he can move as high as fourth all-time.

. . . AND BROWN TOPS THE 1,000 MARK AS WELL: When D'Aundray Brown played all 40 minutes in the win over Wright State on Saturday, the junior became just the 12th player in school history to play 1,000 minutes in a season. With 1,012 minutes this year, Brown is 12th on the list but he can move up to eighth if he plays 28 minutes or more on Tuesday.

COLE MOVES INTO 14TH PLACE ON SCORING CHART: With 29 points in the two game last week, junior Norris Cole past both Anthony Reed (1,123 points) and Andre Battle (1,129) and into 14th on the CSU career scoring list. Cole enters the Wright State game with 1,167 points, one point short of catching 13th place Dave Kyle (1,168 points from 1974-77). Cole, the 18th player in CSU history to score 1,000 points in a career, reached the milestone in the Jan. 24 win over Milwaukee. He is only the eighth player to accomplish it as a junior. In 31 games, he leads the team and ranks third in the league, averaging 16.4 points a game (508 total).

. . . AND PASSES 500 POINT MARK: An 11-point effort against Wright State allowed junior Norris Cole to raise his season scoring total to 508 points to become just the 14th player in school history to tally 500 points in a season. He needs 25 points to break into the top 10.

MONTGOMERY EYES THREE-POINT RECORD: Sophomore Jeremy Montgomery enters the league tournament with 65 three-point field goals this season, the seventh highest single season total by a Viking and only six short of breaking the school record of 70 held by Damon Stringer (1999-2000) and Theo Dixon (2000-01).

KAMCZYC CASHES IN: With Trey Harmon on the sideline with a concussion during the last three games, freshman Tim Kamczyc has stepped up and the results have been positive. In three games as a starter, he has averaged 9.7 points and 5.7 rebounds, shooting .688 from the field (11-16) and .875 from the line (.875). Included in those totals are a career-high 12 points in the win over Toledo and 11 points and seven rebounds against Wright State.

BROWN STARTS CLIMB UP STEALS LIST: With two steals against Wright State, junior D'Aundray Brown increased his league-leading season total to 79. In the process, he moved into a tie with Kenny Robertson (1989-90) for sixth place on the single season steals chart.

SOMETHING ABOUT MILWAUKEE: Although the Vikings have done a great job of taking care of the basketball this season, ranking 63rd nationally in the latest NCAA stats by committing just 12.4 turnovers a game, there is something about Milwaukee that makes them do an even better job. In the two games against the Panthers this year, CSU has tied the school record for fewest turnovers in a game in both contests, committing just five each night. The total equals the previous mark set against both Utica (1/5/85) and Brooklyn (12/30/82).

NOTES FROM SCOTT: CSU athletic historian Scott Yaeger provides these notes of interest for this week: • With his five-for-five effort from three-point against Toledo, Charlie Woods set the school record for three-point percentage. Jamaal Harris held the old record of .875, making seven of his eight attempts against Green Bay (1/25/01). • Woods also became the 12th CSU freshman to make five treys in a game. The last freshman to accomplish it was Jeremy Montgomery at UIC, 2/5/09. • When Lance James made a trey against Toledo, he became the 10th different Viking to make one this year, tying the school record set in both 2004-05 and 2006-07. • CSU's average of 12.39 turnovers a game this year barely trails the school record of 12.27 set last year. • The Vikings have eight games with single digit turnovers this season, the most in school history. It tops the old high of seven set in 2008-09.

COLE PICKS UP 62ND WIN AS A VIKING: The win over Wright State on Saturday marked the 62nd time (in 102 career games) that Norris Cole has emerged victorious as a Viking. Just a junior, Cole is five wins away from breaking into the career top 10 list in the category and 29 wins shy of Ken McFadden's school record of 91 from 1985-89.

JAMES IS BACK: The Vikings got a little good news on the medical front on Feb. 21 when junior guard Lance James returned after missing the previous 21 games following surgery to repair a broken foot. He suffered a Jones fracture of the left foot in practice on Dec. 2 and had surgery on Dec. 11. His return against Toledo was a strong one as he scored seven points in 11 minutes, going two-for-three from the field, making his only trey and both free throw attempts.

FOR BETTER OR WORSE: Although coaches always claim that turnovers are a key to winning and losing, a look at the trends that have developed this year show that turnovers have no role in a games outcome. The two items that have played a role in determining wins and losses this year for CSU is halftime score and shooting percentage. The Vikings are 12-3 in games it led at halftime, losing leads to Virginia, at Butler and at Green Bay, and 1-13 in games it trailed at halftime, coming back from a 39-30 deficit to defeat Milwaukee in Cleveland. The shooting stats have a similar outcome as CSU is 13-1 in games it has shot a higher percentage than its opponent, losing only to Virginia. The Vikings are also 3-14 in games in which was out-shot, claiming both wins over Loyola and the home victory over Milwaukee.

HARMON NAMED HORIZON LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: After averaging 15.5 points in the Viking wins over UIC and Loyola, sophomore guard Trey Harmon was named the Horizon League Player of the Week on Feb. 8. In the two games, Harmon shot .500 from the field (11-22), .273 from three-point (3-11) and a perfect six-for-six from the line, adding eight rebounds, five assists and two steals. He scored 17 points with five assists in the win over UIC and then came back to tally 14 points with a career high six rebounds as CSU rallied to edge Loyola. Harmon is the second Viking to earn the honor this year, joining Norris Cole (Jan. 25).

HARMON FROM THE STRIPE: Sophomore Trey Harmon has developed into one of the top free throw shooters in the league, making 61 of his 72 attempts to rank fourth shooting .847. After starting the year making 22 of his 32 attempts in the first 16 games (.688), he has come back to make 39 of his 40 attempts over the last 11 games (.975), including 23 straight.

. . . AND COLE WARMS UP AS WELL: After going just two-for-six at the foul line in the win at Loyola on Feb. 6, junior Norris Cole regrouped to find the shooting form that made him one of the most accurate shooters in the Horizon League. Over his last five games, Cole has made 36 of his 38 free throw attempts (.947). He had a streak of 23 consecutive makes snapped with a second half miss vs. Detroit on Thursday. Cole has raised his season percentage to .808 (122-151), good for eighth in the Horizon League.

A TOUGH SCHEDULE: The 2-8 record that CSU put up against non-conference Division I teams this year is a little misleading. After all, not only were four of the teams ranked in the top 15 at the time CSU played them (Kentucky No. 5, West Virginia No. 6, Ohio State No. 12 & Kansas State No. 12), but the 10 opponents have combined to post a 94-37 (.718) record in non-conference games. The College Basketball RPI ranks CSU's non-conference schedule the third-toughest in the nation, trailing only California (1) and Long Beach State (2).

CHARITY STRIPE HAS BEEN KIND: One strength of the Vikings this year has come at the foul line where CSU is on pace to break the school record for free throw percentage. Through 31 games, the Vikings have gone 440-for-588 from the line (.748), which is ahead of the record .724 set in 1979-80. Jeremy Montgomery (76-89, .854), Trey Harmon (61-72, .847) and Norris Cole (122-151, .809), rank first, third and eighth in the league, respectively, in free throw percentage. D'Aundray Brown (40-51, .784), Jared Cunningham (24-32, .750) and Tim Kamsczyc (26-35, .743) are each above 70-percent but have not taken enough free throws to qualify for the league stats. CSU ranks 15th in the nation in free throw percentage in the latest NCAA stats.

. . . BUT THEN WHAT DO YOU EXPECT: It is no concincidence that the Vikings are shooting at a record pace from the foul line this year, especially when you consider the track record of teams coached by Gary Waters. A quick check of the CSU record book shows that CSU entered the year with just five seasons of shooting .700 from the line or better. The school record of .724 came in 1979-80 with the next three efforts all coming during Waters first three years at CSU. CSU shot .713 in Waters' first season in 2006-07 to rank second all-time. In 2007-08, CSU was .702 to rank third and then followed that up with a .701 effort last year to rank fourth.

. . . AND THE VIKINGS HAVE FARED WELL DURING CRUNCH TIME: Although the Vikings have performed well from the foul line this season, it is when the game is on the line when they have really stepped up their play. In 29 games this season, CSU has made 142 of its 169 free throws attempted in the final five minutes of games (.840). Kevin Anderson has been a perfect six-for-six to lead the team and Tim Kamczyc is nine-for-10 (.900), but the lion's share of the work has been done by Norris Cole and Jeremy Montgomery, who have combined to take 84 of the 169 attempts. Cole is connecting on .902 of his shots (55-61) while Montgomery is 20-for-23 (.870). Cole is a .848 shooter for his career (89-105), improving each season. He was 11-for-15 as a freshman (.733) and 23-for-29 as a sophomore (.793). Montgomery's improvement is significant after he made just seven of his 15 attempts in crunch time last year (.467). Last year, CSU shot just .695 from the line during this period (130-187).

DEGREE WORK: Sophomore center Joe Latas began the spring semester on Jan. 18 needing just 24 hours to graduate and when he finishes his coursework at the end of summer, he will have done so in just three years. Latas, who is taking 16 hours this semester, will take the final eight during the summer to earn his degree in both communications and religious studies.

COLE KEEPS STARTING STREAK GOING: When Norris Cole takes to the court against Loyola on Tuesday, he will be starting his 69th consecutive game at CSU, which is good for seventh place on consecutive starts list. Cole became the 14th player in Viking history to start 50 straight games when he started the Dec. 22 game at Ohio State. One of three players to start a school-record 37 games last year, Cole is the only player to go from playing in every game as a reserve in one season (34 games as a freshman in 2007-08) to starting every game the next in school history. Cole has played in all 102 games in his career (9th in school history).

COLE NAMED ATHLETE OF THE MONTH FOR JANUARY: Junior guard Norris Cole has been named the CSU Male Athlete of the Month for January. A Dayton, Ohio native, he averaged 17.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists, helping CSU to a 6-2 month. He shot 45-percent from the field, 44-percent from three-point and 73-percent at the free throw line. He scored 22 points in wins over Green Bay and Milwaukee, earning Horizon League Player of the Week honors on Jan. 25. In the win over Milwaukee, Cole surpassed the 1,000 point mark for his career.

. . . AND MONTGOMERY CLAIMS IT FOR DECEMBER: December was a good month for Jeremy Montgomery as the sophomore was selected as the CSU Male Athlete of the Month. In seven games in December, the sophomore from Chicago, Ill. averaged 14.0 points, shooting .508 (32-63) from the field, .439 (18-39) from three-point and .889 (24-27) from the line. He scored in double figures in six of the seven games, including back-to-back games of 25 points at Ohio State and 20 points at Kansas State.

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU? Junior forward D'Aundray Brown has returned to the floor this season, showing no ill effects from the two injuries that sidelined him for 13 games last season, including the final five games of the postseason. In the 31 games since coming back, Brown is averaging 8.6 points and 5.6 rebounds a game. He leads the team and ranks ninth in the league in rebounding and is ninth in minutes played (32.6). More importantly, he keys the Vikings' pressure defense, leading the league with 79 steals.

"PROTECT THIS HOUSE": Gary Waters believes that in order to have a championship program, the team first needs to be successful at home. With that in mind, he has chosen, "Protect This House" as the team motto for the 2009-10 season. With a 17-game home schedule, the second highest season total in school history and the most since 1983-84, CSU used its home court to have another successful campaign by winning at home first. The Vikings have heeded Waters' advice in the past, going 36-8 in the Wolstein Center over the last three years, a significant improvement from the 25-42 record in the Wolstein Center over the previous five seasons. The success started in 2007-08 when CSU tied the Wolstein Center record for wins in a season with a 12-2 mark. The Vikings did that mark one better, going 13-2 at home last season. CSU is 12-4 this season at home, including 11-4 in the Wolstein Center.

TAKING CARE OF THE BALL: Another area in which the Vikings have excelled this season is in turnovers where CSU ranks second in the Horizon League (and 20th nationally) with a +3.6 turnover margin. In 31 games, the Vikings have committed 384 turnovers (12.4 tpg), including 15 games of 12 or fewer. The Vikings tied the school record with just five turnovers in the win over Milwaukee (Jan. 24) and then again at Milwaukee on Feb. 18, had seven vs. Loyola on Feb. 6 and against Butler on Feb. 13 and also made just eight miscues against Wichita State on Nov. 28 and vs. Loyola on Jan. 7. At the other end of the spectrum, CSU has forced 497 miscues (16.0 tpg), including 17 or more 14 times.

POGUE CLEANS THE GLASS: The 16 rebounds by sophomore Aaron Pogue at Youngstown State on Jan. 2 was the most by a Viking since Pape Badiane grabbed 18 caroms at Florida A&M on Nov. 25, 2003. He shares the highest rebounding game in the Horizon League this season with Loyola's Andy Polka (16 vs. St. Francis, Ill.).

A BIG NIGHT FOR NORRIS: Despite playing on a senior-dominated team as a sophomore, Norris Cole showed the ability at times to take over a game. Now the unquestioned leader of a young and generally inexperienced Viking squad, Cole is getting much more attention this year by opposing defenses but at no time in his past has he ever taken over a game like he did in the win over Florida A&M. Cole obliterated his career scoring high by 12 points, totalling 38 points against the Rattlers, the eighth-highest single game total in school history. He was 11-for-16 from the field, three-for-four from three-point and made all 13 of his free throw attempts. He fell one point short of equalling J'Nathan Bullock's Wolstein Center scoring record (39 vs. Green Bay) but did tie Bullock's 13-for-13 free throw effort against South Florida in 2007-08 as the third-most free throws made while shooting 100% from the line.

IT HAS BEEN A STEAL: The Vikings have found success predicated on their defense over the last three seasons and the season results to date have been extraordinary. In 31 games, CSU has forced 497 turnovers (16.0 tpg), making 276 steals (8.9 spg). D'Aundray Brown leads the league and ranks 11th nationally with 79 steals (2.5 spg) while Norris Cole is fourth with 54 thefts (1.8 spg) and Trevon Harmon is seventh with 45 steals (1.6 spg). In addition, Jeremy Montgomery has 34 steals (1.1). Norris Cole made seven steals vs. Wilmington, the seventh-highest single game total in school history, and Brown turned in a six theft game against Youngstown State (1/30/10). CSU's 8.9 steals a game is easily tops in the Horizon League, ranking 15th nationally in the latest NCAA stats.

NEXT UP: A victory over Loyola would advance the Vikings to a second round matchup in the tournament against the winner of the No. 4 Milwaukee vs. No. 9 UIC game. The game will be played on Friday (March 5) at 8:00 p.m. in Hinkle Fieldhouse on the Butler campus in Indianapolis, Ind.