Cleveland State at UIC
Dec. 28 | 4 p.m. ET
Credit Union1 Arena | Chicago, Ill.
Video | Audio | Live Stats
OPENING TIP:
• Cleveland State opens Horizon League play on Saturday (Dec. 28) against UIC at 4 p.m. EST in Credit Union1 Arena
• Cleveland State enters the contest with a 2-6 record in road and neutral site games
• The Vikings won three consecutive non-conference games earlier this season, which marked the first for the program since the 2011-12 season
• Algevon Eichelberger leads the Vikings averaging 13.0 points per game
• The Vikings are currently 4-9 on the season
DEMANDING NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE:
• Cleveland State finished the non-conference schedule with a 4-9 record against a very demanding slate
• The Vikings opponents currently have a combined record of 95-62
• Four Cleveland State opponents, Florida International, Kent State, DePaul and East Tennessee State, all currently have the best overall record in their respective conference
BEEN AWHILE:
• Cleveland State won three consecutive non-conference games for the first time since the 2011-12 season
• The Vikings won five consecutive games to start the 2011-12 season
• Cleveland State was also .500 after eight games for the first time since the 2014-15 season
EAST TENN. STATE 80, CSU 55 (1/21/19):
• Algevon Eichelberger scored a career-high 23 points and tied his career high with 13 rebounds
• Torrey Pattton scored a season-high 14 points
• Cleveland State limited East Tennessee State to 26.3 percent shooting from the three-point line
• Tre Gomillion scored nine points and grabbed five rebounds
• The Vikings shot 77.8 (14-of-18) percent from the foul line
DEPAUL 73, CSU 65 (12/18/19):
• Cleveland State took an NCAA Tournament bound team to the wire in the Wolstein Center
• The Vikings trailed 60-59 with 3:36 to play in the game before eventually falling 73-65
• Tre Gomillion led the Vikings with 15 points, all of which came in the second half
• Hugo Ferreira came off the bench and scored 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor
• Cleveland State shot 45.3 percent from the floor for the game
• The Vikings outscored the Blue Demons 44-38 in the second half
BOWLING GREEN 72, CSU 58 (12/15/19):
• Cleveland State outscored the Falcons 34-32 in the second half
• The Vikings held a 34-30 advantage in rebounding and outscored the Falcons 42-30 in the paint
• Craig Beaudion scored 10 points and handed out four assists
• Algevon Eichelberger scored eight points and collected eight rebounds
• Deante Johnson had nine points and four rebounds for Cleveland State
• Torrey Patton added four points and four rebounds, while Hugo Ferreira chipped in with six points and four steals
KENT STATE 81, CSU 59 (12/7/19):
• Algevon Eichelberger scored 14 points and collected eight rebounds to lead Cleveland State
• The Vikings outrebounded the Golden Flashes 34-30
• Tre Gomillion (13 pts) and Deante Johnson (10 pts) also reached double figures in scoring for the Vikings
• Cleveland State held a 19-18 lead with 9:57 to play in the first period
ABOUT THE VIKINGS:
• Cleveland State enters the contest with a 4-9 overall record
• Algevon Eichelberger leads Cleveland State averaging 13.0 points and 8.2 rebounds per game
• Cleveland State has limited the opposition to under 40.4 percent shooting from the floor in six of its 13 games this season
• Tre Gomillion and Algevon Eichelberger are tied for the team lead with six double-figure games
• Craig Beaudion has scored in double figures five times this season
• Algevon Eichelberger leads the Vikings with three double-doubles on the year
• Tre Gomillion ranks second on the team averaging 10.2 points and 6.1 rebounds per contest
• Craig Beaudion leads the Vikings averaging 2.5 assists per contest
THE UIC SERIES:
• This will be the 87th all-time meeting between Cleveland State and UIC
• Cleveland State leads the series 48-38
• Cleveland State leads the all-time series in Chicago 23-19
• UIC swept the season series last season winning 73-56 in Chicago and 81-77 in Cleveland
• The Vikings have won 19 of the last 25 games played in the series
DOUBLE TROUBLE:
• Cleveland State's Algevon Eichelberger and Tre Gomillion each posted their first career double-double in the Battle for the Capital in Washington, D.C.
• Algevon Eichelberger notched his first career double-double when he recorded a career-high 19 points and grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds in the 47-46 win over UNC Wilmington
• Tre Gomillion recorded his double-double in the 65-51 win over Eastern Kentucky as he had 15 points and a career-high 16 rebounds
• Algevon Eichelberger and Tre Gomillion were each named to the Battle for the Capital All-Tournament team
YOU CAN'T WIN IF YOU CAN'T SCORE:
• Cleveland State turned in a pair of brilliant defensive efforts in recording victories over UNC Wilmington and Eastern Kentucky
• Cleveland State held UNC Wilmington to 27.3 percent shooting from the floor and did not permit the Seahawks to score a field goal in the final 7:47 of the game
• The Vikings then held Eastern Kentucky to 25.5 percent shooting from the floor and held the Colonels without a field goal for 15:08 of the second half
THE DENNIS GATES ERA:
• This will mark the first season for new Cleveland State head coach Dennis Gates
• Gates earned his first career victory at Cleveland State on Nov. 9 with a 79-54 victory over Edinboro in the Wolstein Center
• Gates was named the Vikings head coach on July 26, 2019
• He comes to Cleveland State after spending the previous eight seasons as an assistant coach at Florida State
• Gates brings 16 years of Division I coaching experience to Cleveland State
• Gates also coached at Marquette, Cal, Northern Illinois and Nevada
HORIZON LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL:
• Cleveland State has been selected to finish 10th in the Horizon League Preseason Men's Basketball Poll as voted upon by the league head coaches, sports information directors and media members
• Cleveland State received one first-place vote and finished with 62 points
HOME SCHEDULE:
• Cleveland State will host 15 games in the Wolstein Center this season
• The Vikings will play nine Horizon League contests and six non-conference games
• Cleveland State will face Youngstown State on Jan. 4 in its HL home opener
BACK FROM LAST SEASON:
• Cleveland State welcomes back four players from the 2018-19 roster
• Kasheem Thomas, Jaalam Hill, Algevon Eichelberger, Deante Johnson and Liam Doup all return from a season ago
• Jaalam Hill is the Vikings leading returning scorer and rebounder from last season
• The senior averaged 11.2 points and 6.1 rebounds per game in 28 contests last year
• Kasheem Thomas averaged 5.8 points and 2.9 rebounds per game
• Thomas also averaged 2.9 assists per contest
• Algevon Eichelberger averaged 5.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game after playing in 31 games and making 12 starts
• Deante Johnson appeared in 29 games and finished the year averaging 2.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per game
FRESH FACES:
• Cleveland State will feature 11 new players in 2019-20, which ties for the fifth most in Division I
• Tyrese Potoma, Craig Beaudion, Franklyn Penn Jr., Tre Gomillion, Hugo Ferreira, Anthony Rego, Daylen Williams, Aria Eskandari, Jeremy Sanchez, Torrey Patton and Jalen Williams are all new to the Vikings this season
COACHING STAFF:
• Dennis Gates announced his coaching staff shortly after his appointment
• Rob Summers, Dru Joyce, Ryan Sharbaugh are all assistant coaches on the staff
• Veteran coach Dickey Nutt is the special assistant coach for student-athlete development
• Chase Goldstein is the director of basketball operations and Steven Wright is the video coordinator
FROM EVERYWHERE:
• Cleveland State is represented by players from four countries and and eight different US states
• Tyrese Potoma (Saskatchewan), Kasheem Thomas (Quebec), Franklyn Penn Jr (British Virgin Islands) and Hugo Ferreira (Portugal) all hail from foreign countries
STRAIGHT SHOOTING:
• Cleveland State shot a season-high 55.6 percent from the floor in the victory over Robert Morris
• The Vikings finished the game 25-of-45 from the floor against the Colonials
• The Vikings shot a season-best 66.7 percent from the floor in the second half of the game against Robert Morris
• Cleveland State topped 50.0 percent shooting from the floor for the first time this season in the victory over Edinboro
• The Vikings finished the game shooting 50.9 percent from the field having made 28-of-55 attempts
• Cleveland State shot better than 50 percent from the floor in each half
• The Vikings shot 51.5 percent in the first half and 50.0 percent in the second half
• The Vikings shot 56.0 percent from the field in the first half of the game at South Carolina
• Cleveland State shot 50.0 percent from the floor in the second half at Bowling Green
ECONOMICAL EFFORT:
• Junior Franklyn Penn Jr., made the most of his 23 minutes of court time against Edinboro
• He scored 12 points, collected eight rebounds, handed out four assists and recorded four steals
TIGHT ON THE DEFENSIVE END OF THE FLOOR:
• Cleveland State has held six of its 13 opponents under 40.4 percent shooting from the floor
• Cleveland State limited Eastern Kentucky to 25.5 percent shooting from the floor
• The Vikings held UNC Wilmington to 27.3 percent shooting
• The Vikings limited South Carolina to 37.8 percent shooting from the field, including 35.9 percent in the opening half
• The Vikings held Missouri State to just 37.7 percent shooting for the game, including 32.0 percent in the second half
• Cleveland State limited Edinboro to 28.3 percent shooting from the floor in a 79-54 win
• Cleveland State held Edinboro to 20.8 percent shooting from the floor in the first half
• For the season, Cleveland State is holding opponents to 42.4 percent shooting from the field
ALSO TOUGH ON THREE'S:
• Cleveland State has also done a solid job defending the three-point line through 13 games
• The Vikings have held the opposition to 33.1 percent shooting from distance
• The Vikings limited Robert Morris to 20.7 (6-of-29) percent shooting from beyond the three-point line
• Cleveland State limited Eastern Kentucky to 18.8 percent shooting from the three-point line
• The Vikings held UNC Wilmington to 23.1 percent shooting from deep
• Cleveland State held Missouri State to 29.4 percent shooting from the three-point line
• Cleveland State's defense held Edinboro to 15.8 percent shooting from beyond the three-point line
• The Vikings held South Carolina to 32.0 percent shooting from distance
• Cleveland State held DePaul to just 21.4 percent shooting from the three-point line
BETTER EVERY GAME:
• Junior Algevon Eichelberger surpassed his previous career scoring high on three occasions this season
• Eichelberger tallied a then career-high 19 points in the Vikings victory over UNC Wilmington on Nov. 22
• Two games later he established a new career high as he scored 21 points in the Vikings win against Robert Morris
• He then topped that with a 23-point effort at East Tennessee State on Dec. 21
• Eichelberger became the first Cleveland State player to top 20 points in a game this season with his 21-point effort against Robert Morris
• Eichelberger also notched his first career double-double against UNC Wilmington has he grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds
• Eichelberger added his second career double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds against Toledo
• His third double-double of the season came against East Tennessee State when he scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds
ON A ROLL:
• Junior Craig Beaudion scored in double figures in four consecutive games against Florida International, UNC Wilmington, Eastern Kentucky and Robert Morris
• Beaudion scored 11 points against Florida International, 10 points versus UNC Wilmington, and tallied a career-high 14 points against both Eastern Kentucky and Robert Morris
• Over the four-game stretch, Beaudion shot 53.1 (17-of-32) percent from the floor
MR CONSISTENCY:
• Sophomore Tre Gomillion has been one of the Vikings most consistent performers during the 2019-20 season
• Gomillion ranks second on the team averaging 10.2 points per game and also ranks second on the team averaging 6.1 rebounds per game
• Gomillion has scored at least five points in 12 of the 13 games and has reached double ffigures in six games
• Gomillion has grabbed at least four rebounds in 12 of the 13 games this season and grabbed a career-high 16 boards against Eastern Kentucky
WHEN WE WIN:
• The Vikings have featured balanced scoring in their four victories this season as four players are averaging in double figures
• Algevon Eichelberger (16.3), Tre Gomillion (11.8), Torrey Patton (11.0) and Craig Beaudion (11.0) each average double figures in CSU wins
• Cleveland State has limited the opposition to just 30.7 percent shooting from the floor in its four victories
• The Vikings are outrebounding opponents by an average of 37.5-33.8 in their four wins
KEEP YOUR EYE ON HIM:
• Junior Algevon Eichelberger has had a breakout season for the Vikings in 2019-20
• He has started all 10 games in which he has played this season and leads the team averaging 13.0 points and 8.2 rebounds per game
• He is tied for the team lead with six double-figure scoring games and posted his first three career double-doubles this year
• Eichelberger scored 19 points and collected a career-high 13 rebounds in the Vikings victory over UNC Wilmington
• Three games later, he scored 12 points and tied his career high with 13 rebounds versus Toledo
• Eichelberger scored a career-high 21 points in the Vikings win over Robert Morris
• Eichelberger scored a career-high 23 points and tied his career high with 13 rebounds at East Tennessee State
TOP OF THE HILL:
• Senior Jalaam Hill made his first appearance of the season for Cleveland State in the road game at Bowling Green
• Hill played nine minutes in the game and scored four points on 2-of-2 shooting from the field
• He also recorded two steals and grabbed a rebound
• Hill is the Vikings leading returning scorer from 2018-19
WHAT A HALF:
• Sophomore Tre Gomillion had a great second half against DePaul
• After attempting only one field goal and not scoring in the first half, Gomillion scored 15 second-half point to fuel the Vikings comeback
• He was 6-of-11 from the floor, 1-of-1 from the three-point line and 2-of-2 from the foul line
