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Vikings Return to Action on Saturday vs. Oakland as Norris Cole's #30 to be Retired Pre-Game

Vikings Return to Action on Saturday vs. Oakland as Norris Cole's #30 to be Retired Pre-Game
Posted: Feb 05, 2016

GAME #25
OAKLAND (16-8, 8-3 HL) at CLEVELAND STATE (7-17, 2-9 HL)
Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016 | 1:00 pm ET | Wolstein Center | Cleveland, Ohio
Live Stats | ESPN3

RADIO
1220 AM - WHKW

PDF GAME NOTES
vs. Oakland

GAME PREVIEW:
    •    Cleveland State concludes its two-game homestand on Saturday (Feb. 6) against Oakland at 1:00 pm in the Wolstein Center.
    •    The game will be broadcast on AM 1220-WHKW and AM 1380-WDLW with Al Pawlowski providing the play-by-play.
    •    Saturday's game will also be available on ESPN3.
    •    It will be a doubleheader with the CSU women also hosting Oakland at 3:00 pm.
    •    Former CSU standout Norris Cole will have his No. 30 retired in a pre-game ceremony slated to start at approximately 12:50 pm.
    •    The Vikings are 7-17 overall and 2-9 in the League after a 71-63 loss to Detroit on Thursday.
    •    Oakland is 16-8 overall (8-3 HL) and has won five in a row and seven of its last eight. The Golden Grizzlies are coming off a 107-85 win at Youngstown State on Thursday.

THE OAKLAND SERIES:
    •     Cleveland State leads the all-time series with Oakland, 6-2. The series began in 1999-00 with CSU winning the first six meetings.
    •     The Golden Grizzlies won the first meeting this year, 86-68, in Rochester on Jan. 2.
    •     CSU is 4-0 all-time against Oakland in Cleveland.

GAME 24 RECAP - DETROIT 71, CSU 63 (2/4/16)
    •    Demonte Flannigan scored a career-high 25 points and added nine rebounds and three blocks in a loss to Detroit on Thursday.
    •    Vinny Zollo added a career-high 16 points and Nelson Maxwell dished out five assists.
    •    Detroit hit 10 three-pointers in the win.

#30 TO HANG FROM RAFTERS:
    •    Former CSU standout Norris Cole will have his No. 30 retired during a pre-game ceremony on Saturday (Feb. 6) before the Vikings host Oakland.
    •    Cole will be the third player to have his number retired, joining Franklin Edwards (#14) and Ken McFadden (#10).
    •    Cole played at CSU from 2007-11, earning Horizon League Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors as a senior.
    •    He is CSU's all-time leader in games played (140), consecutive games played (140) and minutes played (4,114). He is third in points (1,978), free throws made (485) and free throw percentage (.826); fourth in assists (455) and seventh in steals (207).
    •    A first-round draft pick in the 2011 NBA draft, he won NBA championships with the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013 and is now a member of the New Orleans Pelicans.

WORKING OVERTIME:
    •    CSU went to overtime for the first time this year on Saturday (Jan. 30) at UIC, falling 72-70.
    •    It was CSU's first overtime game since a 66-61 win at Green Bay on Feb. 20, 2015, CSU's third OT game last year (at Savannah State and vs. San Francisco).
    •    The Vikings are now 44-41 all-time in overtime games.

FlANNIGAN NETS CAREER-HIGH & DOUBLE DOUBLE:
    •    Demonte Flannigan notched his third double-double of the season in Thursday's loss to Detroit.
    •    The junior scored a career-high 25 points and added 10 rebounds and three blocked shots.
    •    Flannigan posted 22 points and a career-high 17 rebounds vs. Malone and 14 points and 10 rebounds against Milwaukee for his other double-doubles this year.
    •    He is averaging 10.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game, while shooting a team-best .491 (111-226) from the field.

ZOLLO, CARPENTER & BLOUNT ALSO REACH CAREER-HIGHS:
    •    Vinny Zollo scored a career-high 16 points in Thursday's setback to Detroit, adding five rebounds. He hit 6-of-9 from the field and 2-of-4 from three-point.
    •    Zollo bettered his old career-high of 14 points, which he reached multiple times.
    •    Kenny Carpenter scored a career-high 24 points in the Jan. 30 setback at UIC.
    •    He hit 10-of-21 from the field, both career-highs, and added seven rebounds.
    •    Carpenter's old career-high was 18 at Northern Ky. (Jan. 16).
    •    Jibri Blount also reached his career-high with 15 points at UIC. He added six rebounds and four assists in the game.

FOR THREE:
    •    CSU has hit a three-pointer in a school-record 559 consecutive games.
    •    The Vikings have hit at least three three's in 108 straight games.
    •    The last time CSU failed to make a three-pointer was Feb. 21, 1998, when the Vikings were 0-for-8 in a 60-57 win over Detroit.
    •    A total of 12 different players for CSU have hit a three-pointer this year, the CSU single season record for most players with at least one three-pointer in a season.

EDWARDS AT 22 STARTS:
    •    Rob Edwards has started 22 games this year, two shy of moving into a tie for the seventh most starts by a freshman at CSU.
    •    Edwards' 22 starts are the most by a CSU freshman since Jim Les started 24 times as a freshman in 1981-82.
    •    The most starts by a CSU freshman in a season is 30 by Shawn Hood in 1983-84.

HE'S A FRESHMAN:
    •    Rob Edwards is tops on the team in scoring (12.2 ppg), while also ranking 18th in the Horizon League.
    •    Edwards is attempting to become just the eighth freshman in school history to lead the team in scoring. Bryn Forbes was the last freshman to lead CSU in scoring during the 2012-13 season.
    •    Edwards is a two-time Horizon League Freshman of the Week (Nov. 30 & Dec. 21).
    •    He had 24 points, six boards and four assists vs. UIC (Jan. 18).
    •     Edwards scored a career-high 26 points on Jan. 4 at Detroit, bettering his old career-high of 21 points set against Cedarville (Dec. 29) when he tied a CSU single game record by hitting 5-of-5 from three-point.
    •    Edwards came off the bench for the first two games before starting at Rhode Island (Nov. 21) where he scored 16 points.
    •    He was named to all-tournament team at Cancun Challenge Mayan Division (11/24-25) after totaling 24 points in two games.

UP NEXT:
    •    The Vikings are in action just one time next week, traveling to Youngstown State for a 7:00 pm contest on Saturday (Feb. 13).
    •    CSU returns home to host Valparaiso on Tuesday (Feb. 16) at 7:00 pm at Quicken Loans Arena. It will be the fourth of five games for the Vikings at The Q this year.