GAME #31
HORIZON LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP 1ST ROUND
No. 9 Youngstown State (11-20) vs. No. 8 Cleveland State (9-21)
Friday, March 3, 2017 | 8:00 pm
Detroit, Mich. | Joe Louis Arena
Live Stats | ESPN3 | AM 1420 WHK
PDF GAME NOTES
Youngstown State vs. Cleveland State
GAME PREVIEW:
• Eighth-seeded Cleveland State opens the 2017 Horizon League Championship with a first round game against ninth-seeded Youngstown State on Friday (March 3) at 8:00 pm at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Mich.
• The Vikings are 9-21 this year and finished 5-13 in the League. YSU is 11-20 overall and also went 5-13 in the Horizon League.
• Friday's game will be broadcast live on AM 1420, WHK with Al Pawlowski providing the play-by-play.
• The game will be broadcast live on the WatchESPN App/ESPN3 with Will Haskett and Dave Kaplan on the call.
THE YOUNGSTOWN STATE SERIES:
• CSU leads the all-time series with YSU, 46-41, and has won 15 of the last 21 meetings between the two teams.
• The 87 games are the most CSU has played against a school in program history.
• YSU won the first meeting this year, 67-64, on Jan. 28 with CSU earning a 69-55 win in the Wolstein Center in Saturday's regular season finale.
• Friday's game will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams in the Horizon League tournament.
FOR THREE:
• CSU has hit a three-pointer in a school-record 596 straightgames.
• 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.
• The Vikings have hit at least three three-pointers in 145 straight games, dating to Jan. 4, 2013, when CSU was 1-of-18 from three-point at Valparaiso.
CSU IN THE HORIZON LEAGUE TOURNAMENT:
• The Vikings are 9-14 all-time in the Horizon League tournament and 23-27 all-time in conference tournaments.
• CSU is 9-9 in the HL tournament under Gary Waters.
• CSU won the 2009 tournament title, winning four games, including a 57-54 win at Butler in the championship game.
EDWARDS NAMED SECOND TEAM ALL-LEAGUE:
• Rob Edwards was named to the All-Horizon League second team after being named to the preseason all-league second team.
• He ranks sixth in the Horizon League in scoring (16.1), second in steals (1.4) and ninth in three-pointers (2.0).
• Edwards has 13 career 20-point games, including nine this year.
• He scored a career-high 32 points in the win at Oakland (Jan. 16), bettering his old career-high of 28 points at No. 1 ranked Kentucky (Nov. 28) when he set career-highs in field goals made (12) and attempted (21).
• Edwards had a career-best seven steals at Milwaukee (Jan. 20), the second most by a Horizon League player in a game this year.
• The seven steals were the most by a CSU player since Craig Caldwell made eight at Wright State (2/19/95).
• Last year, he averaged 12.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.2 steals, earning a spot on the Horizon League All-Freshman team.
... AND CHASING 500 POINTS:
• Rob Edwards has scored 484 points this year, the fifth most by a sophomore in CSU history.
• Ken McFadden (708 points), Clinton Ransey (535), Bryn Forbes (498) and Norris Cole (492) are ahead of Edwards on the list.
• Edwards has 882 career points, 38th most in program history.
BEYOND THE ARC:
• The Vikings tied a school record by hitting 14 three-pointers on Feb. 21 at Detroit Mercy, making 14-of-33.
• It was the fourth time in program history that CSU hit 14 three's in a game and the first since CSU made 14 at Oakland (2/6/14).
• The 33 three-point attempts also tied a school record set earlier this season at UT-Martin (Nov. 18).
FLANNIGAN DOUBLES UP:
• Demonte Flannigan posted his seventh career double-double and second of the season with 22 points and 11 rebounds against Wright State on Feb. 18.
• Flannigan's first double-double of the year with a 17-point, 10-rebound effort at Wright State on Jan. 5.
• Since missing the first four games of the year due to a medical issue, Flannigan has come back to average 11.3 points and 5.5 rebounds.
• He ranks 23rd in the League in scoring and 15th in rebounding, while shooting .471 from the field (13th in HL).
• He has seven career 20-point games and 7 career double-doubles.
• He grabbed a CSU season-high 13 rebounds in the Dec. 29 setback to Green Bay.
LEVITT SCORES CAREER HIGH:
• Daniel Levitt scored a career-high 18 points on Feb. 21 at Detroit Mercy, hitting 6-of-7 from three-point.
• Levitt did his damage in just 12 minutes off the bench.
• Levitt's six three's are tied for the fourth most in a game in program history.
• He became the first CSU player with at least six three's in a game since Charlie Lee made six at Oakland on Feb. 6, 2014.
WORD UP:
• Bobby Word is seventh in the Horizon League with 2.1 three-pointers per game.
• He has nine games this year with at least four three-pointers.
• Word hit four three-pointers in four straight games from Jan. 20-Feb. 2.
• Word scored a career-high 25 points vs. Western Michigan (Dec. 7), hitting 9-of-12 from the field (5-8 3FG).
• Word ranks 24th in the League in scoring (11.2) in his first season at CSU after sitting out last year when he transferred from Oral Roberts.
KASH DROPS DIMES:
• Kasheem Thomas dished out a career-high 10 assists at Youngstown State on Jan. 28.
• Thomas became the first CSU player with double-digit assists in a game since Charlie Lee had 10 helpers vs. UIC (2/2/2013).
• Thomas ranks ninth in the Horizon League with 3.3 assists per game and is third in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.0).
• He has recorded at least six assists in seven games this year, including nine in his first collegiate game vs. Kent State (Nov. 11).
• Thomas has started all 30 games this year and became the first CSU freshman to start a season opener since 2003-04 (Walt Waters).
• His 30 starts are tied for the most by a freshman in program history, tied with Shawn Hood (1983-84) and Rob Edwards (2015-16).
• Thomas is averaging 7.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.
HALES CLEANS THE GLASS:
• Terrell Hales grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds in Saturday's (Feb. 25) win over Youngstown State.
• Hales grabbed six offensive rebounds, helping the Vikings to a season-high 19 offensive boards, which led to 19 second chance points.
• Hales became the third CSU player to record double-digit rebounds this year, joining Demonte Flannigan and Jibri Blount.
40 MINUTE MEN:
• The Vikings had four players on the floor for at least 40 minutes in a double overtime loss to Wright State (Feb. 18).
• Bobby Word played 49 minutes, the fifth most for a player in a game in program history, while Demonte Flannigan (44), Rob Edwards (41) and Kasheem Thomas (40) also played at least 40 minutes.
• It was a career-high in minutes played for all four players.
• It was the first time CSU had four players play at least 40 minutes since a Dec. 4, 2013, 85-82 double OT loss at Drexel.
• In that game, Trey Lewis played 53 minutes, while Bryn Forbes (46), Jon Harris (44) and Marlin Mason (41) all topped 40 minutes.
QUICK HITTERS:
• Derek Sloan set career highs in points (10) and rebounds (7) vs. Canisius (Nov. 15). A former walk-on, he has started 22 games this year.
• Gavin Peppers has not played this season after injuring his foot the day before CSU's exhibition game (Nov. 6).
• Anthony Wright tallied a career high 14 points with seven rebounds at Belmont (Dec. 23), hitting 5-of-7 from field and both three-point attempts. He missed his first career double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds at Youngstown State (Jan. 28).
• Jamarcus Hairston scored 13 points (3-6 3FG) vs. Kent State (Nov. 12) in his CSU debut, hitting a three-pointer with 2.6 seconds left to send game into overtime.
• Head coach Gary Waters coached in his school record 361st career game at CSU on Feb. 11 at UIC, breaking Ray Dieringer's old record of 360 games coached.
• CSU's game at Kentucky on Nov. 23 marked the second time in program history that the Vikings played the No. 1 team in the country (Cincinnati, 1999).
UP NEXT:
• The winner of Saturday's game will play top-seeded Oakland in a second round game on Saturday (March 4) at 5:30 pm at Joe Louis Arena.
