CLEVELAND -- Cleveland State will seek to earn a split of a brief two-game roadtrip on Saturday (Feb. 2) when the Vikings visit Oakland for a Horizon League contest at 3 p.m. in the O'rena.
Cleveland State, which is 6-17 overall and 1-9 in the Horizon League, dropped a 78-64 decision to Detroit Mercy on Thursday. Freshman Rashad Williams had 19 points and was 5-of-10 from the three-point line to lead the Vikings. Algevon Eichelberger (13) and Stefan Kenic (11) also reached double figures in scoring for the Vikings.
The Vikings, who played without leading scorer Tyree Appleby, battled the Titans but could not overcome the Titans 25-7 advantage from the free throw line.
Cleveland State continues to get improved play from its freshmen. Williams, who started for the second time in his career, reached double figures in scoring for the 10th time in his last 13 games. During that span Williams is averaging 13.2 points and shooting 44.2 percent from the three-point line.
Deante Johnson made his first career start against Detroit Mercy and responded with six points, seven rebounds, a blocked shot and a steal, while Dibaji Walker had six points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot.
Seth Millner, who has started all 23 games this season, is averaging 6.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. He had seven points and seven rebounds against Detroit Mercy.
Appleby continues to lead the Vikings averaging 17.3 points and 5.2 assists per game. He leads CSU with 16 double-figure scoring games and has 12 games with at least five assists.
Williams and Kenic are tied for second on the team averaging 10.3 points per game, while Jaalam Hill leads the squad averaging 6.3 rebounds per contest.
Oakland, which is 10-13 overall and 6-4 in the Horizon League, defeated the Vikings 89-77 on Dec. 28 in Cleveland. The Golden Grizzlies shot 50 percent from the floor and got 27 points from Jaevin Cumberland to post the win.
Appleby led the Vikings with 21 points against Oakland, while Hill finished with 13 points and Kenic and Dontel Highsmith each finished with 11 points.
