CLEVELAND -- Cleveland State will be in search of its second straight home victory when it hosts UIC on Thursday (Feb. 14) at 7 p.m. in the Wolstein Center.
Fresh off of a 78-68 victory over Milwaukee, Cleveland State is after back-to-back victories for the third time this season. The Vikings got a historic performance from sophomore Tyree Appleby in the victory over the Panthers on Saturday as he turned in the school's first-ever triple-double.
Appleby finished with 19 points, a career-high 11 assists and a career-high 11 rebounds to lead CSU to its second Horizon League victory of the season. Appleby had plenty of help as junior Jaalam Hill scored a career-high 19 points and also grabbed seven rebounds and Dibaji Walker scored 15 first-half points to help the Vikings take a nine-point lead into halftime. Rashad Williams also reached double figures in scoring for CSU with 12 points.
Cleveland State, which is 7-19 overall and 2-11 in league play, broke the school record for three-pointers in a game with 16 against the Panthers and shot 50 percent from the floor for the game.
UIC, which is 13-12 overall and 7-5 in the Horizon League, won the first meeting between the two teams 73-56 in Chicago. The Flames tied the school record by making 17 three-pointers in the victory.
Cleveland State is led by Appleby who tops the team averaging 16.9 points, 5.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He currently ranks second in the Horizon League in assists per game.
Williams leads the Vikings with 73 three-pointers and ranks fourth in CSU single-season history behind Trey Lewis (96), Bobby Word (84) and Bryn Forbes (81). He is second on the team averaging 10.6 points per game.
Hill returned after a three-game absence and posted a career-high 19 points against Milwaukee. He is third on the team averaging 10.2 points and leads the team averaging 6.4 rebounds per contest and is shooting a team-leading 58.3 percent from the floor.
Appleby led the Vikings with 23 points in the first meeting between the two squads, while Stefan Kenic had 10 points and seven rebounds.
Cleveland State leads the all-time series against the Flames 48-37 and has a 16-12 record against UIC in the Wolstein Center.
The game will be broadcast live on AM 1420 and on ESPN+.
