Cleveland State at Toledo
Tuesday, Dec. 1 | 7 p.m.
Savage Arena | Toledo, Ohio

Presented by Cleveland Clinic Sports Medicine

Stream | Audio | Live Stats 

Game Notes

SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State men's basketball team begins their 2020-21 campaign on the road Tuesday night against the Toledo Rockets. Under direction of second-year head coach Dennis Gates, the Vikings were selected to finish seventh in the Horizon League in the league's preseason poll, as voted upon by league head coaches, media members and sports information directors. Senior captain Algevon Eichelberger was named to the Preseason All-Horizon League Third Team.

A WIN ON TUESDAY WOULD…
Give the Vikings their first season-opening win since the 2013-14 season when the Vikes took down Iona 73-69 (11/9/2013) (excluding exhibition contests). Cleveland State finished the 2013-14 season with an overall record of 21-12, including a 12-4 clip in Horizon League play. It would also mark Cleveland State's first W against a Mid-American Conference opponent since Dec. 5, 2018 vs. Bowling Green (82-64).

THE CLEVELAND STATE/TOLEDO SERIES
Tuesday's contest will be the 17th all-time meeting between these two programs. The last time Cleveland State and Toledo met was Dec. 4, 2019, which resulted in a Rocket victory in Cleveland. The Vikings are looking to snap a six-game skid, not having won since Dec. 1, 2012.

FRESH FACES
The Vikes enter the 2020-21 season with the top-ranked recruiting class in the Horizon League, per Rivals.com. The class includes transfers Chris Greene, D'Moi Hodge, Yahel Hill, and freshmen Mabor Majak, Alec Oglesby and Jayson Woodrich. The Vikings, ranked 86th in the nation and tied for the fourth-best class in the state of Ohio, tied with the University of Dayton. Nine of 17 Vikings are returning from last season. 

LOCAL FLAVOR
Currently, there are five student-athletes from Northeast Ohio on the roster: Demetrius "Meechie" Terry, Yahel Hill, Jayson Woodrich, Jeremy Sanchez and Ben Sternberg. Woodrich and Sternberg both suited up at Beachwood High School together, while Hill broke a 20-year-old Cleveland Heights High School scoring record which was held by former Ohio Mr. Basketball Damon Stringer.

BUILDING MOMENTUM
The 2020-21 Cleveland State men's basketball program looks to build off of last season's momentum, as the Vikes finished with seven league wins, the most since the 2014-15 season, won three consecutive league games for the first time since 2014-15 and three straight non-conference games for the first time since 2011-12. 

PATTON'S BIG FINISH
Torrey Patton finished the 2019-20 season on fire, recording three double-doubles in four games: Feb. 22 (21 points, 11 rebounds), Feb. 29 (19 points, 14 rebounds) and March 3 (11 points, 13 rebounds). His 14 rebounds on on Feb. 29 marked a career-high in rebounds. Over those four games, Patton averaged 16.5 points and 11 rebounds. Also in that span, Patton buried the game-tying triple against league-leading Wright State (Feb. 22) and knocked down the game-winning three the following game against Milwaukee (Feb. 27).

EICHELBERGER'S BREAKOUT SEASON
Algevon Eichelberger comes into the 2020-21 season after a breakout 2019-20 campaign. Last season, he led the Vikings in points per game (14.5), rebounds (6.4), blocked shots (0.9) and made field goals per contest (5.5). In the Horizon League, Eichelberger ranked fifth in field goal percentage and seventh in rebounds and blocked shots per game. He pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds on three separate occassions: UNC-Wilmington (11/22), Toledo (12/4) and ETSU (12/21 and posted four double-doubles.The 2020-21 captain poured in a career-high 28 points on Feb. 13 at Oakland and notched 10-or-more points in 25 of his 29 games played, along with six contests of 20-plus points.

THE DENNIS GATES COACH'S RADIO SHOW
We are excited for the return of The Coach Dennis Gates Radio Show! You can catch the voice of the Vikings, Al Pawlowski, and Coach Gates talk CSU basketball each Wednesday night from 7:00-8:00p on 1420-WHK, 102.5 FM or www.whkradio.com.

UP NEXT
The Vikings will remain on the road for another match against a MAC opponent, heading to Ohio University to take on the Bobcats on Sunday, Dec. 6 at 2 p.m. Fans can listen to the game on 1420-WHK, 102.5 FM or www.whkradio.com with the voice of Cleveland State men's basketball Al Pawlowski on the call.