Cleveland State at Purdue Fort Wayne
Friday, Feb. 19 | 7 p.m.
Gates Sports Center | Fort Wayne, Indiana
Presented by Cleveland Clinic Sports Medicine
Stream | Audio | Live Stats
Game Notes
Cleveland State at Purdue Fort Wayne
Friday, Feb. 20 | 5 p.m.
Gates Sports Center | Fort Wayne, Indiana
Presented by Cleveland Clinic Sports Medicine
Stream | Audio | Live Stats
Game Notes
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State men's basketball team concludes their regular season schedule with a two-game road trip to Purdue Fort Wayne having won five of their last six contests, including a split last weekend against Detroit Mercy. Cleveland State, which is now tied with Wright State for the top spot in the #HLMBB standings, was unable to overcome a sluggish start last Friday despite Torrey Patton's career-high 33-point effort before bouncing back for a 71-64 victory on Saturday behind 15 points apiece from Patton and Alec Oglesby.
A WIN ON FRIDAY WOULD…
Mark the Vikings' third straight win over the Mastodons and their fifth in six tries since the head-to-head series began in the 1994-95 campaign. It would also set a new program mark with eight conference road victories in a single season, surpassing the seven wins recorded by both the 1985-86 and 1992-93 Vikings (Mid-Continent Conference).
THE CLEVELAND STATE/PURDUE FORT WAYNE SERIES
Cleveland State and Purdue Fort Wayne have only met five times, but the Vikings are nearly perfect against the Horizon League newcomers, winning four of those matchups. The Vikings and Mastodons battled earlier this season when D'Moi Hodge poured in 46 points, second-most in program histroy, in an 89-80 "W" for the Green and White on December 20.
RISING IN THE HORIZON (AS A TEAM)
Through 18 #HLMBB contest this season, the Vikings are second in steals (7.94), defensive three-point percentage (.297), defensive field goal percentage (.411), points allowed (68.3), scoring margin (4.1) and turnover margin (1.33).
RISING IN THE HORIZON (INDIVIDUALLY)
Through 18 #HLMBB contests this season, Torrey Patton is ranked seventh in rebounds per game (7.4), 10th in field goal percentage (.498) and 15th in scoring (15.2). Deante Johnson is ranked fourth in blocks (1.2) and 17th in rebounds per game (5.6).
OVERALL HORIZON LEAGUE RANKINGS
Torrey Patton is ranked eighth in rebounds (7.5) and tied for seventh in double-doubles (3) while Deante Johnson is third in blocks (1.2) and 13th in rebounds (6.0) and D'Moi Hodge is second in steals per game (1.8).
UNDEFEATED IN #HLMBB PLAY
For the first time ever, Cleveland State began the Horizon League season winning its first nine games. Overall, the Vikings have won 15 of 18 HL contests.
COMING DOWN TO THE WIRE
With two games remaining for both teams, Cleveland State and Wright State are deadlocked at the top of the HL standings with matching 15-3 records. The Raiders are set to take on Northern Kentucky on the road this weekend. If CSU and Wright State win out, the final seeding will come down to tiebreakers. Either way, the Vikings will host a quarterfinal game in the Horizon League Championships on March 2.
MAKING HISTORY
With their win over Oakland on February , the Vikings notched their most wins in league play since a 15-1 run as a member of the Mid-Continent Conference during the 1992-93 season. As it stands, Cleveland State has already logged more Horizon League wins (15) this season than any other since joining the conference in 1994. With two games remaining, the Vikings need only one more victory to set a new program mark for single-season conference victories.
PATTON'S BIG NIGHT
Torrey Patton was red-hot from the floor last Friday, bringing the Vikings back from a 22-point hole thanks to a career-best 33 points on 13-19 from the floor, including a 3-6 clip from three-point range and a perfect 4-4 at the line. His 33-point outburst was tied for the eighth-highest single-game scoring effort by any player in #HLMBB action this season.
GET THAT WEAK STUFF OUTTA HERE
Deante Johnson matched a career high with five blocks in last Saturday's win over Detroit Mercy. Johnson, who also logged five rejections against Toledo on December 1, now owns the two highest single-game block totals by a HL player in any game this season. The junior ranks third in the conference in blocks per game (1.3) and second in total blocks (1.3).
BENCH MOB
Cleveland States stockpile of reserves has played a pivotal role over the last two contests, scoring 23 and 34 points last weekend against Detroit Mercy. Since January 30, the Vikings bench is averaging 24.2 points per game. Multiple bench players have stepped up in recent weeks, including a 15-point game from Alec Oglesby, a 12-point outing by Jayson Woodrich and Algevon Eichelberger's 16-point effort .
UPCOMING MILESTONES
Algevon Eichelberger and Torrey Patton are both approaching the 700-point mark for their careers. Patton needs only two points to reach the milestone while Eichelberger is six points shy. If Eichelberger sees the floor this weekend, he will be making his 100th collegiate appearance, including 74 as a Viking after playing his freshman campaign at DePaul.
TRE GOMILLION AKA MR. RELIABLE
Gomillion has started in every game of his Cleveland State career (53 starts). The junior has had a career season thus far, pouring in a career-high 23 points on a near-perfect 11-12 (.917) shooting from the floor on Dec. 27, 2020. His .917 shooting percentage puts the Augusta, Georgia, native in the record book, tying him with Jamal Jackson's .917 clip on 12/5/94 (also 11-12 from the field). Against Purdue Fort Wayne on Dec. 19, Gomillion contributed 16 points on a then-career-high 8-13 (.615) shooting from the floor.
UP NEXT
Cleveland State will host a Horizon League Championship Quaterfinal game at the Wolstein Center on March 2 with the opponent yet to be determind.The contest will be broadcast on an ESPN streaming platform, as well as on 1420-WHK, 102.5 FM and whkradio.com.
1985-86 CELEBRATION: ON THIS DATE...pres. by Huntington Bank
On Saturday, February 22, the Vikings dominated Missouri State 94-67 inside the Woodling Gym, avenging their only previous loss of the season. The win marked the seventh in the Vikes' historic 14-game streak which culminated in a pair of NCAA Tournament wins.
