#REACHtheHORIZON Quarterfinal
Cleveland State vs. Purdue Fort Wayne
Tuesday, March 2 | 7 p.m.
Wolstein Center | Cleveland, Ohio
Presented by Cleveland Clinic Sports Medicine
Stream | Audio | Live Stats
Game Notes
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State men's basketball team opens #REACHtheHORIZON Tournament play with a quarterfinal matchup against Purdue Fort Wayne at the Wolstein Center. Cleveland State, which earned the top seed in the 12-team bracket, split a two-game set on the road against the Mastodons last week, falling 75-68 before bouncing back for a 67-55 victory thanks to combined 47 points from three Vikings starters: Torrey Patton, Tre Gomillion and D'Moi Hodge.
A WIN ON TUESDAY WOULD…
Give the the Vikings their first Horizon League Championship win since a run to the tournament final in 2018 and mark their third quarterfinal victory since 2011. It would also hand the Vikings their sixth win in eight tries since the head-to-head series with Purdue Fort Wayne began during the 1994-95 campaign.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/PURDUE FORT WAYNE SERIES
Cleveland State and Purdue Fort Wayne have met seven times overall, including four matchups in Indiana this season. The Vikings, who lead the all-time series 5-2, swept the Mastodons in a two-game set on Dec. 19-20 largely thanks to a 46-point outburst by D'Moi Hodge. Cleveland State closed out its regular season with a 67-55 win over PFW to notch a weeeknd split and clinch a share of the Horizon League regular season championship.
SCOUTING THE MASTODONS
The Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons dropped nine of their last 10 regular season #HLMBB contests before topping Green Bay 89-84 in double OT during the first round of the Horizon Leagur Championship last week Thursday. The 'Dons were in danger of having their season end in the first overtime session, by a buzzer-beating triple from Jalon Pipkins sent the contest to a second extra period. Jarred Godfrey leads PFW in most major categories, including points (15.9), rebounds (5.4), assists (3.5), steals (1.7) and minutes (33.0). Jalon Pipkins checks in behind Godfrey in scoring (14.0), assists (3.0) and minutes (32.5). If the Mastodons were to top the Vikings on Tuesday, they would be tasked with the highest remaining seed in a Horizon League Semifinal matchup next Monday in Indianapolis.
REGULAR SEASON CHAMPS
The Vikings clinched a share of the regular season #HLMBB championship with last weekend's 67-55 win over Purdue Fort Wayne, marking the first time Cleveland State finished atop the league standings since the 2010-11 campaign and the fifth time ever finishing No. 1. Announced after Saturday's victory, the Green and White will enter the 2021 #REACHtheHORIZON Tournament as the overall top seed. Their 16 victories set an all-time program record for most wins in any conference/league.
TAKING HOME THE HARDWARE
Several Vikings picked up honors when the Horizon League announced its postseason awards, headlined by head coach Dennis Gates' second consecutive Coach of the Year honor, which made him only the eighth coach in league history and first at Cleveland State to receive the award in back-to-back seasons. Junior Tre Gomillion was tabbed as Defensive Player of the Year while Torrey Patton became the first Viking to receive an All-League First Team nod since 2015. Additionally, both Gomillion and Deante Johnson were selected as members of the All-Defensive Team.
RISING IN THE HORIZON (AS A TEAM)
At the conclusion of the #HLMBB regular season, the Vikings are tied for first in defensive three-point percentage (.302), second in steals (7.75), defensive field goal percentage (.419), points allowed (68.0), scoring margin (4.5) and turnover margin (2.1).
RISING IN THE HORIZON (INDIVIDUALLY)
At the conclusion of the #HLMBB regular season, Torrey Patton is ranked seventh in rebounds per game (7.4), 10th in field goal percentage (.483) and 14th in scoring (15.3). Deante Johnson is ranked fourth in blocks (1.1) and 19th in rebounds per gae (5.6) while Craig Beaudion checks in at 12th in free throw percentage (.783) and 14th in assists (3.4). D'Moi Hodge is tied for first in total steals (33) and ranks second in steals per game (1.7).
OVERALL HORIZON LEAGUE RANKINGS
Torrey Patton is ranked seventh in rebounds (7.5) and tied for seventh in double-doubles (3) while Deante Johnson is fourth in blocks (1.2) and 16th in rebounds (5.7).
BENCH MOB
Cleveland State's stockpile of reserves played a pivotal role over the last two weeks of the regular season, scoring 23 and 34 points, respectively, on February 12-13 against Detroit Mercy before adding a 31-point performance against Purdue Fort Wayne. Since January 30, the Vikings bench is averaging 23.4 points per game. Multiple bench players have stepped up in recent weeks, including a 15-point game from Alec Oglesby and Algevon Eichelberger's 16-point effort.
MILESTONES REACHED
With a first-half layup on Feb. 20 against Purdue Fort Wayne, Algevon Eichelberger hit the 700-point mark for his career after appearing his 100th collegiate game the previous night. Torrey Patton hit the same point milestone when he opened the scoring for Cleveland State with a jumpshot on Feb. 19.
GET THAT WEAK STUFF OUTTA HERE
Deante Johnson matched a career high on Feb. 13 against Detroit Mercy with five blocks. Johnson is the only Horizon League player to record five blocks in a contest this season, and the junior has done it twice. Overall, Johnson ranks third in the league in total blocks (28) and averages 1.2 rejections per game.
STARTING EARLY
One of the keys to Cleveland State's success is getting ahead at halftime. The Vikings have won 12 of 14 games when leading at the half compared to a 3-5 mark when trailing at the break. Last week's 67-55 win over Purdue Fort Wayne saw the Green and White fall behind 30-22 after the opening 20 minutes before outscoring the Mastodons 45-25 in the second half, marking only the third time Cleveland State has recovered from a halftime deficit.
