All-Time vs. Oakland: 11-13
Last Meeting: 2/26/22 68-57 L
Tickets: csuvikings.com
Radio: 1100 AM WTAM
TV: ESPN+
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State men's basketball team hosts Oakland in the first game of the #HLMBB season at the Wolstein Center. The Vikings are riding a four-game win streak coming into the game, in which they have outscored opponents by 11.5 points per game. The Golden Grizzlies are 2-6 and fresh off a trip to the Nassau Challenge in the Bahamas in which they went 0-3. Tonight's game is also Tropic Like It's Hot night. Fans are encouraged to wear beach-themed attire and the first 500 fans will receive a free bucket hat.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/OAKLAND SERIES
Wednesday's game will be the 25th all-time meeting between Cleveland State and Oakland. Oakland leads the series by a narrow 13-11 margin, and won both matchups between the two teams last season. The most recent meeting came on February 26, 2022 at the Golden Grizzlies' O'Rena. Oakland prevailed 65-57, despite a big game from CSU's Deante Johnson. Johnson had 15 points and 14 rebounds in the contest.
VIKINGS FINISH 2-0 IN TURKEY SLAM - CLEVELAND STATE REGIONAL
Cleveland State went 2-0 in the Turkey Slam MTE hosted at the Wolstein Center this past week. The Vikings defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Chicago State to run the winning streak to three. Jayson Woodrich was named the MVP of the invitational, after scoring in double figures in both contests. Woodrich had 12 points each in the two games, shooting at a 50% clip from three in the two contests. Tristan Enaruna was also named to the all-tournament team.
THE VIKINGS
Cleveland State returns five players from last year's regular season championship squad, and adds nine newcomers. Deante "Spider" Johnson leads the core of returners, Johnson was named to the Horizon League All-Defensive Team for the second straight year last season. Deshon Parker also returns after starting at the point guard spot in 29 of 31 games last season. Parker shot 51% from the floor last season.
GET TO KNOW THE NEWCOMERS
In addition to the five returning players, Cleveland State welcomes nine new faces to the roster in 2022-23. Among the new faces is Tristan Enaruna, a junior transfer hailing from Almere, Flevoland, Netherlands. Enaruna comes to CSU from Iowa State, where he averaged 4.3 points and 2.9 rebounds in his time with the Cyclones. Tae Williams is another newcomer to watch, as he comes to Cleveland following a great season at John A. Logan College in 2021-22. Williams averaged 12.3 points and 6.6 rebounds in 32 contests last season.
COACH ROBINSON ANNOUNCES COACHING STAFF
Head Coach Daniyal Robinson has assembled an experienced coaching staff in his first season at Cleveland State. Jermaine Henderson returns to CSU after previously serving as an assistant coach during the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons under Gary Waters. Henderson most recently served as an assistant coach at Kansas State for the past five seasons. Travis Lewis is in his second season on staff at Cleveland State, after serving as Director of Video Operations under former head coach Dennis Gates last season. Jay Shunnar enters his first season as an assistant coach, after working in several capacities under John Belein at the University of Michigan and with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
INSIDE THE WIN STREAK
Cleveland State has reeled off four consecutive wins coming into play this weekend. The streak began at Canisius on November 16th, and continued with home wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Chicago State. The Vikes made it four in a row with a road win at Western Michigan on Saturday. During the streak, Cleveland State is ouscoring opponents by 11.5 points per game, and the Vikings have used great success at the free throw line as part of the winning formula, shooting at a 73% clip through the four games.
VIKINGS BATTLE, FALL SHORT AT CINCINNATI
Cleveland State dropped a tough one to Cincinnati at the Bearcats' Fifth Third Arena on Thursday night. The Vikings hung tough throughout, and had the lead in the second half before a late Cincinnati run put the game away. Tristan Enaruna led the way with 15 points, his second straight game in double figures, and Deante Johnson added 12 and 6 rebounds.
VIKINGS FALL SHORT AT OHIO
Cleveland State battled but fell short at Ohio last weekend, falling 81-70 at Ohio's Convocation Center. The game was tight throughout the first half, until Cleveland State point guard Deshon Parker picked up his second foul with just under five minutes to play in the half. Parker sat the rest of the way, and Ohio scored 13 unanswered points to head into halftime with an eight point advantage, which improved to double digits and remained there throughout the second half. The Vikings were led by Yahel Hill, who poured in a career-high 20 points, 14 of which came after halftime.
VIKINGS DEFEAT CANISIUS, EARN FIRST WIN UNDER COACH ROBINSON Cleveland State picked up its first win of the 2022-23 season with a hard fought, 58-57 overtime win against Canisius last Wednesday. Cleveland State started fast, jumping out to a double digit lead in the first half, but had to withstand a surge by Canisius in the second half. The Golden Griffins battled back, and eventually tied the game at 53, sending it to overtime. Cleveland State scored first in the extra session and held on for the victory. Four of the five starters in the contest for the Vikings finished in double figures, led by Tristan Enaruna who finished with a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds. The win marked the first for Head Coach Daniyal Robinson in his career.
BENCH STRONG IN VIKING VICTORY OVER ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF Cleveland State made it back-to-back wins, defeating Arkansas-Pine Bluff this past Friday night at the Wolstein Center 67-58. The Vikings used a balanced scoring attack, and won the bench scoring battle 28-5 to notch the first home win of 2022- 23. Jayson Woodrich came off the bench to provide 12 of those points, finishing 3-6 from three point range. Ramar Pryor also finished with a season high 7 points in the win.
ENARUNA IMPRESSIVE TO START 2022-23
Transfer forward Tristan Enaruna has gotten off to a good start in his first two weeks in a Viking uniform. Enaruna had a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds in the opener against Notre Dame College, and followed that up with another double figure scoring performance with 15 against Cincinnati. He recorded another double-double against Canisius, finishing with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and fell a point shy of another on Friday against Pine Bluff. Through seven games, he is averaging 13.3 points and 7.4 rebounds, while shooting at a 46% clip from the field.
PARKER DROPPING DIMES
Deshon Parker has been a great facilitator for Cleveland State through the first two weeks of the regular season. So far, Parker has totaled 41 assists through seven games. He had a career-high 11 in the opener against Notre Dame College. His average of 5.9 assists per game ranks third in the Horizon League, and his assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.4 ranks second in the league.
WOODRICH DIALED IN FROM DEEP
Jayson Woodrich has been shooting it well of late for Cleveland State. During the Vikes' four game win streak, Woodrich has nailed a team high eight three pointers, and is shooting at a 40% clip from the long line during that stretch. His back-to- back 12 point outings against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Chicago State earned him Tournament MVP honors for the Cleveland State MTE last week.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN GRIZZLIES
Oakland is 2-6 on the season, and coming off of a trip to the Bahamas over Thanks- giving weekend. The Golden Grizzlies dropped all three games on the trip, falling to Long Beach State, San Jose State, and Missouri State. Trey Townsend leads the way in scoring for Oakland, averaging 16.8 ppg, and Keaton Hervey is close be- hind at 14.1. Oakland returns three starters and seven overall letterwinners from last year's team. The Golden Grizzlies were picked fourth in the Horizon League preseason poll. Greg Kampe is in his 39th season at the helm, the second longest tenured Head Coach in the country.
UP NEXT
Cleveland State returns to the Wolstein Center on Saturday, December 3rd to host Detroit in the second game of the Horizon League opening weekend. Tip for that game is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
