All-Time vs. Loyola Marymount: First Meeting
Last Meeting: N/A
Tickets: lmulions.com
Radio: 1100 AM WTAM
TV: WCC Network
SETTING THE SCENE
Following a week-long break for final exams, the Cleveland State Men's Basketball team heads west to take on Loyola Marymount. The Vikings are looking to build momentum this week, as this game marks the second-to-last non conference tilt before Horizon League play resumes at the end of the month. Loyola Marymount is 8-4 on the season and winners of two out of its last three games. The Lions own a 5-1 record at home.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/LOYOLA MARYMOUNT SERIES
Sunday's game will be the first ever meeting between the two schools. This will be just the 7th time in program history that the Vikings have played a team from the West Coast Conference. The last time CSU played a team out of the WCC was in 2014-15, when the Vikings took on San Francisco.
VIKINGS FALL AT HOME TO KENT STATE
Cleveland State fell at home to Kent State on Saturday afternoon in the battle of Northeast Ohio 67-58. Deante Johnson set a new career-high with 20 points and fell a rebound shy of his second double-double of the season, finishing with nine boards. The Vikings shot 37-percent from the floor, but finished just 3-15 from three point range.
VIKINGS DOWN DETROIT MERCY TO CAP 2-0 WEEKEND
Cleveland State defeated Detroit Mercy 92-77 on Saturday to move to 2-0 in Horizon League play. 92 points is the highest scoring output of the season for Cleveland State, and the Vikes shot 50-percent from the floor and 45-percent from three in the win. Tae Williams had a monster game, finishing with 23 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double. Both numbers are season highs for the Junior from Chicago, Illinois.
CLEVELAND STATE OPENS HORIZON LEAGUE PLAY WITH WIN OVER OAKLAND
Cleveland State started the Horizon League slate with a victory on Thursday against Oakland, marking the third consecutive season the Vikings have started conference play with a win. CSU dominated inside in the game, outrebounding Oakland 50- 32 and scoring 48 points in the paint. Six Vikings finished in double figures for the contest, led by Drew Lowder who registered a season-high with 16 points.
SCOUTING THE LIONS
Loyola Marymount is 8-4 on the season. The Lions have won two of their last three, but are coming off a loss to Utah State in their last time out. LMU has won five out of six home games at Gersten Pavillion this season, including wins over UC Davis, Morgan State and Nevada. The Lions are led by Stan Johnson, who is in his third year at the helm of the program.
GETTING IT DONE ON DEFENSE
Throughout the early going of the season, Cleveland State has found success defensively. The Vikings are holding opponents to an average of 65.3 points per game, which is second in the Horizon League. CSU ranks third in opponent field goal percentage, at .403, and ranks third in opponent three-point percentage, holding opposing teams to just 28-percent from long range.
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.
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.
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.
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.
ENARUNA IMPRESSIVE TO START 2022-23
Transfer forward Tristan Enaruna has gotten off to a good start 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 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. So far, he is averaging 11.8 points and 6.8 rebounds, while shooting at a 43-percent clip from the field.
PARKER DROPPING DIMES
Deshon Parker has been a great facilitator for Cleveland State through the early going of the regular season. So far, Parker has totaled 58 assists. He had a ca- reer-high 11 in the opener against Notre Dame College. His average of 5.3 assists per game is second in the Horizon League, and his assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.8 is the best in the league.
WOODRICH DIALED IN FROM DEEP
Jayson Woodrich has been shooting it well of late for Cleveland State. During the Vikes' six game win streak, Woodrich tied for the team high with 10 three point makes, and is shooting at a 37-percent 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.
WILLIAMS RISES TO THE OCCASION
Tae Williams has been a key to the Vikings' success in the early going of the regular season. Williams registered 23 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Detroit Mercy two weekends ago, which were both season highs. Williams is averaging 9.5 points per game and has scored in double figures five times so far this season.
LOWDER LIGHTS IT UP
Drew Lowder has been a spark plug off the bench for the Vikings of late. Lowder had a stretch of three of five games where he scored in double figures, including a season-high 16 points in the win over Oakland.
UP NEXT
Cleveland State returns to the Wolstein Center to host Mount St. Joseph on Wednesday, December 21st in the final non-conference game of the regular season. Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
