All-Time vs. Purdue Fort Wayne: 9-3
Last Meeting: 1/16/23 72-60 W
Tickets: csuvikings.com
Radio: NEO Sports Radio
Play-By-Play: Ed Daugherty
TV: Bally Sports Great Lakes/ESPN+
Play-By-Play: Al Pawlowski, Nick Camino
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State Men's Basketball team returns to the Wolstein Center for a Friday night matchup with Purdue Fort Wayne. The Vikings are coming off a road stretch where they won three of four, and sit one game back of first place. Purdue Fort Wayne defeated IUPUI on Wednesday to improve to 6-5 in the league. The two teams meet for the second time in just over two weeks, after the Vikings won the first meeting in Fort Wayne on January 16th.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/PURDUE FORT WAYNE SERIES
Saturday's game is the 13th all time meeting between Cleveland State and Purdue Fort Wayne. Cleveland State leads the all-time series 9-3. The two teams have already faced off once this season, with Cleveland State winning 72-60 in Fort Wayne on Jan- uary 16th. Tristan Enaruna paced the Vikings with 24 points to set a new season high. Cleveland State held PFW to just 6-23 from three-point range in claiming the victory.
CLEVELAND STATE DOWNS WRIGHT STATE TO CAP 3-1 ROAD TRIP
The Vikings defeated Wright State on the road Saturday night, 85-77 to take three of four in a critical mid-season Horizon League road swing. Cleveland State got contributions from several players, as four of the five Viking starters finished in double figures. Tristan Enaruna led the way with 21 points. Cleveland State led the entire way, starting out hot shooting 70-percent from the floor in the first half and holding off a second half rally from Wright State for the victory.
CLEVELAND STATE DOWNS PURDUE FORT WAYNE FOR KEY ROAD WIN
Cleveland State defeated Purdue Fort Wayne 72-60 on Monday night to move into a tie for first place at 6-2 in the Horizon League. The Vikings out-rebounded PFW 39-32 and finished with a decided edge in points in the paint, 44-24. Cleveland State also held the Mastodons, a normally potent team from three-point range, to just 6-23 from long range. Tristan Enaruna scored 24 points, 20 of which came in the second half, to set a new season high in the victory.
SCOUTING THE MASTODONS
Purdue Fort Wayne is 12-6 and 4-3 in the Horizon League headed into Monday's game. The Mastodons are fresh off a victory over IUPUI, 81-75 on Thursday night. Jarred Godfrey and Bobby Planutis lead the way in scoring. Godfrey averages 16.8 points per game, and is the second leading rebounder at 5.4 per contest. Planutis is close behind at 12.1 points per game. Jon Coffman is in his ninth season at the head coach, after serving previously as an assistant. Coffman is the reigning Horizon League Coach of the Year.
VIKINGS DROP HEARTBREAKER AT NORTHERN KENTUCKY
In a battle of two of the four teams tied for first in the Horizon League standings, the game lived up to the hype as Cleveland State and Northern Kentucky battled all the way to the finish. The Vikings outrebounded NKU 39-28, and forced 22 turnovers which was a season best. Neither team led by more than seven points in the game, and the Vikings appeared to seize control in the final minute, before NKU's Marques Warrick hit a long range three-pointer at the final buzzer to give NKU a narrow victory.
VIKINGS DEFEAT IUPUI FOR SECOND STRAIGHT #HLMBB VICTORY
Cleveland State defeated IUPUI last Saturday to move to 5-2 in Horizon League play. The Vikings shot 55-percent from the floor, a season best, and finished a perfect 11-11 from the free throw line in the 89-54 win. All but two of the 13 Vikings that played in the game scored. Tristan Enaruna led the way with 18 points, 14 of which came in the second half. Cleveland State started the game on a 10-0 run and never looked back, leading wire-to-wire to secure the road win.
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 64.5 points per game, which is second in the Horizon League. CSU ranks second in opponent field goal percentage, at .412, and ranks third in opponent three-point percentage, holding opposing teams to just 30-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 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 uni- form. 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. Enaruna has scored in double figures eight straight times, including setting a new season high with 24 points against Purdue Fort Wayne.
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 88 assists. He had a career-high 11 in the opener against Notre Dame College. His average of 4.5 assists per game is fifth in the Horizon League, and his assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.3 also ranks third in the league.
SHARING THE ROCK
Through ten games, Cleveland State is second in the Horizon League in as- sist-to-turnover ratio at 1.29. The Vikings also sit in second place with a +4.6 Turnover Margin.
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 a season-high 23 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Detroit Mercy. Williams is averaging 10 points per game and has scored in double figures 11 times so far this season, including two of the last four games. He registered his second double-double with 13 points and a season-high 13 rebounds against Milwaukee.
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. He has scored in double figures in seven of the last nine games, including a season-high 21 against Green Bay.
UP NEXT
Cleveland State continues the home weekend with a matchup with IUPUI on Sunday at 3 p.m.
