Game 5 - Cleveland State at Eastern Michigan
Cleveland State Game Notes | Eastern Michigan Game Notes
George Gervin Game Above Center, Ypsilanti, MI
1:00 p.m.
All-Time vs. Eastern Michigan: 9-23
Last Meeting:11/18/13 81-69 L
Tickets: emueagles.com
Radio: 1100 AM WTAM
Play-By-Play: Al Pawlowski, Ed Daugherty(Host)
TV: ESPN+
Play-By-Play: Brent Balbinot
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State Men's Basketball team heads back on the road for a non-conference weekend matchup with Eastern Michigan. Cleveland State opened the Wolstein Center with a clean sweep of three wins in a row over Defiance, Ohio and Canisius. Cleveland State sits at 3-1 overall. This is the first time CSU has started a season 3-1 since the 2012-13 season. Eastern Michigan is 1-2 with the victory coming at home over Georgia Southern last week. The Eagles are looking to bounce back after a loss at nationally ranked Florida Atlantic earlier this week.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/EASTERN MICHIGAN SERIES
Saturday's game is the 33rd all-time meeting between Cleveland State and Eastern Michigan. Eastern holds a 23-9 advantage in the series. The series dates all the way back to 1967. EMU has won the last three, including the most recent meeting which occurred exactly 10 years ago to the day of Saturday's matchup. The Eagles got the best of the Vikings 81-69 on November 18, 2013. Bryn Forbes tallied 22 points to lead the way for the Vikings. Eastern's Karrington Ward led all scorers with 28 points in the contest.
CLEVELAND STATE EARNS 82-78 WIN OVER OHIO
Cleveland State earned the program's third all-time victory in the series against Ohio and the first since 1998 with a strong performance Saturday at the Wolstein Center. The game was back and forth the entire way and featured 13 lead changes and 13 ties. Tristan Enaruna led the way for the Vikings with a season-high 22 points, six rebounds and a career-high six assists. Jayson Woodrich also finished in double figures with 14 points on 4-5 shooting from three-point range, including multiple critical makes down the stretch to push the Vikings in front.
CAREER NIGHT FOR DREW LOWDER
Drew Lowder set multiple career highs in last Monday's game at Duquesne. Lowder finished with 27 points which was a new all-time career high. Lowder finished 9-16 from the field in the game and connected on six of nine from behind the three-point arc. The six triples also set a new career best.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
Eastern Michigan is 1-2 on the season headed into Saturday's contest. The Eagles fell on the road at Butler to start the season before picking up a home victory over Georgia Southern. The Eagles fell on the road at nationally ranked Florida Atlantic earlier this week. Eastern returns 10 players from last year's team that finished 8-23 overall. Junior Tyson Acuff was named second-team All-MAC in the preseason after starting all but one game last season. The Eagles were picked to finish 11th in the MAC Preseason Poll. Stan Heath is in his third season as the head coach. He brings 15 years of head coaching experience to the EMU bench.
Cleveland State head coach Daniyal Robinson set a new school record in his first season in charge of the program. Robinson and the Vikings recorded 21 wins in 2022-23, which is the most wins of any first-year head coach in school history. Cleveland State finished as the runner-up in the Horizon League Tournament and made the program's third-straight postseason appearance, earning a trip to the CBI. Should the Vikings reach the postseason this year, it would be the first time in school history that CSU has reached the postseason four consecutive years.
VIKINGS PICKED FOURTH IN #HLMBB PRESEASON POLL
Cleveland State was picked to finish fourth in the Horizon League Men's Basketball Preseason Poll following a vote amongst league head coaches, media members and Sports Information Directors from the league's 11 participating schools. Cleveland State received one first-place vote and finished with 362 points. In addition, senior forward Tristan Enaruna was named to the all-league first team after averaging 15.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game last season.
RETURNERS PACK A PUNCH
Cleveland State returns a majority of the scoring and rebounding from last season's 21-win squad. The Vikings return 62 percent of the scoring and 51 percent of the rebounding from 2022-23. Cleveland State returns its top three scorers and two of its top three rebounders. In the scoring department, Tristan Enaruna led the way at 15.6 points per game, followed by Tae Williams who also averaged double figures at 11.1 points per contest. Senior guard Drew Lowder returns after averaging 9.8 points per game last season. Enaruna and Williams will provide a steady presence on the glass, as the two combined to average 12.5 rebounds per game in 2022-23.
NEW FACES
Seven newcomers will suit up in the green and white for the first time in 2023-24. The roster includes six transfer student-athletes and one freshman. The group features junior transfer guards Tevin Smith and Jalin Rice, who will see action on the wings, and junior transfer forwards KJ Debrick and Dok Muordar who will add to the depth in the post. Junior Chase Robinson was on the roster last season, but will make his debut after sitting out last year due to transer protocol. Fifth- year senior TJ Moss will provide verteran experience, and local product Danny Young(Shaker Heights), is the lone freshman addition.
CHALLENGING NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE AWAITS IN 2023-24
Head Coach Daniyal Robinson has assembled a challenging non-conference schedule in his second season in charge of the program. Last Monday's opener at Duquesne was one of four in which the Vikings will face off with a team that won 20 or more games and played in the postseason. Cleveland State will face two teams that appeared in the NCAA Tournament last season, with road matchups scheduled at St. Mary's (Dec. 5) and at Kent State (Dec. 9). Duquesne (CBI) and Bradley (NIT) also made postseason appearances last year.
VIKINGS DOWN CANISIUS FOR THIRD STRAIGHT VICTORY
Cleveland State defeated Canisius on Wednesday night to cap a 3-0 run in the opening homestand of the season at the Wolstein Center. The Vikings clamped down defensively in the second half, turning a slim one-point margin at the half- time break into a 10 point victory, 71-61. Cleveland State held Canisius to just 27 points in the second half on 9-30 shooting from the field. Tristan Enaruna posted his first double-double of the season finishing with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Drew Lowder and Tae Williams both recorded double-figure scoring performances for the Vikings.
VIKINGS POST FIRST WIN OF 2023-24 OVER DEFIANCE
Cleveland State defeated Defiance on Wednesday night for its first win of the season, rolling to a 102-41 victory. The Vikings led the entire way and locked down defensively. At one point in the second half, the Vikings posted a 24-0 run, holding the Defiance offense out of pocket for over eight minutes without a single point. Six players scored in double figures in a balanced offensive attack led by Ramar Pryor who registered a CSU career-high 14 points in the contest.
JOHNSON JOINS COACHING STAFF
Head Coach Daniyal Robinson announced the addition of Kwanza Johnson as an assistant coach for the 2023-24 season. Johnson brings over 20 years of collegiate coaching experience to the Cleveland State bench. Johnson and Robinson share a connection that goes back to their time working together at Arkansas-Little Rock, Robinson's alma mater. Johnson joins returning assistants Travis Lewis, Jay Shunnar and Special Assistant to the Head Coach Steve Payne on this year's coaching staff.
Cleveland State returns home to host the Viking Invitational at Woodling Gym- nasium. Cleveland State will play host to East Tennessee State on Wedneaday, November 22 and host Alabama A&M on November 25.
