Game 8 - Cleveland State at Youngstown State
Cleveland State Game Notes | Youngstown State Game Notes
November 29, 2023
6:30 p.m.
Beeghly Center, Youngstown, OH
All-Time vs. YSU: 56-45
Last Meeting: 2/12/23 81-78 W
Tickets: csuvikings.com
Radio: Fox Sports 1350 AM
Play-By-Play: Al Pawlowski
TV: ESPN+
Play-By-Play: Robb Schmidt, Ron Potesta
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State Men's Basketball team opens Horizon League play with a matchup at Youngstown State on Wednesday night. The Penguins are the defending league regular season champions and the two teams were picked in the top five in this year's league preseason poll. The Vikings were picked fourth and the Penguins were right behind in fifth place. Cleveland State is coming off a 2-0 weekend at the Viking Invitational, taking home a tournament title at Woodling Gymnasium. Youngstown State is 3-3 and is coming off a 77-69 loss at Dayton.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/YSU SERIES
Wednesday's contest marks the 102nd all-time meeting in the long history between Cleveland State and Youngstown State. The Vikings have won 10 of the last 13 matchups between the two teams. CSU and YSU split the two matchups between the two programs last season, with each team winning on its home floor. Youngstown State won 85-71 in Youngstown on December 29, 2022. The Vikings earned an 81-78 victory at the Wolstein Center in the most recent matchup on February 12. YSU has won two of the last three in Youngstown. Tristan Enaruna, Tae Williams and Drew Lowder each recorded double-digit scoring games in both matchups last season.
CLEVELAND STATE EARNS VIKING INVITATIONAL TITLE
Cleveland State posted a 2-0 week inside Woodling Gymnasium in claiming the Viking Invitational tournament championship over Thanksgiving Weekend. The host Vikings tallied wins over East Tennessee State and Alabama A&M in claiming the top spot. The Vikings defeated ETSU in a thriller to kick off the tournament, with Tristan Enaruna tallying the last four points, including the game winning bucket with under four seconds left which lifted the Vikings to a 72-70 win. Cleveland State rolled past Alabama A&M in the final game of the tournament, winning 86-59 to close out the weekend. Four Vikings finished in double figures and all but one of the ten players who saw action in the contest cracked the score sheet.
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.
SCOUTING THE PENGUINS
Youngstown State is 3-3 headed into the opening game of league play. All three wins have come at home. The Penguins re-tooled following last year's Horizon League Regular Season title, adding 12 new players to the roster this season. Three of YSU's five projected starters are averaging in double figures, led by Brandon Rush who averages 14.2 points per game. Rush was an all-league second team selection in the preseason. Jerrod Calhoun is in his seventh season as the head coach. Calhoun is one win shy of 100 in his career at YSU, and holds a 3-10 record against the Vikings in his career.
DANIYAL ROBINSON ACHIEVES RECORD-SETTING FIRST SEASON
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.
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 halftime 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.
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 veteran experience, and local product Danny Young(Shaker Heights), is the lone freshman addition.
JOHNSON JOINS COACHING STAFF
Head Coach Daniyal Robinson announced the addition of Kwanza Johnson as an assistant coach for the Vikings for the 2023-24 season. Johnson brings over 20 years of college 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 season's coaching staff.
ENARUNA EARNS OLYMPIC EXPERIENCE
Preseason all-league first-team honoree Tristan Enaruna earned valuable playing experience over the summer, competing as a member of the Netherlands Olympic National Team in the 2023 FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament. Enaruna, who hails from Almere, was one of four Division I players on the Netherlands roster and the only player from a non-Power Five institution. The tournament featured several European nations competing for qualifying spots on the road to the 2024 Olympic Basketball Tournament scheduled to be held in Paris, France.
UP NEXT
Cleveland State returns home to take on Detroit Mercy in the second game of the opening week of Horizon League play. The game against the Titans will tip at 3:00 p.m. from the Wolstein Center.
