Game 13 - Western Michigan vs. Cleveland State
Western Michigan Game Notes | Cleveland State Game Notes
Thursday, December 21
Wolstein Center - Cleveland, OH
6:00 p.m.
All-Time vs. Western Michigan: 4-4
Last Meeting: 11/26/22 71-49 W
Tickets: csuvikings.com
Radio: Fox Sports 1350 AM
Play-By-Play: Al Pawlowski, Pat Vuyancih, Ed Daugherty(Host)
TV: ESPN+
Play-By-Play: Al Pawlowski, Pat Vuyancih
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State Men's Basketball team takes on Western Michigan in its final non-conference matchup Thursday night at the Wolstein Center. The Vikings return home following a three-game road swing that was capped with an upset victory over Bradley last Friday night. The Vikings are 7-5 on the season and looking to pick up another victory before jumping back into Horizon League play. Western Michigan is 2-8 on the season and has dropped four in a row coming into Thursday's game.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/WESTERN MICHIGAN SERIES
Thursday's matchup will be the ninth all-time meeting between Cleveland State and Western Michigan. This is the second straight season the two teams will match up, with the Vikings taking last year's contest in Kalamazoo by a 71-49 margin. The victory knotted up the all-time series at four wins apiece. The Vikings are 2-0 in Cleveland, with their last victory coming on December 7, 2016. In last year's game, Tristan Enaruna and Drew Lowder combined for 29 points and four three-pointers in leading the Vikings to a 22-point victory.
CLEVELAND STATE EARNS FIRST ROAD WIN OF THE SEASON AT BRADLEY
Cleveland State defeated Bradley on Friday night by a final score of 76-69 to earn the first road victory of the 2023-24 season. Drew Lowder and Tristan Enaruna combined for 49 points in leading the Vikings to a come-from-behind win over the Braves. Cleveland State trailed by five with under four minutes remaining before catching fire, posting a 12-0 run in the game's final minutes to seize control and earn the victory. Enaruna and Lowder combined for all 12 points in the scoring run, with each tallying a key three-pointer in the outburst. The game was close throughout with neither team holding more than a seven-point advantage.
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.
SCOUTING THE BRONCOS
Western Michigan is 2-8 on the season coming into Thursday's matchup. The Broncos have dropped four in a row and are looking to snap the losing skid prior to MAC play kicking off after the new year. The Broncos are led by Seth Hubbard who averages 14.6 points per game and Javonte Brown who registered his first career double-double in the Broncos' last outing aginst UIC. Dwayne Stephens is in his second season as the head coach. Stephens is in his first head coaching stint after serving as a long-time assistant on Tom Izzo's staff at Michigan State.
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.
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.
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. The season opener at Duquesne was one of four matchups 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 Saint Mary's (Dec. 5) and at Kent State (Dec. 9). Duquesne (CBI) and Bradley (NIT) also made postseason appearances last year.
DREW LOWDER NAMED #HLMBB PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Following a 26-point night against Bradley on Friday, senior guard Drew Lowder was named the Horizon League Men's Basketball Player of the Week, the league office announced on Monday. Lowder finished one point shy of his career high, set in the season opener at Duquesne, and tied his career best with six three-pointers in nine attempts. He also registered a career-high four steals. Lowder helped ignite the Vikings down the stretch, as he scored five points as part of the closing 12-0 run that secured the victory. Lowder hit the game-tying three-pointer with 3:23 remaining and the Vikings led for good after that point. This is Lowder's first league player of the week award.
WELCOME TO THE BLOCK PARTY
Through twelve games, Cleveland State has proven to be one of the best shot-blocking teams in the country. The Vikings average 4.8 blocked shots per game. This number ranks first in the Horizon League and among the top-50 in the nation.
ENARUNA EARNS #HLMBB PLAYER OF THE WEEK AWARD
Following a stellar week over Thanksgiving at the Viking Invitational, Tristan Enaruna was named as the Horizon League's Men's Basketball Player of the Week on Monday. Enaruna was named MVP of the tournament after averaging 20 points and seven rebounds over the two-game week. He finished with a career-high 28 points against East Tennessee State in the opening game, including scoring the final four points of the game to push the Vikings to a two-point win. He followed it up with a 12-point, seven rebound performance against Alabama A&M in the second game.
UP NEXT
Cleveland State hosts Oakland on Thursday, December 28th as the Vikings return to Horizon League play. The matchup with the Golden Grizzlies will tip at 7:00 p.m. from the Wolstein Center.
