Game 25 - Cleveland State at Purdue Fort Wayne
Cleveland State Game Notes | Purdue Fort Wayne Game Notes
Memorial Coliseum - Fort Wayne, IN
7:00 p.m.
All-Time vs. Purdue Fort Wayne: 11-3
Last Meeting: 1/20/24 75-68 W
Tickets: gomastodons.com
Radio: Fox Sports 1350 AM
Play-By-Play: Al Pawlowski
TV: ESPN+
Play-By-Play: Josh Ayen
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State Men's Basketball team concludes a three-game road swing with a midweek matchup at Purdue Fort Wayne. The Vikings come in having won three of their last five, but have struggled away from home this season. Cleveland State is 3-9 in road games. Purdue Fort Wayne has won two of its last three to snap a five-game losing skid and improve to 6-6 in the Horizon League. Cleveland State is 7-6 in league play and is in sixth place in the league standings, with the Mastodons one-half game back in seventh place.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/PURDUE FORT WAYNE SERIES
Thursday's game marks the 15th all-time meeting between Cleveland State and Purdue Fort Wayne. The Vikings have won 11 of the previous 14 meetings to hold an 11-3 edge in the all-time series. Cleveland State has won the last three meetings and seven of the last eight. The Vikings won the first matchup between the two teams this season on January 20th. The Vikings erased a 15-point deficit in the second half to earn a 75-68 come-from-behind victory at the Wolstein Center. Drew Lowder poured in 23 points, including 15 in the second half to help lead the Vikings to the comeback win.
CLEVELAND STATE EARNS ROAD VICTORY AT DETROIT MERCY
Cleveland State defeated Detroit Mercy on Thursday night for just the sixth time in series history at Calihan Hall, and the first time since 2020. The Vikings prevailed 77-65 and moved to 7-5 in Horizon League competition. Cleveland State got 27 points from Tristan Enaruna, who recorded his third-straight game with 27-or more points, and 10 points off the bench from Jayson Woodrich. The Vikings built a double-digit lead at halftime and held off the pesky Titans in the second half to come away with their third road victory of the 2023-24 season.
CLEVELAND STATE EARNS COMEBACK WIN OVER ROBERT MORRIS
Cleveland State defeated Robert Morris on Sunday afternoon at the Wolstein Center to move to 6-5 in league play. The Vikings earned a comeback win after trailing for a majority of the second half before a late charge put Cleveland State ahead and allowed the Vikings to hold off RMU for a two-point win, 66-64. Tristan Enaruna recorded his second consecutive game of 28 points, finishing 11-19 from the field and a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line. Jayson Woodrich came off the bench and provided a critical offensive spark, hitting two key three-pointers early in the second half en route to a 12-point performance.
SCOUTING THE MASTODONS
Purdue Fort Wayne is 15-8 and 6-6 in the Horizon League coming into Wednesday night's game. The Mastodons started out hot in league play, going 4-0 in the opening weeks of conference play, before dropping five straight including a loss to Cleveland State in the first meeting between the two teams. Purdue Fort Wayne has since rebounded to win two of its last three games to move back to .500 in league competition. Jalen Jackson and Rasheed Bello lead a quartet of players averaging in double figures, with the two averaging above 15 points a game. Jon Coffman is in his tenth season in charge of the program and is the all-time winningest coach in program history.
CLEVELAND STATE PICKS UP COMEBACK WIN OVER PURDUE FORT WAYNE
Cleveland State defeated Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday afternoon 75-68 to earn an 18th-straight home victory. The Vikings were down as many as 15 points in the second half before storming back to take the lead late. Cleveland State finished with 23 assists on 29 made field goals in the game, with Tristan Enaruna and Tae Williams setting career highs in assists in the win. Drew Lowder finished with 23 points to lead all scorers on 50 percent shooting from three-point range.
CLEVELAND STATE WINS FOURTH IN A ROW AT IUPUI
Cleveland State picked up its fourth win in a row and its second consecutive league victory in downing IUPUI on Sunday afternoon, 86-77 in Indianapolis. The Vikings had four players in double figures led by Jayson Woodrich who struck for a career-high 23 points. Cleveland State built a double-digit lead early in the second half before IUPUI charged back to tie it with seven minutes remaining. The Vikings responded with a late run to close the game and secure the victory. The win is the ninth straight for the Vikings over the Jaguars in the series.
HOME SWEET HOME
Cleveland State has made a habit of protecting its home court throughout the last two seasons. The Vikings are 11-1 at home this season and have a 24-4 overall record in Cleveland in the Daniyal Robinson era. Cleveland State is outscoring opponents by over 10 points per game in home contests this season.
CLEVELAND STATE DOWNS NORTHERN KENTUCKY IN OT THRILLER
Cleveland State defeated Northern Kentucky at the Wolstein Center on Sunday, 88-85 in overtime to improve to 4-2 in league play. This is the fourth consecutive matchup between the two teams that has been decided by three points or less, including last year's Horizon League Tournament Championship Game. The Vikings finished with five players in double figures. Tristan Enaruna and Tae Williams each registered a double-double and Jayson Woodrich finished with 18 points, including the go-ahead three-pointer with the clock winding down in overtime.
GOING TO THE OFFENSIVE GLASS
Through the Horizon League season, the Vikings have been one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the conference. Cleveland State ranks second in the league in offensive rebounding, averaging 13 offensive rebounds per contest in league play.
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.
ENARUNA EARNS SECOND #HLMBB PLAYER OF THE WEEK AWARD
Following a career-high 32 points against Western Michigan, Tristan Enaruna picked up his second Horizon League Player of the Week award, the league office announced Tuesday. Enaruna makes it back-to-back weekly awards for the Vikings after Drew Lowder earned the honor last week. Enaruna tied a career mark with 12 made field goals in the game and also finished with 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. He finished 7-of-9 from the charity stripe and added four assists and four steals, each of which led the team.
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.
UP NEXT
Cleveland State returns to the Wolstein Center for a Valentine's Day matchup against Milwaukee next Wednesday. The Vikings and Panthers will tip at 7:00 p.m.
