Game 33 - Cleveland State vs. Youngstown State
Barbasol Horizon League Tournament Quarterfinal
Cleveland State Game Notes | Youngstown State Game Notes
All-Time vs. Youngstown State: 57-46
Last Meeting: 2/17/24 81-73 W
Tickets: csuvikings.com
Radio: WTAM 1100 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 continues play in the Barbasol Horizon League Men's Basketball Tournament with a Quarterfinal matchup on Thursday night at Youngstown State. The no. 7 seed Vikings defeated no. 10 seed IUPUI in Tuesday's First Round to advance to the Quarterfinals. Youngstown State is the no. 2 seed in the tournament bracket and earned a bye to the Quarterfinal Round after finishing 14-6 in league play. The winner of Thursday's game advances to the Semifinals in Indianapolis on Monday, March 11.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/YOUNGSTOWN STATE SERIES
Thursday's game marks the 114th all-time meeting between Cleveland State and Youngstown State. Cleveland State holds a 57-46 edge in the all-time series. The two teams split the two regular season meetings with each team winning on its home floor. Youngstown State defeated CSU 94-69 in the first matchup back on November 29 in the opening game of conference play for both teams. The Vikings got revenge and won the most recent matchup with an 81-73 victory on February 17 at the Wolstein Center.
CLEVELAND STATE DOWNS ROBERT MORRIS FOR TENTH #HLMBB WIN
Cleveland State defeated Robert Morris on the road on Sunday afternoon to claim its tenth league victory and improve to 10-8 in Horizon League competiton. The Vikings held a double-digit lead at the half before a furious RMU comeback eventually evened the score in the final minutes. Drew Lowder made a driving layup with one second remaining to secure the 73-71 road victory. Tristan Enaruna tallied 24 points and Tae Williams finished with 15. Lowder added 10 including the game-winner.
CLEVELAND STATE PICKS UP COMEBACK WIN OVER YOUNGSTOWN STATE
Cleveland State defeated Youngstown State on Saturday afternoon by a final score of 81-73 thanks to a monster game from Tristan Enaruna and several key second half surges. The Vikings trailed by four at the break and by as many as eight early in the second half before a late surge propelled them to victory. Enaruna finished one shy of a career high with 31 points, and Tae Williams added 18 with 10 coming in the second half.
SCOUTING THE PENGUINS
Youngstown State is 22-9 and 14-6 in the Horizon League headed into Thursday's game. The Penguins have won three in a row and four of their last five to close the regular season. YSU was well represented on the all-conference teams with DJ Burns and Ziggy Reid landing on the second team and Brett Thompson landing on the thrid team. Gabe Dynes earned a spot on the all-freshman team. Jerrod Calhoun is in his seventh season as the head coach and has won over 100 games in his time in Youngstown.
CLEVELAND STATE EARNS ROAD VICTORY AT PURDUE FORT WAYNE
Cleveland State defeated Purdue Fort Wayne on Wednesday night 75-72 to earn its fourth road victory and second in three games. The Vikings came from 11 points down in the second half to earn a come-from-behind win. Tristan Enaruna struck for 24 points, his fifth consecutive game with 23 or more, to lead the way for the Vikings. Drew Lowder was critical to the second half comeback, scoring all 20 of his points after halftime including connecting on seven of nine field goal attempts in the second half.
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.
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.
HOME SWEET HOME
Cleveland State has made a habit of protecting its home court throughout the last two seasons. The Vikings are 14-3 at home this season and have a 27-6 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.
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 fourth in the league in offensive rebounding, averaging 12.6 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 TAKES HOME HORIZON LEAGUE HARDWARE
Tristan Enaruna has earned multiple accolades from the Horizon League in the past week. He was named as one of five student-athletes to the league's All-Academic Team on Thursday. Enaruna is the first CSU men's basketball student-athlete to be recognized by the league on the all-academic team. He carries a 3.49 GPA as a Communications Studies major. On Monday he was named to the all-league first team for the secondc consecutive year. Enaruna ranks second in the league in scoring at 20.2 points per game.
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
With a win on Thursday Cleveland State would advance to the Horizon League Semifinals which take place on Monday, March 11 in Indianapolis. A trip to the Semis would put the Vikings one victory away from a return trip to the Championship Game.
