Nov. 13, 2006

Final Stats |  Quotes |  Notes

Contact: Brian McCann

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Junior Kevin Francis came off the bench to lead three Vikings in double figures with 20 points and Cleveland State's pressure wore down a game Notre Dame College (OH) squad, 88-62, Monday (Nov. 13) night at the Wolstein Center. The win was the first for CSU (1-1) under first-year head coach Gary Waters.

Francis, a transfer from Vincennes Junior College playing in just his second game for CSU, did his damage on 7-of-14 shooting from the floor and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. Francis also added a game-high 12 rebounds, with many easy put-backs coming on six offensive rebounds.

"Whatever we do this year, he's going to be a big part of," Waters said of Francis. "In our last game, I felt bad because he only played 11 minutes, and they were a good 11 minutes. We aren't going to let a game go by where he only plays 11 minutes."

Francis, who was also 1-for-3 from behind the arc, played 22 minutes.

After the Falcons hung tough for the majority of the first half, the Vikings used a 17-6 run to close the stanza to gain its largest lead at the point, 47-32.

"I thought our guys started a little slow, but they picked it up," Waters said. "We defended when we had to."

After the intermission, the Falcons (0-2) stayed with the Vikings momentarily, pulling within 56-41 at the 14:26 mark before a 13-5 spurt by CSU put the Vikings up 69-46 with 10 minutes left. NDC would come no closer than 18 the rest of the night.

CSU employed a full-court press for most of the night, and the pressure paid off as the Vikings forced 27 Falcon turnovers. The Vikings turned those miscues into a 25-8 edge in points off turnovers.

"Their pressure was phenomenal," Notre Dame College head coach Kevin Bille said. "We were working 30 feet from the hoop and we couldn't always give ourselves a chance to score."

Sophomore J'Nathan Bullock scored 15 points in 18 minutes of action while senior Raheem Moss added 14 points.

CSU shot 22-of-33 at the free throw line compared to 8-of-18 for Notre Dame College. The Vikings also enjoyed a 44-33 rebounding advantage, including 19 caroms on the offensive end.

Todd Fannin led the Falcons with 16 points on 5-of 6 shooting, including 4-of-5 from three-point range. NDC's Kyle Miller added 14 points.

The Vikings take to the road for the first time this season at Evansville for the Americas Youth Classic. CSU will play three games in three days, starting on Friday, Nov. 17 at 9:30 p.m. EST against Buffalo.