Cleveland State Hoops

Viking Notes: Cleveland State Opens Second Half of Horizon League Play At Youngstown State

2012-01-28T01:20:00.001-05:00

The Cleveland State men's basketball team opens the second half of Horizon League play with three key road games that could make or break the Vikings season.

CSU (17-4 overall, 7-2 Horizon League) leads the Horizon League by a half-game over Valparaiso (14-8, 7-3 HL) and UW-Milwaukee (14-8, 7-3 HL).

The Vikings open the road swing tonight at Youngstown State. They're looking to avenge a 73-67 loss to the Penguins at the Wolstein Center on New Year's Eve.

Then CSU travels to Chicago next week to face the two worst teams in the league. They visit Loyola of Chicago on Feb. 3 and Illinois-Chicago on Feb. 5.

CSU Head Coach Gary Waters says the Vikings can't afford to lose any of these upcoming road games.

"If you lose in these three rounds you can't catch the other guys because they have been to these places and have won," said Waters. "So you put yourself out of the picture."

The Penguins (11-8, 6-3 HL) are fourth in the Horizon League standings, but are only a game back of CSU. They're looking for their first regular season sweep of the Vikings since the 2003-04 season.

"Next to Valpo, Youngstown State may be the best team in our league at running their offense," said Waters. "They have five offensive players that can all score the ball. On any given night any of the five can score 20 points."

The Penguins have been tough at home in Horizon play. They're 4-0 at the Beeghly Center in conference games and are coming off a 30-point win over UW-Green Bay last Sunday.

"We're going on the road and make it ugly and fight," said Waters, whose team is 8-2 on the road, tied for the most road wins in the country. "Our goal is to throw the first punch."

Waters says that YSU's starting backcourt of sophomore Kendrick Perry (14.4 points) and junior Blake Allen (13.6) are "the best (guard) tandem in the league."

He also says that Cleveland native Ashen Ward, a Villa Angela-St. Joseph product, has been a "nemesis" against the Vikings. Ward has been on a tear lately averaging 16.7 points per game over his last seven games.

So what are the keys to beating the Penguins?

"We got to defend," said Waters. "We got to stop their penetration and inside scoring."

Waters also expects the Penguins to play a lot of zone.

Better team: Just like a year ago, CSU sits in the same spot in the standings (first-place) and has the same record in conference games (7-2) after the first half of Horizon play.

Last year, the Vikings finished 13-5, sharing the regular season co-championship with Milwaukee and Butler.

This year CSU is hoping for better results in the second half of the season.

"This is a better team in regards to the team orientation," said Waters. "Everybody is on a similar page. Last year, we knew exactly where the ball was going and who was going shoot it. This year they don't care who gets the wealth."

The bench: Last year, CSU's bench was its Achilles Heel. This year the bench has been much improved.

"We have a better bench," said Waters. "Last year, when I went to the bench you didn't know what you were going to get. This year, you know what you are going to get from Anton (Grady), Charlie (Lee) and Luda (Ndaye)."

BracketBusters: The Vikings will find out who there BracketBusters opponent will be on Monday, Jan. 30.

With the sixth highest RPI (58) among home teams (as of Jan. 27), CSU is in the running for one of the 13 TV games.

ESPNU will host a half-hour BracketBusters show at 6:30 p.m. to announce the 13 TV games.

CSU women's update: For the first time in her nine years as CSU's women's basketball coach, Kate Peterson Abiad's squad has been hit with the injury bug that has lasted all season long.

The Vikings have struggled to a 8-11 record and are tied for sixth in the Horizon at 3-5. They have already used nine different starting line-ups.

CSU will host Detroit (9-11, 5-3 HL) on Saturday afternoon in its annual "Pack the House" game. All tickets for Saturday's game are $1.

A win Saturday, would give Peterson Abiad her 115th career victory at CSU, tying her for the most wins in program history with Alice Khol (1980-91).

News and notes:

* At 17-4, the Vikings are off to the second best start in school history through 21 games. The 1986-87 and 2010-11 teams both opened the season with identical 18-3 records.

* With 86 career wins at CSU, Jeremy Montgomery only needs six more wins to become the winningest player in school history, surpassing Ken "Mouse" McFadden's 91 (1985-89).

* Over his last three games, junior Tim Kamczyc is 15-of-16 (.938) from the field, including making all six three-pointers.

* Freshman Anton Grady has scored in double figures in five of the last six games and is averaging 9.2 points per game in League play.

* CSU recruit Gary Akbar is averaging 18.4 points and 13.2 rebounds for Dayton Dunbar High School, the top ranked Division II program in the state.

Photo: Cleveland State athletics

Cleveland State 83, Milwaukee 57

2012-01-22T23:31:00.042-05:00

The Cleveland State men's basketball team has adopted a new slogan: "No mas."

"(It means) no more losses this season," said Aaron Pogue. "That's our (goal)."

The Vikings played like a team on a mission Sunday afternoon at the Wolstein Center as they dominated UW-Milwaukee from the opening tip off.

CSU had one of its best offensive performances of the season as six Vikings finished in double-figures in an 83-57 victory over the Panthers.

"This was a team effort," said CSU Head Coach Gary Waters. "I thought our guys worked hard and followed the game plan."

At the halfway point of Horizon play, CSU (17-4) holds a share of first place with Valparaiso—both are 7-2 in the conference. Milwaukee (13-8), Youngstown State and Butler are all a game behind at 6-3.

"I like our mindset," said Waters on where the Vikings stand after the first half of the conference season. "But, I think Valpo is still the class of the league right now."

The Vikings shot a season-high 63.5 percent from the field and went 7-for-13 (53.8 percent) from 3-point distance against the top three-point defending team in the country.

"When we shoot the ball well, the game is over because we are going to defend you," said Waters. "I thought we executed better inside."

The 83 points were the most scored against a Division I team this season. CSU scored 86 points against NAIA member Rio Grande on November 15.

They also had a season-high in assists (22) and scored 44 of their 83 points in the paint.

"We just took what the defense gave us," said Trey Harmon, who led the Vikings with 15 points. "We had an emphasis on good shot selection. Our first mindset was to attack inside-out. Once we started attacking, our outside shots opened up."

The Vikings also got 12 points from Tim Kamczyc, who went 4-for-4 on three-pointers. They also had 12 points a piece from Jeremy Montgomery and Anton Grady, and 10 from D'Aundray Brown. Pogue, who has been battling a thigh injury, put together his second straight solid outing with 11 points and six rebounds in 21 minutes.

James Haarsma was the only Panther in double-figures with 15.

CSU never trailed in the game and used its three-point shooting to take the early lead.

They made four three-pointers in the first eight minutes to take a 22-11 lead on Kamczyc's second three-pointer of the night.

The Vikings shot 57.7 percent in the first half and took a 36-28 lead at the half.

CSU would put the game away in the first five minutes of the second half.

After Brown and Haarsma exchanged layups to start the second half, CSU scored the next 13 points to take a commanding 51-30 lead on Harmon's layup with 15:37 left.

"Our key was to speed them up a little bit (in the second half)," said Harmon. "They are a good offensive team in the half-court and we were getting in transition and getting easy baskets."

The Vikings' defense held the Panthers to 18 field goals and 35.3 percent from the field.

"Defensively, (I thought) we executed as well as you can execute at times," said Waters.

CSU will start the second half of league play at YSU on Saturday.

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Photo and videos courtesy of Cleveland State athletics

Cleveland State 78, Green Bay 68

2012-01-20T23:02:00.041-05:00

Cleveland State head coach Gary Waters made sure his team was "prepared" to face UW-Green Bay Friday and not overlooking them for a potential first-place match-up with UW-Milwaukee on Sunday.

The Vikings took care of its business Friday night by easily defeating the Phoenix 78-68 at the Wolstein Center, but it was Milwaukee that fell victim of the trap game, losing at Youngstown State.

"We knew we had to play (Green Bay) because on film they have played at times better then Milwaukee," said Waters. "You have to take care of your home court. If you don't do that, the road games don't mean anything."

The win improves CSU to 16-4 and 6-2 in the Horizon League and moves the Vikings into a first place tie with Milwaukee and Valparaiso.

"We knew this was a set-up game," said Trey Harmon, who led the Vikings with 19 points, and was 4-for-6 on three-pointers. "You can't look past any team in this league. That's what is scary about this league, on any given night any team could win."

The Vikings also had double-digit scoring from Tim Kamczyc (12 points), Jeremy Montgomery (11), and freshmen Anton Grady had his first career double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Green Bay (7-11, 3-5 Horizon League) were led by Keifer Sykes and Kam Cerroni with 15 points each.

CSU took care of business early using its three-point shooting to take the lead. The Vikings made five of their six three-pointers in the first half.

Trailing, 8-4, Montgomery's three-pointer cut the lead to 8-7, then Harmon's first three-pointer tied the game at 10-10.

Harmon's second three-pointer gave the Vikings its first lead, 13-12, and proved to be the go-ahead basket. His third three-pointer extended the lead to double-digits (26-16) with 6:44 left.

A tip-in by Green Bay's Alec Brown at the buzzer cut the lead to 36-30 at the half.

The Vikings ended any chance of a upset by starting the second half on a 13-4 run to take a 49-34 lead as Aaron Pogue found Kamczyc for a lay-up with 16:29 left.

"I told the team at halftime that we weren't locking into them defensively and we were committing too many fouls," said Waters, whose team committed 23 fouls that led to 30 free throw attempts for Green Bay. "We need to stop fouling because that lets teams hang with us. We work hard on defense and then we commit petty fouls that are unnecessary."

CSU built the lead to as much as 18 in the second half and never let the lead get below six points.

The Vikings shot 50.9 percent from the field and held advantages in rebounding (43-23), points in the paint (40-24), fast break points (14-2) and bench scoring (19-9).

"I told the guys in the locker room how proud I was of the effort on the glass," said Waters.

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Photo courtesy of Cleveland State athletics

Valparaiso 72, Cleveland State 66

2012-01-15T18:11:00.037-05:00

Coming off Friday's rare road win at Butler, the Cleveland State Vikings had a chance to do something no other Horizon League team has accomplished before.

That's sweeping both Butler and Valparaiso on its Indiana road trip.

Unfortunately for CSU, the Valpo Crusaders crashed the party handing the Vikings its second conference loss of the season, 72-66, Sunday afternoon at the Arc.

CSU (15-4, 5-2 in Horizon League) drops into a second-place tie with Valpo (12-7, 5-2), both are a game back of first-place UW-Milwaukee.

Tim Kamczyc lead CSU with 18 points. Trey Harmon also contributed 13 points and Jeremy Montgomery had 11.

The Crusaders shot 60 percent from the floor, including 65.2 percent in the second half. The Vikings had no answers for Valpo's inside game as the Crusaders outscored the Vikings 38-28 in points in the paint.

Junior forward Kevin Van Wilk did most of the damage inside as he finished with a game-high 23 points on 10-for-13 from the field. The Crusaders also had double-digit scoring from Ryan Broekhoff (14 points), Jay Harris (12) and Matt Kenney (10).

CSU was able to keep the game close because of its defense, which created 16 turnovers and held a 20-13 advantage in points off turnovers.

Unlike Friday, it was the Crusaders that jumped out to a fast start, taking an early 8-0 lead, before the Vikings got going.

CSU would take its first lead 13-12 on Anton Grady's jumper. However, the Crusaders closed out the half strong with a 17-12 run to take a 29-25 lead at the half.

In the first half, Valpo went 10-for-12 from two-point range and tallied nine assists on their 12 baskets.

To start the second half, CSU came out in a zone and Valpo immediately took advantage knocking down four three-pointers in the first six minutes to take a 45-34 lead on back-to-back three-pointers from Harris with 14:57 left.

CSU used its press to get back into the game. The press created three turnovers as the Vikings used a 16-4 run to take back the lead, 50-49, on a three-pointer by D'Aundray Brown. They would extend the lead to as much as four with eight minutes left.

A basket by Harris tied the game at 55-55 and a three-point play by Van Wijk gave the Crusaders the lead for good, 60-57, with 5:16 left.

The Vikings return to action Friday as they host UW-Green Bay at the Wolstein Center.

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Cleveland State 76, Butler 69

2012-01-13T22:46:00.033-05:00

The Cleveland State men's basketball team finally got the monkey off their back.

CSU used a fast start and held off a late rally to earn a rare road win against hated rival Butler, 76-69, Friday night in front of 7,994 fans at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

The win snaps a five-game losing streak to the Bulldogs and moves CSU (15-3, 5-1 Horizon League) into a first-place tie with UW-Milwaukee (12-6, 5-1 HL).

It was the first time that CSU has defeated Butler since the 2009 Horizon League Championship game. And the first-time that CSU has won a regular season game at Hinkle Fieldhouse since Feb. 10, 2005 under former head coach Mike Garland.

Jeremy Montgomery led the Vikings with 18 points. Tim Kamczyc (17 points), Trey Harmon (12) and Anton Grady (11) were the other Vikings in double-figures.

Butler (9-9, 3-3 HL) was led by Andrew Smith with 13. The Bulldogs also had 12 points a piece from Ronald Nored and Chase Stigall, and 11 points from Khyle Marshall.

The Vikings won despite committing 13 more fouls (29-16) and allowing the Bulldogs to shoot 42 free throws (25-for-42, 59.5 percent).

By the first media timeout, CSU had jumped out to a 18-4 lead and extended the lead to 16 on Grady's layup with 12:39 left in the half.

But the Bulldogs would close out the half on a 29-15 run to cut the lead to 35-33 at the half.

Butler would tie the game at 35-35 on Marshall's lay-up and then take its first lead since its opening basket (3-0) - on a pair of free throws from Smith - to give the Bulldogs a 41-40 lead with 16:15 left. That would be Butler's only lead of the second half.

A minute later, Montgomery's jumper gave the Vikings the lead for good and they would extend it to as much as 11 (59-48) on Harmon's lay-up with 8:18 left.

Butler would make it interesting, hitting three consecutive three-pointers in the span of 40 seconds to pull the Bulldogs within 72-69 with 22 seconds left.

But the Vikings would seal the victory making its free throws down the stretch.

The Vikings shot 48 percent and outscored the Bulldogs in points in the paint (28-12), points off turnovers (22-9), fast break points (8-0) and bench points (19-12).

CSU will continue its Indiana road trip with a visit to Valparaiso on Sunday.

Box score

Jeremy Montgomery photo courtesy of Cleveland State athletics; Videos courtesy of Cleveland Leader

Cleveland State Hits the Road to Take on Butler and Valparaiso

2012-01-13T03:24:00.029-05:00

Coming off impressive home wins last week against Illinois-Chicago and Loyola of Chicago, the Cleveland State Vikings hit the road again for the Indiana trip—arguably the toughest road trip of the season.

The Vikings (14-3, 4-1 Horizon League) face its rival Butler (9-8, 3-2 HL) tonight in a national televised game on ESPNU (7 p.m.) and Valparaiso (10-7, 3-2 HL) Sunday (2:35 p.m.).

"No one over the last five or six years have won both of those games," said CSU head coach Gary Waters. "If you can (sweep this road trip) it changes the dynamics of the league."

UW-Milwaukee, who leads the Horizon at 5-1, split the Indiana trip—losing to Butler and defeating Valpo. The Panthers are a half-game ahead of CSU and Youngstown State, who are both 4-1 in the conference.

CSU has been one of the best road teams this season as they are 7-1 in road games. The seven road wins are tied for most in the nation.

"I don't think these kids fear the road," said Waters. "They just go out and play."

The Vikings will try to end the stigma that they can't beat Butler.

Since CSU upset Butler in the 2009 Horizon championship game, the Bulldogs have won five straight against the Vikings and nine of the past 10 meetings.

CSU hasn't played well at Butler's Hinkle Fieldhouse either, where they are 2-19 all-time.

Last year, the Bulldogs handed CSU an embarrassing 23-point loss at Hinkle in front of a national TV audience.

"We weren't prepared to handle what they threw at us," said Waters. "They came right at us and it was over quickly."

Waters said last year's loss has helped them prepare for tonight's game.

"We're going in there with all guns a-blazing," said Waters. "We can't go there not ready to play. We've got to take control."

Waters said this isn't the same Butler team that they have faced the past couple of years.

"They're not the same shooters," said Waters. "They're ninth in the league in free-throw shooting (60.8 percent) and eighth in field goal percentage (40.4 percent)."

So what does CSU need to do to beat Butler?

"We've got to do what we do," said Waters. "And you've got to hit some shots."

Photo courtesy of Butlersports.com

Press release: Vikings to Host Green Bay at 8:00 p.m. on ESPNU on Jan. 20

2012-01-09T16:18:00.002-05:00

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland State will host Green Bay at 8:00 p.m. on Friday (Jan. 20) in a game that will be shown live on ESPNU.

The game time was officially announced on Monday (Jan. 9) morning after the match-up won the Facebook poll run by ESPN Home Court that ran for five days.

Courtesy of Cleveland State athletics

Cleveland State 69, Loyola of Chicago 48

2012-01-07T19:48:00.038-05:00

The Cleveland State men's basketball team put together their second straight dominating performance as the Vikings easily handled Loyola of Chicago, 69-48, Saturday afternoon at the Wolstein Center.

CSU (14-3, 4-1 Horizon League) finished their three-game homestead at 2-1.

After losing their Horizon home opener to Youngstown State last week, the Vikings rebounded with impressive wins against Illinois-Chicago (Thursday) and Loyola.

Senior guard Trey Harmon returned to the lineup for the Vikings after missing Thursday's UIC game with a concussion and immediately returned to form. The Pasadena, Calif. native hit a career-high six three-pointers and scored a game-high 20 points.

"The first couple of minutes I had to catch my wind, but I felt good," said Harmon. "I had a lot of time to rest and recover."

CSU head coach Gary Waters said that Harmon is now using a special mouthpiece that absorbs some of the pain if he gets hit in the head again.

Two minutes into the game, Harmon hit his first three-pointer to give CSU an early 3-1 lead. His second three-pointer gave the Vikings the lead for good (13-11) with just over eight minutes left in the half.

"I let the game come to me," said Harmon, who hit his first five three-pointers and finished 6-for-7 from downtown. "I took the shots that were open and the hard work that I've been putting in the gym is finally coming around."

The Vikings hit six three-pointers in the first half as they built a comfortable 32-17 lead at the half.

CSU led by as many as 24 in the second half and never let the lead get lower then 13.

"We came into this game with several goals defensively," said Waters. "We wanted to keep them under 40 percent. We wanted to out-rebound them and we wanted to do a good job of (guarding) them inside."

The Vikings limited Loyola to 31 percent, edged the Ramblers on the boards, 29-26 and limited junior forward Ben Averkamp and senior forward Walt Gibler to 10 points each.

"Every year Loyola is one of the most physical games on the schedule," said CSU junior forward Tim Kamczyc, who finished with 11 points, nine rebounds (career-high), four assists and two steals. "We knew it would be a war so that was the mentality that we had to take into the game."

CSU shot 56.5 percent and tallied a season-high 20 assists on 26 field goals.

Three-point shooting was another key stat in the game. CSU was 10-for-17 from downtown and Loyola was 1-for-9.

Freshmen forward Anton Grady had another strong game for the Vikings with 10.

Sophomore guard Denzel Brito had 10 points for the Ramblers (5-11, 0-6 HL).

CSU's next game is Friday at Butler (7 p.m., ESPNU).

box score

Photo and press conference video are courtesy of Cleveland State athletics.

Loyola @ Cleveland State Highlights from WebStream Productions, Inc. on Vimeo.

Viking Notes: Trey Harmon Questionable Saturday

2012-01-06T16:49:00.053-05:00

Cleveland State senior Trey Harmon (concussion) was dressed for Thursday's game against Illinois-Chicago and took part in the shootaround, but wasn't cleared to play in the game by the doctors.

Still CSU head coach Gary Waters is staying optimistic that Harmon has "a chance" to play against Loyola-Chicago on Saturday.

Harmon, CSU's second leading scorer (10.9 points), suffered the concussion early in the second half of CSU's loss to Youngstown State last week.

Douglas out for the Year: Redshirt freshmen Sebastian Douglas is out for the year after suffering a torn medial collateral ligament (MCL) and a meniscus tear in his left knee that will need surgery.

It's the same knee that he had season-ending surgery last year after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during a charity basketball game in the summer.

"It buckled on him," said Waters.

Mason debuts: With Douglas out for the year, Waters has decided to "de-redshirt" freshmen Marlin Mason.

Mason, a 6-6 forward from Detroit, Mich., made his debut against UIC and scored his first basket - a three-pointer from the left corner - just a minute into the game.

"It felt good to get out there and finally experience a real college game," said Mason, who finished with five points and three rebounds in 14 minutes. "I would do anything to help my team out and I'm glad they had faith in me."

Mason said he found out he was going to play on Wednesday before practice. He said that he has been working on his defense during the redshirt season.

Waters said he didn't want to redshirt Mason.

"The reason that he was being redshirted is because he had never played small forward (before) and he just turned 18 (in August)," said Waters. "The thing that he brings us is a big three that can rebound the basketball."

Lee gets the start: With Harmon out, freshmen Charlie Lee made his first collegiate start against the Flames and was impressive on both sides of the court.

Lee, a 5-9 point guard from Milwaukee, Wisc., finished with a career-high 13 points, five assists, three steals and did not have a turnover in 33 minutes.

"I thought Charlie did a good job of leading our ball club as the point guard of our program. He will be our point guard for a long time," said Waters. "I thought he did a great job guarding (Gary Talton)."

Lee held Talton to six points. Talton came into the game as the second leading scorer in Horizon games only at 18.5 points per game.

News and notes:

*SportsTime Ohio will televise Saturday's home game against Loyola as part of the Horizon League's "Game of the Week" TV package. Tipoff is 2 p.m. The Vikings (13-3, 3-1 Horizon League) have won seven straight against the Ramblers (5-10, 0-5 HL).

*According to Brandon Sprague of CSNNW.com, Oregon State sophomore Chris Brown will transfer to CSU. Brown, a 6-11, 240-pound center, didn't play in any games for the Beavers this season. As a freshman, Brown played in 15 games, totaling 12 points and 11 rebounds in 38 minutes.

*Former CSU standout Norris Cole is averaging 11.1 points and 3.6 assists through eight games with the Miami Heat.

Marlin Mason photo courtesy of Cleveland State athletics

Sebastian Douglas Out For the Year With Torn MCL

2012-01-05T22:11:00.004-05:00

Redshirt freshmen guard Sebastian Douglas is out for the year after suffering a torn medial collateral ligament (MCL) and a meniscus tear in his left knee that will need surgery.

It's the same knee that he had season-ending surgery last year after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during a charity basketball game in the summer.

Douglas averaged 2.8 points and 2.0 rebounds in 13.3 minutes per game.

Report: Oregon State's Chris Brown to Transfer to Cleveland State

2012-01-05T12:55:00.009-05:00

Brandon Sprague of CSNNW.com is reporting that Oregon State sophomore Chris Brown will transfer to Cleveland State.

Brown, a 6-11, 240-pound center from Houston, didn't play in any games for the Beavers this season.

As a freshman, he played in 15 games, scoring 12 points and 11 rebounds in 38 total minutes.

Trey Harmon to Miss One or Two Games

2012-01-03T16:16:00.005-05:00

Cleveland State senior Trey Harmon (concussion) has been ruled out against Illinois-Chicago on Thursday and could also miss Saturday's game against Loyola (Ill.).

“I don’t think we’ll get him back for Thursday, and maybe not Saturday,” said CSU head coach Gary Waters at Tuesday's media gathering.

Harmon, who is CSU's second leading scorer at 10.9 points per game, suffered the concussion early in the second half of the Vikings’ 73-67 loss to Youngstown State on Saturday.

Douglas to get MRI: Redshirt freshmen Sebastian Douglas is scheduled to get an MRI today for his ailing knee.

Waters said Douglas should play this week, but will likely see "limited" minutes.

Youngstown State 73, Cleveland State 67: Penguins Hand Vikings First Horizon Loss

2011-12-31T21:27:00.053-05:00

The Cleveland State men's basketball team could not keep up with Youngstown State's high-powered offense as the Penguins handed the Vikings its first loss of the Horizon League season, 73-67, on New Year's Eve at the Wolstein Center.

"Youngstown State outplayed us today and they deserve to win," said CSU head coach Gary Waters. "What we didn't do is play Cleveland State basketball. We made it an offensive game without all of our offensive weapons. If you make it a defensive game, you have a chance to win."

YSU (7-6, 2-1 Horizon League) shot 58.1 percent from the field, including 65 percent in the second half and had three players in double-figures. They were junior forward Damian Eargle (20 points), DuShawn Brooks (17) and Ashen Ward (15).

CSU (12-3, 2-1 HL) were led by senior guard Jeremy Montgomery with 21 points, 15 of them coming in the first half. D'Aundray Brown was the only other Viking in double-figures with 20.

Montgomery had the hot hand going 7-for-10 from the field, including 6-for-8 from downtown, but only took two shot attempts in the second half.

The loss puts the Vikings in a cluster of teams with only one loss in the league.

"It's a crushing loss because its at home," said Waters. "You have to take advantage at home and we did not do that today. We won two league games on the road but losing today gives the advantage right back to everyone."

The Vikings played most of the second half without two of its starters - Aaron Pogue and Trey Harmon.

Pogue reaggravated his thigh injury and only played five minutes in the second half. And Harmon left the game with 15:27 left after suffering a concussion while chasing down a loose ball.

"They caught us at the right moment," said Waters. "Half of our guys are injured. We have to get back to full strength."

At the time of Harmon's injury, CSU was trailing, 38-36, but without its second leading scorer and best defender out on the floor, YSU immediately took advantage, scoring on six straight possessions to take a 52-44 lead on Josh Chojnacki's jumper.

CSU would close to within 57-56 on Tim Kamczyc's jumper with 5:18 left.

Two minutes later, Ward sank a three-pointer and then a jumper to give the Penguins some breathing room, 66-59, with just under two minutes left.

Ward, a Cleveland native, also added four free throws in the final minute to preserve the win.

"We came out very flat," said Brown. "We didn't have enough energy out there. When you try to fight back all game, the outcome can go either way."

YSU took an early 19-7 lead. CSU used a 13-1 run to tie the game at 20-20. The Vikings took a slight 31-29 lead at intermission as Montgomery drained three consecutive three-pointers just before the half.

The Vikings will try to right the ship Thursday as they host Illinois-Chicago.

(Videos courtesy of Cleveland State athletics)

Cleveland State Resumes Horizon League play Saturday

2011-12-30T22:07:00.026-05:00

Ready or not Cleveland State resumes Horizon League play Saturday hosting Youngstown State at 2 p.m. in the Wolstein Center.

"You never feel comfortable (starting Horizon play), but I feel we are ready for it," Vikings head coach Gary Waters said after CSU's 72-64 victory at Toledo on Wednesday. "Every night you are going to play somebody that comes after you."

The Vikings (12-2, 2-0 Horizon) have won two straight and enter the final game of the 2011 calendar year with the second most wins in program history before Jan. 1 (The most wins before Jan. 1 is 14 by last year's squad).

CSU enters Horizon play with a leg up on the competition as they picked up two key road wins at Wright State and Detroit in early December.

YSU (6-6, 1-1 HL) have lost four straight and return 63.4 percent of its scoring back from last season, including returning five of their top seven scorers from a year ago.

They are one of the top scoring teams in the Horizon League, averaging 66.8 points per game (third in Horizon), but give up 66.1 points per game (seventh in Horizon).

They are also one of the best three-point shooting teams in the nation, averaging 9.8 three-pointers per game (eighth in the country) and are shooting 38.2 percent from downtown (45th in the country).

"They have good guard play," CSU senior guard Jeremy Montgomery said about YSU after the Toledo win. "We have to match their intensity on the guard side and try to force them into turnovers."

YSU is led by the fourth-best scoring duo in the Horizon League in sophomore guard Kendrick Perry (15.7 points) and junior guard Blake Allen (13.5).

Cleveland State 72, Toledo 64

2011-12-28T23:29:00.002-05:00

Video courtesy of Cleveland State athletics

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Norris Cole Scores 20 in Heat Win

2011-12-27T23:20:00.006-05:00

Norris Cole stole the show in the Miami Heat's 115-107 victory over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night.

In only his second game as a pro, Cole had his breakout performance, scoring a career-high 20 points, to go along with four rebounds, four assists and three steals.

The rookie from Cleveland State scored 14 of the Heat's 24 points in the fourth quarter, including hitting several clutch shots down the stretch to preserve the victory.

Twice in the final minutes, Boston had cut the lead down to three points when Cole took passes from LeBron James and calmly knocked down jumpers to keep the Celtics at bay.

Norris Cole makes his NBA debut

2011-12-25T23:52:00.020-05:00

Norris Cole scored seven points in his National Basketball Association debut as the Miami Heat knocked off the defending NBA champions, Dallas Mavericks, 105-95, on Christmas Day at the American Airlines Center.

The rookie point guard from Cleveland State also had two rebounds, a steal, four turnovers and zero assists in 24 minutes.

Cole went 3-for-8 from the field, including making a three-pointer.

With 6:58 left in the first quarter, Cole entered the game replacing starting point guard Mario Chalmers.

Two minutes later, Cole would score his first NBA basket - a three-pointer in the corner - with 4:35 left in the first quarter.

Cole is the fifth Viking to ever play in a NBA game - joining Franklin Edwards, Darren Tillis, Clinton Smith and Cedric Jackson.

Cleveland State 63, Sam Houston State 45

2011-12-22T23:44:00.085-05:00

Coming off its worst loss of the season to South Florida on Monday, Cleveland State did not want to go into the holiday break with its first two-game losing streak of the season.

So the Vikings took care of business Thursday night, easily defeating Sam Houston State, 63-45, in front of 2,683 fans at the Wolstein Center.

The Vikings (11-2) were led by senior guards D'Aundray Brown with 12 points and Jeremy Montgomery with 11. Ten of the 11 Vikings who played in the game scored.

The Bearkats (4-8) only had one player in double-figures in sophomore guard DeMarcus Gatlin with 13.

"When you lose you start to doubt yourself and feel a little down," Montgomery said about the importance of bouncing back from Monday's 15-point loss to the Bulls. "Today we came out positive and came out with the victory."

CSU was able to get its defense back on track

On Monday, CSU's defense, which averages 19.1 turnovers per game, was only able to create 12 turnovers against the Bulls, who became the first school to score 70 points against the Vikings this season.

On Thursday, CSU created 23 turnovers against SHSU, which led to 27 points for the Vikings.

"One of our goals is to get 20-plus turnovers (a game)," said Brown. "We made that an emphasize today to reach that goal."

The Vikings also held the Bearkats to only 14 field goals made and 41.2 percent from the field.

"I wasn't overly concerned about our defense," CSU head coach Gary Waters said, whose defense ranks eighth in the nation in three-point defense (.254), 11th in steals (10.0), 15th in turnover margin (4.7) and 24th in scoring defense (57.3).

CSU shot only 39.6 percent from the field, but were able to take 19 more shots then the Bearkats. They also went 10-of-19 (52.6 percent) from three-point distance.

The Vikings also got a spark from its bench which provided 25 points (They only scored 10 points against South Florida).

The bench got solid performances from freshmen guard Sebastian Douglas, freshmen forward Anton Grady, and sophomore forward Devon Long, who each contributed six points a piece. Freshman guard Charlie Lee also contributed five points.

SHSU kept the game close early as sophomore guard Aaron Harwell's three-pointer gave the Bearkats a 7-6 lead.

Two minutes later, CSU would take the lead for good on Grady's jumper that put the Vikings up 10-8.

A three-pointer from Montgomery would extend the lead to 21-13 with 8:38 left in the half.

The Vikings took a 37-25 lead at the half and started the second half on a 7-3 run to extend it to 44-28 with just over 16 minutes left.

CSU, which has had problems closing out games this season, never let the lead get down lower then 12 points the rest of the game.

The Vikings will get the holidays off to spend with their families and return to practice on Dec. 26. Their next game is at Toledo on Dec. 28.

South Florida 70, Cleveland State 55

2011-12-19T23:54:00.005-05:00

Cleveland State dropped its first road game of the season, falling to South Florida 70-55 on Monday.

Junior forward Tim Kamczyc led CSU with 14 points. Senior guard Trey Harmon (11 points) and freshmen forward Anton Grady (10) were the only other Vikings in double-figures.

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Press release: CSU Game at Toledo Moved to 8:00 p.m. Start

2011-12-13T19:34:00.002-05:00

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Cleveland State men's basketball game at Toledo on Wednesday, Dec. 28 will tip off at 8:00 p.m. instead of the originally scheduled starting time of 7:00 p.m.

The change has been made so the basketball game wouldn't conflict with the Toledo football team's appearance in the Military Bowl in Washington, DC against Air Force on the same day at 4:30 p.m.

CSU is off to the second best start in school history with a 10-1 record this season and has received votes in the AP Top 25 Poll for the last five weeks. The Vikings are back in action on Monday (Dec. 19) when CSU plays at South Florida at 7:00 p.m.

Courtesy of Cleveland State athletics

Press release: Trey Harmon Named Player of the Week

2011-12-12T19:26:00.006-05:00

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- After leading Cleveland State to a 2-0 mark last week, senior guard Trey Harmon (Pasadena, Calif./Pasadena) has been named the Horizon League Men's Basketball Player of the Week, for the week of Dec. 5-11.

The accolade is the second time Harmon has earned the award. He also collected the honor on Jan. 3, 2011.

Harmon helped Cleveland State (10-1, 2-0 Horizon) build on the second-best opening to a season in program history as the Vikings concluded a seven-game road trip with a 62-58 win at Robert Morris before a 69-66 home victory against Akron on Saturday. In beating the Zips, Cleveland State swept the "Backyard Battles" against both Akron and Kent State for the second consecutive season.

In Thursday's (Dec. 8) win at Robert Morris, Harmon lifted the Vikings on the road, matching his career high with 24 points. Harmon was 7-of-13 from the field, including a 4-of-8 mark from three-point range as Cleveland State built a 16-point lead in the second half.

Harmon tied for game-high scoring honors in the win versus Akron, netting 16 points as he knocked down 4-of-6 attempts from behind the three-point arc. With the victory, Cleveland State improved to 7-0 this season in games decided by five points or less.

Cleveland State will be off this week for finals, resuming non-conference play on Monday, Dec. 19, with a trip to Tampa, Fla., to meet South Florida.

The game will tip at 7 p.m. ET, with ESPN3 providing coverage. The Vikings will return to the Wolstein Center on Thursday, Dec. 22, hosting Sam Houston State at 7 p.m. ET, live on the Horizon League Network.

Courtesy of Cleveland State athletics

Cleveland State 69, Akron 66: Jeremy Montgomery's 3-Pointer Lifts Vikings over Akron

2011-12-10T18:17:00.098-05:00

Saturday was Jeremy Montgomery's day to play the hero.

The senior guard from Chicago swished a three-pointer from the top of the key with 21.2 seconds left to give Cleveland State a 69-66 victory over Akron at the Wolstein Center.

"I heard the crowd screaming that the shot clock was going down. So I had to step up and knock down a shot for my team," said Montgomery, who was 1-for-11 from the field and 0-for-7 from three-point distance before the game-winner. "You have to stay positive and keep shooting. That's a shooter's attitude."

"Jeremy and Trey (Harmon) have the same mentality, it doesn't matter if they miss 15 in a roll, they think they will make number 16," said CSU head coach Gary Waters.

On CSU's final shot, Waters said he wanted to get the ball to either Montgomery or to Aaron Pogue inside.

"I don't think Jeremy was looking to throw it inside to Aaron," said Waters. "In his mind, he was thinking it was his turn (to be the hero). When a guy feels that confident I don't mind if he shoots it."

It was the fourth time this season that CSU has won on its final offensive possession.

On Nov. 18, Harmon's three-pointer with 2.8 seconds left lifted CSU over St. Bonaventure (67-64).

On Nov. 25, Montgomery sank two free throws with 3.4 seconds left to edge Boston University (63-62).

And last week, senior guard D'Aundray Brown's tip-in with 0.3 seconds left gave CSU a win at Wright State (45-43).

Still Akron had one last chance to tie the game and send it to overtime. But their final shot attempt ended up in the hands of 6'7", 225-pound sophomore forward Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell, who had never attempted a three-pointer in his career. His shot attempt from the corner ended up short.

"I was going for the three the whole time," said Akron head coach Keith Dambrot. "If they gave us an open drive, we were going to take it, but we were thinking three."

"We wanted to make sure the guards didn't get the shot off," said Waters on Akron's final shot attempt. "We had the right guy take the shot."

CSU (10-1) have won five straight and are 7-0 in games decided by five points or less.

The Vikings held a 13-point lead (50-37) with 13 minutes left in the second half, but they couldn't close out the game again.

The Zips (3-5) used a 28-14 run to take a 65-64 lead on junior forward Chauncey Gilliam's lay-up with 3:31 left. That would be Akron's last field goal in the game.

"If they score once (in the final three minutes) we don't win the game," said Waters.

Montgomery tied the game at 66-66 on a pair of free throws with 1:37 left.

Waters said that CSU has two issues that still need to be corrected.

"We turned the ball over too many times and we have to stop the constant fouling," he said. "They are working at it and it will come. When we finally get it, everybody has to watch out because we can defend anybody (in the country)."

Eight of CSU's 15 turnovers came in the final 10 minutes.

Harmon led the Vikings with 16 points. Brown and junior forward Tim Kamczyc each contributed 13 points for CSU.

Junior center Zeke Marshall led Akron with 16 points and eight rebounds. Treadwell, a Euclid High School grad, finished with 15.

box score

(Videos courtesy of Cleveland State athletics)

Cleveland State 62, Robert Morris 58

2011-12-08T23:14:00.001-05:00

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Cleveland State Concludes Road Trip Tonight at Robert Morris

2011-12-08T13:09:00.024-05:00

Cleveland State concludes its seven game road trip tonight when the Vikings travel to Moon Township, Pa. to take on Robert Morris of the Northeast Conference.

The Colonials (7-2) are off to their best start in school history and have won three straight after knocking off host-Duquesne 64-60 on Tuesday. They are 3-0 at home.

"(Robert Morris) maybe the best team we have played so far," CSU head coach Gary Waters said at Tuesday's media gathering. "They remind me of one of my old teams that I had at Kent State. They're tough and gritty and you don't know their names very well, but they take care of business."

Waters also said that the Colonials are a senior-laden team that has NCAA tournament experience (2009, 2010).

The Vikings (8-1) are 5-1 on the current road trip (4-0 road; 1-1 neutral) and have won three in a roll.

Tonight should be a defensive struggle.

RMU leads the NEC in scoring defense, allowing 60.2 points per game. They are 6-0 this season when holding opponents to 60 points or less.

CSU leads the Horizon League in scoring defense (56.2 points), three-point field goal defense (.202), steals (10.2) and turnover margin (+5.6).

Offensively, the Colonials average 68.3 points per game (sixth in NEC) and have three players averaging in double-figures, led by redshirt junior guard Velton Jones at 16.6 points per game.

"They don't take many threes and like to pound it (inside)," said Waters. "They're physical and like to attack the glass."

CSU returns home to face Akron on Saturday.

Cleveland State 66, Detroit 61

2011-12-03T17:31:00.003-05:00

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Cleveland State 45, Wright State 43

2011-12-01T21:17:00.009-05:00

D'Aundray Brown tipped in a missed shot with 0.3 seconds left to give Cleveland State a 45-43 road victory over Wright State on Thursday night in the Horizon League opener for both teams.

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Cleveland State Opens Horizon League Play Tonight at Wright State

2011-11-30T17:57:00.096-05:00

Cleveland State head coach Gary Waters said he's not a fan of playing conference games so early in the season.

"What happens is you stop what your doing and then you put total concentration on (these two league games)," said Waters at Tuesday's media gathering. "It's not an easy thing to do, but everybody does it so you have to live through it."

According to Waters, the Horizon League plays these early conference games because ESPN sets the dates when the conference tournaments begin (ESPN owns the broadcasting rights of most conference tournaments), and BracketBusters weekend also takes away a week of games.

The Vikings (6-1) are off to the second best start in school history after taking two-of-three last weekend to win the TicketCity Legends Classic subregional round at Kingston, Rhode Island.

They open Horizon play this week with two very important road games at Wright State (2-4) tonight and Detroit (3-4) on Saturday.

WSU were picked to finish eighth in the Horizon League preseason poll.

The Raiders have lost three straight games and are in a rebuilding mode as they have the sixth-youngest team in Division I with eight newcomers on the roster, including seven true freshmen.

"They're young, but they are feisty and play hard on defense," said Waters. "They (always) play well at home."

WSU averages 60.2 points a game (ninth in HL) and only have two players averaging in double-figures. They are junior guard Julius Mays (11.2 points), a North Carolina State transfer, and freshman guard Reggie Arceneaux (10.2).

Detroit were picked to finish second in the Horizon preseason poll.

The Titans have lost three of its past four games and are playing with only eight scholarship players as the team has been decimated by suspensions and injuries.

Detroit lost senior forward Nick Minnerath (12 points, four rebounds) for the season after he tore his ACL against Bowling Green last week.

"It's a short term devastation for (Detroit) because of how much they were counting on him," said Waters on the loss of Minnerath.

They are also playing without all-league center Eli Holman and backup guard Chris Blake.

Holman is on a leave of absence after an off-court incident in September, and Blake has been suspended for a violation of team rules.

Detroit is the top scoring team in the Horizon averaging 78.9 points per game and have seven players averaging at least seven points. However, the Titans are also the worst defensive team in the league allowing 73 points per game.

The Titans are led by all-league guards Chase Simon (16.9 points) and Ray McCallum (13.1).

Waters said there is a benefit of playing two early conference games if you can win them both.

"We went to the Wisconsin trip (last year) and won them both and it put us a step ahead (of everybody)," said Waters.

Cleveland State 67, Rhode Island 45

2011-11-27T16:33:00.001-05:00

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Hofstra 63, Cleveland State 53

2011-11-26T16:28:00.002-05:00

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Cleveland State 63, Boston U 62

2011-11-25T17:54:00.003-05:00

Videos courtesy of Cleveland State athletics

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Cleveland State 57, Kent State 53

2011-11-22T23:13:00.000-05:00

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Cleveland State and Kent State set to Battle on Tuesday

2011-11-22T12:08:00.034-05:00

Cleveland State begins its longest road trip of the season this week as the Vikings will play the next seven games away from the Wolstein Center.

The first stop is a short trek down south to Kent State on Tuesday.

KSU (2-0) is looking to avenge last season's 69-66 loss to the Vikings at the Wolstein Center, in which the Golden Flashes blew a 15-point second half lead.

Both teams are two of the surprise teams in the country as CSU (3-0) holds a road victory at then-No. 7 Vanderbilt (71-52) and KSU has a road win at West Virginia (70-60).

"This is going to be a tough game for us," said CSU head coach Gary Waters. "They have vengeance on their mind because they felt they should have won here last year."

The Vikings have won three of the past four meetings in the series, but KSU has won the past three meetings at the MAC Center.

"They got a guy that's equivalent to (St. Bonaventure's Andrew) Nicholson in (Justin) Greene," said Waters.

Greene, a 6-8, 225-pound senior forward, was named the Player of the Year in the MAC last year. He averages 12 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.

"The difference between (KSU) and St. Bonaventure in my estimation is their guards are better," said Waters.

Waters said that KSU's guards are probably the "best set of guards" that CSU will face this season.

"(Carlton) Guyton has pro potential. He can play the 1, 2 or 3 and can shoot the ball," said Waters. "The heart of the team is (point guard) Michael Porrini. Then they have a 6-11 kid inside (Justin Manns) that blocks shots, runs the floor and dunks the basketball.

Guyton, a 6-4 senior plays on the wing and averages 12 points per game. He had a team high 17 points and four assists in KSU's win over WVU.

The rest of KSU's starting lineup includes Porrini (11.5 points, 4.5 assists), a senior, and junior Randal Holt (10.5 points) are in the backcourt, and Manns (2.5 points, six rebounds) is at center.

"What I think makes them a better team this year is they have a bench. They have four guys that come off (the bench) and are pretty talented."

This will be the sixth meeting that Waters will face the school that gave him his first head coaching job. Waters guided the Golden Flashes from 1996-2011, compiling a record of 92-60 in five seasons.

Waters is 4-1 all-time against his former team.

Cleveland State Just Misses AP Top 25

2011-11-21T17:22:00.003-05:00

The Cleveland State Vikings just missed the cut of being in the Associated Press Top 25 poll this week.

CSU (3-0) finished with 94 points in the AP poll to finish 26th overall, top among "others receiving votes." The Vikings were only 14 points behind No. 25 Texas A&M.

In the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll, CSU received 20 points to finish 34th overall.

The Vikings moved up one spot from fourth to third in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25, receiving 684 votes and three first-place votes.

Cleveland State 67, St. Bonaventure 64

2011-11-19T10:39:00.079-05:00

Trevon Harmon said he has hit a couple of game-winning shots in high school, but has never hit one at the collegiate level until Friday night.

The Pasadena, Calif. native sank a three-pointer with 2.8 seconds left to give Cleveland State a 67-64 victory over St. Bonaventure at the Wolstein Center.

"First off, I would like to thank god for the shot," said Harmon, who led the Vikings with 20 points on 7-of-12 from the field, including 4-of-7 from 3-point distance. "It was designed for me to come up top towards the end and Aaron (Pogue) set a good screen for me and I was wide open."

On the final decisive play, CSU head coach Gary Waters designed a play to run the clock down to eight seconds. Then Harmon was to come off a down screen and get the ball at the top of the key.

Once Harmon had the ball he had two options: If he was open he was supposed to take the shot and if he was guarded he was supposed to drop it inside to Aaron Pogue.

"They did a great job of executing it," said Waters.

The win improves CSU to 3-0, while SBU drops to 1-1.

CSU won despite allowing the Bonnies to shoot 56.5 percent from the field. The Vikings were able to keep the game close with its defense. They had 13 steals and caused 23 turnovers, which led to 20 points for the Vikings.

"Everybody in the country is going to struggle against our press," said Waters. "These guys get after you."

The Bonnies led 37-32 at the half as they shot 68.2 percent from the field.

After back-to-back buckets from SBU senior forward Andrew Nicholson to start the second half, Waters called a quick time out.

"One of the things I had to tell them (in the timeout) is if they get another bucket this game can get out of hand," said Waters. "So now we got to bring it back so its back under control."

Waters also said he changed defenses in the timeout, switching from a fullcourt press to a three-quarter court press.

The Vikings responded with a 9-0 run out of the timeout and tied the game at 41-41 on a pair of free throws from senior guard Jeremy Montgomery.

CSU would catch a huge break with 3:32 left in the game and the Bonnies leading 61-58, Nicholson would pick up his fifth foul and was disqualified. He finished with 20 points on 9-of-14 from the field.

Without its NBA prospect on the floor, CSU would outscore the Bonnies 9-3 the rest of the game.

"It was a relief," said Harmon on Nicholson fouling out. "We took advantage of that (opportunity) when he left the game."

A one-handed jump shot in the lane from junior forward Tim Kamczyc gave CSU a 64-61 lead with 2:21 left.

The Bonnies would tie the game a minute later on a steal and a lay-up from Michael Davenport. On the play, Davenport was fouled by Kamczyc and converted the free throw to tie the game at 64-64 with 1:30 left.

Montgomery and senior guard D'Aundray Brown were the only other Vikings in double-figures with 12 points each.

Junior guard Eric Mosley was the only other Bonnie in double-figures with 11.

The Vikings are back in action on Tuesday at Kent State.

Harris signs: Darnell Harris, a 6'8" forward from La Jolla Prep (Calif.), has signed a grant-in-aid with CSU earlier this week.

"We're hoping everything works out with him academically to get him here," said Waters. "Once that's all set we have a top 100 player. At 6'9", he can really shoot the ball.

"He plays like a four-man on offense, but has a five-man's body on defense. So he will cause havoc on offense for other five-man because they can't step out and guard him."

Harris joins a four-man class that includes Malik London (Chillicothe, Ohio), Bryn Forbes (Lansing, Mich.) and Junior Lomomba (Montreal, Ontario), who all signed with CSU on the first day of the early signing period.

Cleveland State 86, Rio Grande 57

2011-11-16T11:51:00.041-05:00

D'Aundray Brown missed the entire 2010-11 season with a hand injury, but during that redshirt season he spent a lot of time working on his left hand and his mid-range jumper.

The hard work is starting to pay off as Brown set a new career-high in points for the second straight game, leading the Vikings with 24 points in Cleveland State's 86-57 victory over Rio Grande, an NAIA school located in southern Ohio.

Brown, the Horizon League Player of the Week, also added nine rebounds and seven steals against Rio Grande.

In CSU's 71-58 upset of then-No. 7 Vanderbilt on Sunday, Brown led the Vikings with 17 points. Brown came into the season with a career scoring average of 6.9 points per game and is averaging 21 points per game through two games.

He's also averaging 8.5 rebounds and seven steals a game.

"D'Aundray has put in some time. When you put in the time, you get results," said CSU head coach Gary Waters.

He's shooting 17-of-26 (65.4 percent) from the field through his first two games

"Sitting out that whole year made me hungry to get back out there," said Brown, who went 11-of-16 from the field and two-of-three from the line. "Coach Waters told me to work (on my shot) all summer, and I was in the gym taking extra shots, and it seems to be paying off."

The Vikings (2-0) played without starting center Aaron Pogue (lightheaded) and freshmen guard Ike Nwamu (concussion). Both are questionable for Friday's home game against St. Bonaventure.

CSU's constant pressure turned out to be too much for the Red Storm (4-2) to handle. They caused the Red Storm to turn it over 28 times, which CSU turned into 35 points.

"That's who we are. We go after the ball," said Waters. "We feel if we can get 20 turnovers we're going to (win many games). We're trying to force people into areas and I think it's really our identity, too."

With the game tied at 17-17 with 9:27 left in the first half, CSU used a 23-10 run to take a 40-27 lead into the half. Then they started the second half on a 13-6 run to increase the lead to 20-points (53-33) and never looked back.

CSU also had strong games from Trevon Harmon (14 points), Tim Kamczyc (13) and Anton Grady (12).

The Vikings host St. Bonaventure on Friday. The Bonnies (1-0) were picked to finish fourth in the Atlantic 10.

"That's a big-time team," said Waters. "Their center (Andrew Nicholson) is a pro and will probably be a first-round draft pick. He led the Atlantic 10 in scoring the past two years. So we have to do something to offset him, or he can go for 30 or 40 points."

Cleveland State receives votes in both major polls

2011-11-14T17:16:00.013-05:00

After opening the season with an impressive 71-58 upset of then No. 7 Vanderbilt on Sunday afternoon, Cleveland State received votes in both major polls and moved into the top five of the Mid-Major Top 25.

The Vikings (1-0) finished 29th in the AP poll with 43 points and 35th in the coaches' poll with 13 points.

In the Mid-Major Top 25, CSU moved up 18 spots to No. 4, receiving 619 points, including one first-place vote.

Press release: D'Aundray Brown Named Player of the Week

2011-11-14T16:02:00.002-05:00

INDIANAPOLIS -- Helping Cleveland State collect the biggest upset of the early college basketball season, D'Aundray Brown (Youngstown, Ohio/Ursuline) has been named the Horizon League Men's Basketball Player of the Week, for the week of Nov. 7-Nov. 13.

The accolade is the first of Brown's career.

In his first game since March 2, 2010, Brown led the Vikings to a 71-58 win at No. 7 Vanderbilt, recording a career-high 18 points, eight rebounds and seven steals as Cleveland State (1-0) snapped the Commodores' 20-game home winning streak over non-conference foes.

Brown's seven steals were also a career best and helped the Vikings force 21 Vanderbilt turnovers, which Cleveland State turned into 22 points. In 2009-10, Brown was voted to the Horizon League All-Defensive Team before missing last season's League championship run due to a finger injury.

With Vanderbilt trying to mount a late comeback, Brown helped thwart the effort with five points in the final three minutes of play.

Cleveland State will return to the Wolstein Center for two home games this week, beginning with Tuesday's contest against Rio Grande at 7 p.m. ET. On Friday, Nov. 18, the Vikings host St. Bonaventure at 7 p.m. ET. Both contests will be carried live on the Horizon League Network, available at www.HorizonLeague.com.

Press release courtesy of Cleveland State athletics

Cleveland State 71, No. 7 Vanderbilt 58

2011-11-13T19:19:00.000-05:00

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2011-12 Cleveland State Preview

2011-11-13T03:01:00.004-05:00

Cleveland State Opens the Season Today at No. 7 Vanderbilt (The Bleacher Report)

Press Release: Cleveland State Adds Three During Early Signing Period

2011-11-09T23:22:00.002-05:00

CLEVELAND, Ohio - With the success of three postseason appearances over the last four seasons and an average of 23 wins over the last four years, the Cleveland State men's basketball program scored another big win on Wednesday (Nov. 9) when head coach Gary Waters announced the signing of three high school student-athletes to National Letters of Intent to attend CSU and play basketball beginning in the fall of 2012.

Signing with Cleveland State are Bryn Forbes (Lansing, Mich.), Junior Lomomba (Montreal, Ontario) and Malik London (Chillicothe, Ohio).

"I am extremely excited about this class," Waters said. "The addition of these three student-athletes assures that the Cleveland State basketball program will continue to be successful and add to the tradition that we have established. Along with the five freshman on the roster this year, I have tabbed this group the 'Young Guns'.

"With the loss of four seniors at the end of this year, we knew that we had to go out and find people who would replace them and we were able to accomplish that. I was looking for players who could play in our system and had a great deal of athleticism and that is what this class is. They will not only help to make us better next year, but will be in the lineup for the next four years and I look forward to watching them grow."

Forbes, a 6-foot-3 guard, averaged 13.6 points per game last season in helping Lansing Sexton H.S. to the Class B state title and a 26-2 overall record. He has helped this year's squad to a No. 19 preseason national ranking in the Hoopniks Terrific 30 and the No. 43 ranking in the Powerade Fab 50 preseason rankings.

A good outside shooter, Forbes hit 41 three-pointers last season and scored 29 points in a state semifinal win over Detroit Country Day. He was a Class B all-area honorable mention selection.

Forbes is ranked as the No. 3 shooting guard in Michigan by ESPN, the 12th best prospect in the state and the 80th best shooting guard in the country.

"Bryn is an excellent shooter who can step out and hit the three-point shot," Waters said. "He can create for himself and play multiple perimeter positions, as well as space the floor with his range and come off screens ready to shoot. He has a great feel for the game and fits into our philosophy of adding players who are winners."

Lomomba, a 6-foot-4 forward, is the No. 4 ranked player in Wisconsin and the 38th-ranked small forward in the country according to ESPN.com. A three-star recruit on ESPN.com, Rivals.com and Scout.com., Lomomba helped Madison Memorial H.S. (Wis.) win the state title last year, scoring 16 points in the championship contest.

Lomomba, who averaged 17.0 points and 6.1 rebounds per game last year, earned first team all-state honors from the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association and second team all-state honors from the Associated Press.

A preseason WBCA first team all-state selection this year, Lomomba is an active defender, strong slasher and versatile all-around player. He has spent two years on the Canadian junior national team, helping the squad to a bronze medal in the 2010 FIBA U17 World Championships.

"The addition Junior is another huge step for our program," Waters said. "Junior, who turned down a number of high-major offers, is the piece of the puzzle that glues everything together. He is an extremely versatile player with great savvy who can play multiple positions from point guard to small forward. He uses his strength and athletic ability to make plays on offense, while his length allows him to guard any position on the perimeter. Junior is 6-4, but has outstanding ball handling skills, can shoot from the outside and score going to the basket."

London, a 6-foot-8 forward, averaged 11.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 7.0 blocked shots as a junior, helping Chillicothe H.S. to the regional final. He earned special mention All-Ohio accolades.

The 67th-best power forward in the class of 2012 by ESPN and one of the top-10 ranked players in Ohio, London is a strong defensive player and has been evaluated as one of the top shot blockers in the country.

"Malik is a strong post player who will fit into our defensive scheme because of his ability block shots, rebound and be a stopper inside," Waters said. He is another athletic performer who will help us elevate our post game and my goal is to make him a better offensive presence."

CSU opens the 2011-12 season with an exhibition game against John Carroll on Wednesday (Nov. 9) at 7:00 p.m. The regular season begins on Sunday (Nov. 13) with a 2:00 p.m. contest at No. 7 ranked Vanderbilt

Press Release courtesy of Cleveland State Athletics

Junior Lomomba Picks Cleveland State

2011-11-09T12:35:00.006-05:00

Cleveland State landed one of its biggest recruits in years on the first day of the early signing period.

Junior Lomomba, a 6-4, 175-pound forward from Madison Memorial High School (Wis.), announced Wednesday afternoon that he was going to sign a letter of intent with the Vikings, according to CBSSports.com.

CBSSports reports that Lomomba chose the Vikings over UCLA, Cincinnati, Washington State and New Mexico State.

Lomomba, a Montreal, Ontario native, averaged 17 points and 6.1 rebounds per game as a junior, leading Memorial to the state title.

A 3-star recruit by ESPN.com, Rivals.com and Scout.com, Lomomba is ranked the 38th small forward in the country by ESPN.

Lomomba joins a five-man class that includes Malik London (Chillicothe, Ohio), Bryn Forbes (Lansing, Mich.), Darnell Harris (Milwaukee, Wis.) and Gary Akbar (Dayton, Ohio).

Photo: Canada Basketball

Gary Akbar Commits to Cleveland State

2011-11-08T13:38:00.005-05:00

Gary Akbar becomes the fourth recruit to accept a scholarship from Cleveland State.

The 6-4 forward from Dayton Dunbar High School verbally committed to the Vikings on Tuesday, according to various recruiting websites.

Akbar averaged 10.6 points and 9.8 rebounds a game last season as a junior.

He comes from the same high school that has produced Norris Cole and Aaron Pogue.

Akbar joins a four-man class that includes Malik London (Chillicothe, Ohio), Bryn Forbes (Lansing, Mich.) and Darnell Harris (Milwaukee, Wisc.).

Gary Akbar player profile

Junior Lomomba Nearing College Decision

2011-11-03T13:59:00.012-04:00

Junior Lomomba is nearing a college decision.

The 6-4 swingman from Montreal, Canada who plays at Madison Memorial High School (Wisc.), told Jeff Borzello of CBSSports.com he has "a decision date set for November 9."

Lomomba is considering Washington State, Cleveland State, Cincinnati, New Mexico State and UCLA.

He has taken official visits to New Mexico State, Cleveland State and Washington State, and "is trying to finalize a visit to Cincinnati before his decision."

“I think it’s going to be a matter of my feeling for the school and the coaches,” Lomomba told CBSSports.com. “I don’t think any of these schools would be a bad decision.”

A three-star recruit by ESPN.com, Rivals.com, and Scout.com, Lomomba is rated the No. 38 small forward in the Class of 2012 by ESPN.

Junior Lomomba profile

Photo: Canada Basketball

Cleveland State Picked to Finish Third in Preseason Poll

2011-10-18T13:24:00.018-04:00

The Cleveland State men’s basketball team was picked to finish third in the Horizon League preseason poll released on Tuesday.

CSU senior guard Tre Harmon was selected to the preseason all-league first team.

Butler, the two-time defending national finalists, were chosen as the favorite to win the Horizon League for the third straight year. The Bulldogs received 28 of the 50 first place votes and 468 points.

Detroit finished second and was followed by CSU, Milwaukee fourth, Valparaiso fifth, Green Bay sixth, Youngstown State seventh, Wright State eighth, Loyola ninth and UIC 10th.

The Titans led the way with three players on the preseason first team. They are Ray McCallum, who was named the player of the year, Eli Holman and Chase Simon, and were joined by Harmon, and Milwaukee's Kaylon Williams.

2011-12 Horizon League Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll

1. Butler (28) 468
2. Detroit (19) 453
3. Cleveland State (2) 388
4. Milwaukee (1) 356
5. Valparaiso 255
6. Green Bay 247
7. Youngstown State 195
8. Wright State 157
9. Loyola 145
10. UIC 86

2011-12 Horizon League Men’s Basketball Preseason Player of the Year
Ray McCallum, Detroit

2011-12 Horizon League Men’s Basketball Preseason First Team
Ray McCallum, G – Detroit
Trevon Harmon, G – Cleveland State
Eli Holman, F/C – Detroit
Chase Simon, G – Detroit
Kaylon Williams, G – Milwaukee

2011-12 Horizon League Men’s Basketball Preseason Second Team
Tony Meier, F – Milwaukee
Alec Brown, C – Green Bay
Andrew Smith, C – Butler
Ben Averkamp, F – Loyola
Ryan Broekhoff, G - Valparaiso

Darnell Harris commits to Cleveland State

2011-09-22T23:48:00.019-04:00

Darnell Harris, a 6-foot-8, 210-pound forward from La Jolla Prep (Calif.), has verbally committed to Cleveland State, according to La Jolla Prep head coach Bobby Bossman's Twitter account.

A three-star recruit by ESPN, Rivals.com and Scout.com, Harris is rated the 29th-best small forward in the class of 2011 by ESPN.com.

Harris, a Milwaukee native, also considered Wichita State, Saint Louis, Florida International and Utah.

He joins center Malik London (Chillicothe, Ohio) and shooting guard Bryn Forbes (Lansing, Michigan) in CSU's 2012 class.

CSH's Darnell Harris recruiting profile

Photo courtesy of Rivals.com

Cleveland State releases 2011-12 men's basketball schedule

2011-09-07T19:31:00.035-04:00

The Bleacher Report - Cleveland State Releases 2011-12 Men's Basketball Schedule

Cleveland State's 2011-12 men's basketball schedule

Nov. 9, JOHN CARROLL (Exhibition), 7 p.m.
Nov. 13, at Vanderbilt^, 3 p.m., ESPNU
Nov. 15, RIO GRANDE, 7 p.m.
Nov. 18, ST. BONAVENTURE, 7 p.m.
Nov. 22, at Kent State, 7 p.m.

Ticket City Legends Classic (at Rhode Island)
Nov. 25, vs. Boston University^, 4:30 p.m.
Nov. 26, vs. Hofstra^, 1:30 p.m.
Nov. 27, at Rhode Island^, 2:30 p.m.

Dec. 1, at Wright State, TBA
Dec. 3, at Detroit, TBA
Dec. 8, at Robert Morris, 7 p.m.
Dec. 10, AKRON, 2 p.m.
Dec. 19, at South Florida, 7 p.m.
Dec. 22, SAM HOUSTON STATE, 7 p.m.
Dec. 28, at Toledo, 7 p.m.
Dec. 31, YOUNGSTOWN STATE, 2 p.m.

Jan. 5, UIC, 7 p.m.
Jan. 7, Loyola (IL), 2 p.m., HLN/GOTW
Jan. 13, at Butler, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Jan. 15, at Valparaiso, 2:35 p.m.
Jan. 20, Green Bay, TBA, ESPNU
Jan. 22, Milwaukee, 2 p.m.
Jan. 28, at Youngstown State, 7:05 p.m.

Feb. 3, at Loyola (IL), 9 p.m., ESPNU
Feb. 5, at UIC, TBA
Feb. 9, Valparaiso, 7 p.m.
Feb. 11 Butler, 11 a.m., ESPN/ESPN2
Feb. 14, at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
Feb. 18, BracketBusters, TBA
Feb. 21, at Green Bay, 8 p.m.
Feb. 23, Detroit, 7 p.m.
Feb. 25, Wright State, 2 p.m.

2012 Horizon League Championship
Feb. 28, First Round at Campus Sites, 7 p.m.

March 2, Second Round, Site TBA, TBA
March 3, Semifinals, Site TBA, TBA
March 6, Championship, Site TBA, TBA

^TicketCity Legends Classic

Cleveland State to appear six times on TV

2011-09-07T00:59:00.002-04:00

Cleveland State will have at least six games on television during the 2011-12 season

The Horizon League announced its TV schedule on Tuesday.

CSU will have at least five games on the ESPN Networks and make one appearance on the Horizon League Network's Game of the Week TV package.

Only Butler (15 games) and Detroit (8) have more TV appearances then the Vikings (6).

The following games will be televised on the ESPN family of networks: at Vanderbilt on Nov. 13 (ESPNU), at Butler on Jan. 13 (ESPNU or ESPN3), Green Bay on Jan. 20 (ESPNU or ESPN3), at Loyola-Chicago on Feb. 3 (ESPNU) and Butler on Feb. 11 (ESPN or ESPN2)

The Horizon League Network will also televise CSU’s home game against Loyola on Jan. 7 as its Game of the Week. The HLN Game of The Week is syndicated by the league with an affiliate in each conference city.

Schedule update: CSU Sports Information Director Greg Murphy posted on his Twitter account on Tuesday that the men's basketball schedule will be released on Wednesday.

The Bleacher Report: Cleveland State to Play in TicketCity Legends Classic

2011-08-24T21:53:00.071-04:00

Link

Jackson Signs with the New Zealand Breakers of the NBL

2011-08-12T21:26:00.012-04:00

Former Cleveland State standout Cedric Jackson is taking his basketball talents to the top professional league in Australia.

Jackson signed with the New Zealand Breakers of the National Basketball League on Friday.

"We look forward to Cedric coming in and finding his way into the group,'' Breakers head coach Andrej Lemanis said in a written statement. "As a point guard, he will be responsible for creating for his teammates, running the team and provide scoring as appropriate.''

Jackson had a brief stint in the NBA during the 2009-10 season and averaged 1.7 points and 1.2 assists in 12 games with Cleveland, San Antonio and Indiana.

He also has played in the NBA Development League and in Italy.

The Breakers won its first NBL championship last season.

Cleveland State to travel to Vanderbilt on Nov. 13

2011-08-10T23:19:00.007-04:00

Cleveland State will play at Vanderbilt on Nov. 13 in a preliminary round game of the TicketCity Legends Classic.

The Vikings will also face three other opponents to be named later in the subregional round of the Legends Classic.

CSU hasn't played Vanderbilt since the 1994-95 season. They are 0-1 all-time against the Commodores.

Cleveland State Lands Michigan Guard

2011-08-05T14:57:00.074-04:00

Bryn Forbes became the second member of Cleveland State's 2012 recruiting class.

The 6-3 shooting guard from Sexton High School in Lansing, Michigan committed to the Vikings on Wednesday.

"I felt real comfortable with the coaching staff and it just felt like a good fit.” Forbes told All Eyes on U Hoops. "After my second visit there I knew it was the right place for me, so I thought why wait."

Forbes is rated the No. 3 shooting guard in Michigan by Inside Prep Sports and the 80th-best shooting guard in the class of 2012 by ESPN.com

According to the Lansing State Journal, Forbes "expects to play point and shooting guard for the Vikings."

Forbes averaged 13.6 points a game as a junior. He also had offers from Oakland (Mich.), Eastern Michigan, Holy Cross and Hofstra, and also had a preferred walk-on offer from Michigan State.

He joins center Malik London (Chillicothe, Ohio) in CSU's class of 2012. London verbally committed to the Vikings on June 28.

CSH's Bryn Forbes profile

CSH's 2012 recruiting page

Photo courtesy of Inside Prep Sports

Press Release: Montgomery To Take Part in Global Sports Academy Summer Tour

2011-07-25T23:37:00.005-04:00

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland State senior guard Jeremy Montgomery will head to Europe in August for a seven-day tour with Global Sports Academy, the organization recently announced.

"I am extremely happy for Jeremy and this opportunity that awaits him," head coach Gary Waters said. "Jeremy is entering the most important season of his career and going on this trip is the first step to what I feel will be an outstanding senior season for him."

The GSA roster, which consists of 10 players, will play five games on the seven-day trip, while also taking in cultural experiences in Amsterdam, Bruges, Brussels and London.

The team will arrive in Brussels, Belgium on Aug. 10 and begin the competition schedule on Aug. 11 against BC Geel before it takes on Holland's U23 National Team (Aug. 12), Leiden 2 (Aug. 13) and Basics Melsele (Aug. 14). The fifth and final game will be played on Aug. 16 against an opponent yet to be determined.

Montgomery started all 36 games for the Vikings last season, helping the squad to the Horizon League title and the second round of the NIT.

He ranked third on the team in scoring (11.6), adding 2.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game in 31.1 minutes per contest.

Montgomery shot .327 (56-171) from three-point and will enter his senior season ranked fifth in school history with 151 three pointers. He is just 22 shy of taking over second place.

Montgomery will be joined on the GSA squad by Bill Luther (Pitt-Johnstown), Jordan Stasyszyn (Shippensburg), Will O'Neal (Indianapolis), Ashton Smith (Indiana, PA), Darius Theus (VCU), Troy Daniels (VCU), Travis Carroll (Purdue), Justin Manns (Kent State) and Josh Proctor (West Virginia Tech).

The team will be coached by Bill Brown of California University (Pa.).

Fans can follow the team's progress on Facebook (Global Sports Academy) and on Twitter (@GlobalSports_US).

Press release courtesy of Cleveland State Athletics

Press Release: Samba Johnson Named Director of Basketball Operations

2011-07-19T23:45:00.004-04:00

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Samba Johnson, who spent last season as a manager with the Cleveland State men's basketball program, has been named the Director of Basketball Operations.

"I am ecstatic to have Samba move into the role of Director of Operations," head coach Gary Waters said. "He is very familiar with our program having spent last season as a graduate manager and I believe he will add a great deal of experience to an already experienced staff.

"Samba has a great work ethic and knows what it takes to be successful. It has been a joy to watch him grow over this last year and I look forward to him continuing his commitment to the CSU family."

Johnson has more than 10 years of experience as a coach at the college level, most recently as an assistant women's coach at Stetson in 2008-09 where he was in charge of academic supervision.

Johnson began his coaching career as an assistant men's coach at McCook (Neb.) C.C. during the 1996-97 season.

He earned his first head coaching job the next year and spent three seasons (1997-00) at Penn State-New Kensington, winning back-to-back Penn State Commonwealth Campus West Division Coach of the Year awards. He was also the 1998-99 Western Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year.

After a year as the Director of Operations at Duquesne, Johnson spent the 2001-02 season as an assistant men's coach at Charleston, helping the program to the second round of the NCAA Division II tournament.

Johnson also has coaching stints at LaRoche College, Ohio, Casper College and Friends University.

As an assistant coach at Friends, Johnson helped the program to the 2008 KCAC tournament title and an appearance in the 2008 NAIA national tournament.

A 1996 graduate of Chaminade University, Johnson was a Second Team All-Pac West Conference selection as a senior. Prior to attending Chaminade, Johnson played two seasons at Robert Morris (1992-94).

He earned a Bachelor's of Business Administration from Chaminade in 1996.

Press Release courtesy of Cleveland State Athletics

Cleveland State Lands First Recruit in 2012

2011-06-28T21:50:00.071-04:00

Malik London is headed to Cleveland State.

The 6-foot-8, 200-pound center from Chillicothe High School committed to the Vikings on Wednesday via his Twitter account.

"Its official I'm a Viking."

"(Cleveland State coach Gary Waters) is more like family to me," London told the Chillicothe Gazette. "I'm excited about going there because they have had great years, and they'll just keep getting better. It really feels right at Cleveland State. They are on the rise, and I think we're just going to continue to get better with the group they have."

A two-star recruit by ESPN and Scout.com, London is rated the 67th-best power forward in the class of 2012 by ESPN. He averaged 11 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocked shots a game as a junior.

London also received recruiting interest from numerous schools in the Mid-American Conference as well as Xavier, Cincinnati, Dayton, and others.

According to ESPN's Evaluation, London "is a fantastic defensive player (and) he is one of the better shotblockers in the country. He is very raw offensively (and) his range is inside 10 feet and is mostly dunks and put backs in the paint.

"He is a great prospect with a solid upside (and) his best basketball is definitely ahead of him."

London is the first recruit in CSU's class of 2012.

Malik London photo courtesy of Rivals.com