By Marisol Nicholson

1 25 2024

Game 21 – Wright State vs. Cleveland State
Cleveland State Game Notes| Wright State Game Notes

Wolstein Center
7:00 p.m. 

All-Time vs. Wright State: 39-44
Last Meeting: 1/4/24 82-70 L
Tickets: csuvikings.com
Radio: WTAM 1100 AM
Play-By-Play: Al Pawlowski, Pat Vuyancih, Ed Daugherty(Host)
TV: ESPN+
Play-By-Play: Al Pawlowski, Pat Vuyancih

SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State Men’s Basketball team continues a three-game homestand with a Thursday night matchup against Wright State. The Vikings defeated Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday which marked the 18th straight home victory for CSU. Wright State is also 5-4 in the Horizon League coming into Thursday night’s game. The Raiders have won three of five since the two teams met for the first time in Dayton on January 4th. To commemorate the 18-game home win streak, Cleveland State Athletics is launching an 18-hour flash sale where fans can purchase two sideline tickets for just $18. The sale begins at midnight on the day of the game. Click HERE to purchase.

THE CLEVELAND STATE/WRIGHT STATE SERIES
Thursday’s game marks the 84th all-time meeting between Cleveland State and Wright State. The Vikings have won four of the last five meetings, but Wright State halted a four-game Cleveland State win streak in the last meeting in Dayton on January 4th. The Raiders defeated the Vikings 82-70 at the Nutter Center behind three players in double figures, led by Brandon Noel with 24 points. Tae Williams and Chase Robinson finished with 15 points apiece for the Vikings in the first matchup.

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.

SCOUTING THE RAIDERS
Wright State is 10-10 on the season and 5-4 in Horizon League play entering Thursday night’s game. The Raiders defeated the Vikings 82-70 in Dayton the first time the two teams met on January 4. Wright State is 3-2 in the five games since that first meeting, earning league wins over Purdue Fort Wayne, Robert Morris and Milwaukee. Preseason Horizon League Player of the Year Trey Calvin leads the way for WSU, Calvin ranks fifth in the league in scoring in conference games with 17.1 points per game. Scott Nagy is in his 10th season in charge of the program and has over 500 wins in his coaching career.

HOME SWEET HOME
Cleveland State has made a habit of protecting its home court throughout the last two seasons. The Vikings have won 18 consecutive games in Cleveland, a streak that dates back a full calendar year to January 7, 2023. The Vikings are a perfect 10-0 at home this season and have a 23-3 overall record in Cleveland in the Daniyal Robinson era. This streak currently ranks as the second-longest active home winning streak in the country. Virginia owns the longest active streak, currently at 20 consecutive home wins.

ANATOMY OF THE WIN STREAK
Through the 18-game home winning streak, Cleveland State is averaging 78.3 points per game. The Vikings are outscoring opponents by an average of 10.5 points per game. Cleveland State averages 37.5 rebounds per game in the streak, out-rebounding visiting opponents by an average of three rebounds per contest. Tristan Enaruna is averaging 17.7 points per game total in the streak to lead all scorers. Drew Lowder averages 13 points per game and Tae Williams has tallied 11 points per contest. In the ten home wins during the 2023-24 season, Jayson Woodrich joins the original trio as the fourth Viking in double figures, averaging 10.1 points per game in home contests this season. Of the 18 straight wins, two have come in overtme: last year’s Horizon League Tournament Quarterfinal game against Robert Morris, most recently against Northern Kentucky on January 7th.

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.

CLEVELAND STATE EARNS FIRST ROAD WIN OF THE SEASON AT BRADLEY
Cleveland State defeated Bradley on Friday night by a final score of 76-69 to earn the first road victory of the 2023-24 season. Drew Lowder and Tristan Enaruna combined for 49 points in leading the Vikings to a come-from-behind win over the Braves. Cleveland State trailed by five with under four minutes remaining before catching fire, posting a 12-0 run in the game’s final minutes to seize control and earn the victory. Enaruna and Lowder combined for all 12 points in the scoring run, with each tallying a key three-pointer in the outburst. The game was close throughout with neither team holding more than a seven-point advantage.

GOING TO THE OFFENSIVE GLASS
Through the early going of the Horizon League season, the Vikings have been one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the conference. Cleveland State is third in the league with 13 offensive rebounds per contest.

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 concludes its three-game homestand with a matchup against Robert Morris on Sunday afternoon. The game is scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. tip from the Wolstein Center. Sunday’s game will feature a “Tropic Like It’s Hot” theme, with a bucket hat giveaway. Fans will also have the chance to participate in a postgame autograph session with the men’s basketball team.

COURTESY CLEVELAND STATE ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS