Four years ago, Cleveland State’s Esports program was formed and had about 20 athletes competing in five games. Now, esports has grown to about 45 individuals in the varsity program and over 100 people in the club portion.

With the growth at CSU (and worldwide) of esports, the HoriZone Roundtable spoke with the Director of Esports at Cleveland State, PJ Farrell, to get the rundown on the ins and outs.

Ready Player One?

CSU’s program was initially a part of the athletic department and competed in five different games: VALORANT, Overwatch, Rocket League, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and League of Legends.

With numerous students who play each game, one might wonder how they practice for events. 

“Our Smash Ultimate team will go to local events a couple days a week. There’s an event in Brunswick every Tuesday that happens for Smash Ultimate [where] a lot of professional players go.”

Each game has other people helping coach (some are even just the students), but VALORANT had some extra help recently. 

“For our VALORANT team, they have not had a coach traditionally, but we did hire somebody from a Tier-2 organization that came and watched us online and we gave them a little bit of a fee for just helping us last month or so.”

Overall, there are a lot of ways they prepare but each game has unique challenges. “We kind of prepare them for the tournaments but most of the time they just “scrim” [scrimmage] online. They find scrims online against other schools who are Tier-2 organizations that are also trying to make it professionally.”

Level Up

With the growing interest around campus and the growing community around the world, Farrell expanded the game lineup this year. 

“We have a lot of people on campus that are really interested in what we’re trying to do. We added another game this year. We added Street Fighter: 6. [It’s a] traditional fighter game and I know there’s a lot of interest in the community for that as well and a lot of the colleges are starting to pick up on it.”

The program has continued to expand not just in size and games, but also in talent. Better talents contributed heavily to the accolades CSU has started to gather.

“I think last year was probably our best recruiting year we’ve ever had. We brought in three freshmen for our VALORANT team[.] We also brought in a couple really good Smash Ultimate players last year and then this year was the year that we knew it was like the beginning of our window because those kids now have a year’s experience under their belt.” 

With younger players, as in any sport, the actual events can have added pressure as opposed to practices. “When you get to be in person and you get to be on stage and people are going crazy, for new people that are young, sometimes that can be very shocking so I think this year they had that experience. We tried to take them to some different trips so they could kind of get the jitters out and they came to play this year.”

“GG” (Good Game)

Not only is esports growing on campus, they’re also winning outside campus. CSU competes in the Great Lakes Esports Conference (GLEC) which includes teams from Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio. Farrell noted that Cleveland State is the only D-I school in the conference.

“What we find is that a lot of the D-II, D-III schools are the ones that are putting more money into esports programs, so the smaller[,] lower conferences are actually some of the better ones that are out there.”

Competing last year, CSU pulled out a great win against a powerhouse in Smash Ultimate. “Last year was our first year taking it to Manchester [University]. They were our big rivals in the Smash community and so we ended up beating them in a really close set for our very first conference win last year.”

This season saw CSU repeat as Manchester was knocked out in an earlier round. “[Manchester] lost to Illinois Wesleyan [University] and then we competed against Illinois Wesleyan, and we won 3-0 against them in the grand finals.”

In VALORANT, CSU also took down Tiffin University and got a bid in Texas at the CECC Nationals. “That was a big win for us. We were 0-5 against them the last few years. Their team was just really, really good.”

Each semester the GLEC selects three games to compete in, and CSU won two out of the three. “We are one of the first teams in the conference to win multiple game titles in the same season, so that was pretty cool for us.”

“Both teams really were dead set on trying to win the conference and take down these kinda juggernaut teams that have won the last few years, and so this was kind of their moment. This was their year for it.”

Continue?

With an established footprint at CSU, the future for esports is bright. They are connected to the Washkewicz College of Engineering and no longer with the athletic department.

Moving forward, Farrell wants to get even more of the campus involved. “I would love for people to know how they can get involved because we are like a mini athletic department within ourselves.”

“It would be really great if we had people on campus that could help us by just joining our club program or they can add by helping coach, running our website or our social media, or just participating and trying out for our varsity program.”

In the short term, Farrell wants to expand not just the number of people involved but also the space they have. He wants this larger space to contribute not only to the varsity program but the fun club experience. “You don’t have to play varsity. You can just have fun and just enjoy video games.”

In short, check out the program. It’s got plenty for everyone. “We would love for more people on campus just to recognize what we bring to the university itself and that there’s just so many different ways to get involved in how it can help you in your careers.”

Originally published by the HoriZone Roundtable. Republished here with permission.

The post CSU’s Director of Esports on the Growth of the University’s Varsity Team, Club Program appeared first on Cleveland Scene.

CSU (3-6) completely tripped coming out of the starting gate to begin Horizon League play, but there are some explainable reasons. 

Injuries, illness, and a brand-new team all contributed to two lackluster games to begin conference play.

Away Game at Northern Kentucky (6-2) on December 3rd

With Josiah Harris still out and Dayan Nessah out with an illness, the Vikings were down two of their starters yet again. A lineup of Tre Beard, David Giddens, Jaidon Lipscomb, Priest Ryan, and Holden Pierre-Louis took the floor instead.

The Norse came out hot. They hit their first four threes and, combined with a few turnovers and fouls, the Vikings were already on their heels. After just five minutes, CSU was down 16-5 and looking for answers on offense and defense. 

A fast break layup by Ryan slowed the ascent of NKU as the Vikings scored seven straight points to cut the deficit to four. Another Norse three (three seconds after a Beard three) put it back up to seven but the Vikings were at least back in the game. 

NKU stretched the lead to ten a few times and never let the Vikings get the score within a few possessions before a pair of free throws and a basket put the lead up to 14.

Both teams traded points down the stretch (including Lipscomb draining all three free throws after being fouled), but the 14-point lead would hold going into the locker room. NKU 47-CSU 33.

A different Vikings team came out to start the half. A 14-2 run by the Vikings had the game within a single possession within 3 and a half minutes. This run was punctuated by eight points by Giddens. 

Just over two minutes later, Lipscomb sank three free throws again and suddenly the Vikings were leading by one. Alas, the Norse quickly tied it up and then took the lead on their own free throws.

CSU continued to match NKU until the 10-minute mark. A three, a steal, a dunk, and two free throws (due to a technical foul) had the deficit back up to ten and the Vikings had run out of gas. 

A 15-1 run put the game out of reach at 77-60. CSU had one last push with under two minutes to go and cut the lead back to seven, but the Norse made the free throws they needed to and the Vikings were unable to score again. 

NKU scored the last eight points to win 95-80.

Key Takeaways:

1. Obviously being without two starters is going to be difficult, but a bright spot the last few games has been Lipscomb. He led the way for the Vikings with 23 points (14-for-15 at the foul line). He needs to continue to be more careful with the ball (four turnovers to only one assist), but his ability to score is starting to peek through.
2. Tre Beard is one of the best three-point shooters CSU has ever had. He went 6-for-8 from three and finished with 20 points. Getting him back from injury was huge for the offense. After the Northern Kentucky game, head coach Rob Summers mentioned how other teams are starting to play Beard closer. “He’s wearing himself out a little bit because people are sitting in double teams and triple teams and I would do the same thing.”
3. Overall, the Vikings’ good three-point shooting finally showed its face. They went 14-for-25 in the game (56%!). They only shot 45.8% overall, so they shot considerably better from three. Giddens was a huge part, going 4-for-5.
4. New game, same issue. CSU lost the battle in the paint 40 points to 16. Even with their great shooting from deep, this discrepancy was impossible to overcome. 
5. On top of the issues in the paint, the Vikings lost the turnover battle as well. They finished with 20 (on which the Norse scored 26 points) and Northern Kentucky had 14 (on which the Vikings scored 16 points). Every starter had at least two turnovers. You can’t win if you can’t take care of the ball. This disparity plus having less rebounds led to the Norse getting 13 more shots on the game, which led to more points.

Home Game Against Detroit Mercy on December 6th

With everyone finally healthy, the Vikings started a different starting five of Lipscomb, Beard, Nessah, Ryan, and Pierre-Louis. 

Right from the start, CSU looked better offensively as Nessah started the scoring after a steal with a quick basket.

Ryan added a two and then a three (his first of the season) before Harris added a three of his own after coming off the bench. The first six minutes of the game saw barely any whistles, and the under-eight minute timeout didn’t occur until the 14:11 mark. By then, the Vikings held a slim 12-9 lead. 

A Beard three would be the only scoring before the second media timeout as the Vikings saw themselves ahead 15-9. This was when things started to take a bad turn for CSU. 

An 8-1 run by the Titans saw them jump out to a 17-16 lead right at the nine-minute mark, and the Vikings had completely stalled on offense.

Both teams had scored only 19 points by the under-eight minute timeout and the Vikings were stuck looking for answers. 

Although CSU was winning the battle on the boards, Detroit Mercy was running and getting to the basket much more often than CSU. Another Titan run had the score at 28-22 with under four minutes to go in the half. 

CSU closed this gap to three points with a few seconds to go in half but a long outlet pass and layup by Orlando Lovejoy gave the Titans a 36-31 lead at halftime.

A quick basket by Lipscomb to start the half got the deficit back to three, but former Viking Tyler Spratt equaled the bucket with his own. Another Lovejoy bucket followed by TJ Nadeau’s millionth three of the game suddenly had the gap up to ten points. 

Beard continued his good shooting this season with a three but the Titans hit another from deep and kept piling it on. 

Harris followed this up with a classic three-point play and Emery hit a true three-pointer, but the Vikings were not able to capitalize on the Titans slowing down on offense. 

For four minutes, Detroit Mercy didn’t score a point, but the Vikings only scored on the Emery three. Within that time Harris came down awkwardly on his ankle again, but he returned later. 

Turnovers by the Vikings and good shooting by the Titans created an insurmountable lead for Detroit Mercy that peaked at 18 points with about seven minutes to go. 

At this point, with almost no hope of winning left, the Vikings started to play fast and confident. They actually got the deficit down to seven with three minutes to go, but the comeback wasn’t enough. 

The final score sat at 71-59 and the Vikings dropped to 0-2 in the Horizon League.

Key Takeaways:

1. 59 points is not going to win a ton of games with the way the Vikings defend. They were outscored 32-18 in the paint and just can’t seem to stop teams from getting inside while also being unable to get inside themselves.
2. CSU and Detroit Mercy both put up 58 shots, but they were very different shots. The Vikings missed a lot of close range shots while also having long possessions and rushed shots throughout most of the 20 minutes in the middle of the game. They need to be more confident and take open shots earlier in the shot clock. Summers thinks this is definitely possible. “Sometimes we are just really focusing on one or two dribbles and getting off of it,” he remarked.
3. Ryan finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds (seven offensive). He continues to shine since the Harris injury. He only committed one foul, but had four turnovers. He needs to clean up some stuff, but overall, he’s been a key piece of the team lately. “He could be somebody that’s a focal point for helping our team kind of stay together,” Summers said. 
4. Injuries and sickness have ravaged the team so far. Harris went 2-for-11 and Nessah was 1-for-7. The Vikings need both to perform to win, so both coming back and clearly having to shake off some rust wasn’t fun. “I think it’s tough[…] to get Jo Jo [Harris] and [Nessah]  back and get them back in the rhythm,” mentioned Summers.
5. The way the Vikings played when they got down by 18 is the way they need to play all game. They were decisive and unscared. They made passes and put up shots. They need to be unafraid to make mistakes. Right now, they are playing like every possession is too important. “We just let different things affect us on different sides of the ball, and I’m just trying to get them to have quick, short-term memories. You know, be a goldfish.” The Horizon League will not have any cakewalk games. Summers briefly spoke about this post-game as well. “That’s the part about it. The parity is unbelievable. Anybody can lose and anybody can win every single game.”

Next up for the Vikings:

CSU (3-8, 0-2 Horizon League) plays NAIA Oakland City University at Woodling Gymnasium next Sunday at 2 PM.  

Originally published by the HoriZone Roundtable. Republished here with permission.

The post CSU Falters to Start the Conference Season appeared first on Cleveland Scene.

It was less than two years ago that Tristan Enaruna hit a jumper off one foot to send the Cleveland State Vikings to the quarterfinals of the College Basketball Invitational (CBI). Now, Enaruna is firmly set in the starting lineup for the G-League Cleveland Charge and has many people talking.

Just like his college career, his professional career didn’t start in Cleveland, but he’s getting his footing in the same town where he dominated as a Viking for two years.

The HoriZone Roundtable spoke with Enaruna after a Charge practice to see how everything was progressing.

From The Lands to The Land

Enaruna hails from Almere, Flevoland, Neatherlands. He played for the Almere Pioneers, Apollo Amsterdam, and then at Wasath Academy in Utah. 

A four-star recruit, Enaruna ended up committing to Kansas for the 2018-19 season. In his two seasons with the Jayhawks, he played in 55 games for an average of about ten minutes per game and scored about two and a half points per game (PPG). 

After these underwhelming first two years, he transferred to another Big 12 school, Iowa State. He averaged 14.4 minutes and 4.3 PPG in his one year there before his college career turned around.

Following the news that Iowa State assistant coach Daniyal Robinson was being hired as the CSU head coach, Enaruna followed him eastward. It was a match made in heaven from the start. “I almost want to say he saved my career,” Enaruna said. “I was mentally in a tough spot. I always dreamed of playing in the NBA, and then kind of going through my first three years of college that dream kind of felt like it was getting more and more distant.”

Enaruna started 70 games over the next two years for the Vikings and averaged 17.6 PPG, 6.5 rebounds per game (RPG), 2 assists per game (APG), and a block per game (BPG) while playing almost 33 minutes a game. 

“Obviously, I met [Robinson] at Iowa State, and he brought me to[…] Cleveland State, and […] that dream came back to life,” added Enaruna.

On a team with a new coach and a lot of new players, Enaruna established himself as a force in the conference. Both years saw him land on the All-Horizon Team, plus he made the All-Horizon Tournament Team in 2023. His career player efficiency rating is the third best all-time in the conference at 25.16. 

Despite only playing two years for CSU, his name is splattered across career and season leaderboards for the school and conference. His impact might not have always been flashy, but it was always there.

His game-winner in the CBI is probably his signature moment for fans, but he had plenty of great plays.

Thinking back to that shot, Enaruna had a lot to say. “We were tied, and we drew up that play designed for me to get the ball. It went a little bit off track. I caught it in a different space than I was supposed to, but I caught the ball and knew there wasn’t a lot of time left, so as soon as I got the space, ‘rise up and shoot it.’ I did, and it went in. It felt good, because obviously [in the] CBI, if you get eliminated, you’re done…your season is done. I think knowing that it was my last year in college, I just wanted to extend it as much as I could, and obviously helping [by] making that shot and giving us an extra game to play[…] felt great.”

The Main(e) Man Goes North

Although there was a small chance he was going to be drafted, the more likely situation of being signed after the draft happened for Enaruna. Following the 2024 draft, the Boston Celtics signed him to come to the Summer League and he eventually ended up playing last season with the G-League Maine Celtics.

Enaruna played in 49 games last season (22 starts) in the Tip-Off Tournament, Regular Season, and Playoffs. He averaged just over 11 PPG but never found his footing completely. He averaged over 30 minutes a game but the Celtics had a few other guys who were taking a lot of shots (J. D. Davison took almost 20 shots a game).

Enaruna did show some promise with a few 20-point games (including a 26-point game against the Charge) and three games with 13 rebounds. In the G-League, where the game plan seems to be to get up a shot as soon as you get the ball, his skill set was sometimes a bit lost in the shuffle.

With not much buzz around him at the end of the season, Enaruna was invited by the Cleveland Cavaliers to play in the NBA Summer League and things started to look up.

There’s No Place Like CLE, There’s No Place Like CLE, There’s No Place Like CLE

In five games with the Cavs Summer League team, Enaruna put up 13.2 PPG and 3.4 RPG in 24.4 minutes a game. He started to turn some heads with his ability to play basically every position and get blocks, steals, and assists on top of his scoring.

Impressed by his Summer League time, the Cavs traded for Enaruna’s rights in a three-team trade with the Celtics and Iowa Wolves. Back in Cleveland, he has seen extended playing time and a clear improvement from last season.

Going into the game Sunday, Enaruna is averaging 18.8 PPG while starting all nine games so far in the Tip-Off Tournament. He’s also averaging 5.6 RPG and almost two APG. He’s been in double figures every game but one and scored 29 points while making four threes in a game. 

“I think the biggest difference going into year two is [I’m] familiar with the league[,] the style of play [,and] the competition level,” mentioned Enaruna.

Showcasing his myriad talents, he had a game with four steals and another with 11 boards. He plays defense against anyone (including Victor Oladipo attempting to get back to the NBA) and is definitely turning some heads in Cleveland. 

“I think that’s the funny thing about the G-League. Sometimes, some nights you would just play against somebody that has great NBA experience. Like, [Oladipo] was an All-Star caliber player.”

Enaruna is currently third on the team in scoring, though his field goal percentage is above the two in front of him, and is fourth in RPG. He’s averaging 32.5 minutes a game and has turned into part of the core for the Charge.

Viking, Celtic, Charge, Cavalier?

Now that Enaruna has established himself as a good G-League player, the only step left is the NBA. Though numerous outlets reported Enaruna was possibly up for a two-way contract before the season, the Cavs went other ways. 

If he keeps playing the way he is, some team is going to give him a shot in the highest league. A perfect in-between player, he would fit in great with many benches. 

Right now, the NBA is still just a dream for Enaruna, but it’s clear that he’s more than capable of competing with anyone. 

“I came into Cleveland State kind of not knowing how to fit in, where to fit in. I came from a tough time at Iowa State, struggling, trying to find myself on the court and so I got to clean the slate, and I kind of learned to adapt with the help of a great coaching staff and great teammates. I figured out a way to navigate the unknown [and] find myself.”

For now Enaruna is happy playing for the Charge and visiting his old Cleveland hangouts. When asked what’s one of the places he’s happy to be able to visit again, Enaruna said The Fruit Stand on Euclid Ave for their açaí bowls.

Although Enaruna has played at the Wolstein Center and Public Auditorium, one might see him at Rocket Arena soon (hopefully in Wine and Gold).

Originally published by the HoriZone Roundtable. Republished here with permission.

The post Former CSU Viking Tristan Enaruna is Making His Mark With the Cleveland Charge  appeared first on Cleveland Scene.

With head coach Daniyal Robinson headed for North Texas, the Vikings find themselves back on the coaching carousel. Three years ago, Dennis Gates took his talents (and most of the players) to Missouri. Robinson came in with a bare bones roster and one of his guys from Iowa State. 

With expectations fairly (understandably) low at the start, Robinson leaves CSU with three-straight 20-win seasons plus the most wins by a CSU coach in their first three seasons (65). 

The time for Robinson with the Vikings can be divided into two main “eras.” These eras can be referred to as “Tristan Enaruna” and “Post-Enaruna.” With expectations at the beginning of each just as low (and a roster just as new), the Vikings exceeded expectations both times.

Enaruna Era (2022-24)

With only four remaining guys on the team (which is better than when Gates took over at least), Robinson had to build the roster from the ground up. 

Yahel Hill, Deshon Parker, Deante “Spider” Johnson, and Jayson Woodrich all returned but they accounted for only 23.2 points per game (PPG) total the previous year. The departures of Tre Gomillion (10.5 PPG) and D’Moi Hodge (15.4 PPG) to Missouri were the biggest hurdles to get over. 

In stepped Enaruna, Tae Williams, and Drew Lowder plus freshman Dylan Arnett. These four would turn into some of the most impactful players for the Robinson-led Vikings over the next three years.

Enaruna was obviously the stand-out but coming into the season he was unproven. He was a top recruit previously but while playing at Kansas (two years) and Iowa State (one year), he only averaged 2.4, 2.8, and 4.3 PPG.

Tae Williams and Drew Lowder took a different route by transferring from non-DI schools and overall the team seemed to be a bit eclectic. It was anyone’s guess how it was all going to work together.

With no real expectations, the Robinson and Enaruna era somehow still started off with a surprise thud. Losing your first real game of the season is one thing. Losing to a D-II school that no longer exists is something entirely different. 

After defeating Baldwin-Wallace in an exhibition game, CSU dropped their opener to (since closed) Notre Dame College 72-68. There was little to be happy about but the small good signs were there even in such a bad loss. Enaruna finished with 20 points and 11 boards while Parker dished out 11 assists.

After dropping two more non-conference games, the Vikings finally got a win against Canisius in a game where they made no threes (0-5). Enaruna put up another double-double and the Vikings started to get on a roll. They won six in a row and the offense started to find some rhythm behind their NBA-talented forward.

By the end of the season, the Vikings found themselves tied in the regular season for second in the conference at 14-6 (19-12 overall). They defeated Robert Morris in overtime and then Milwaukee to get a spot in the Horizon League Championship before falling to Northern Kentucky 63-61.

This close loss to end their Horizon League Tournament chances would be a common theme for Robinson. Another common theme was postseason play in the CBI. This first year they fell to Eastern Kentucky 91-75 in overtime (getting out-scored 17-1 in OT).

The Vikings had continued the trajectory Gates started by winning over 20 games again and a few players had made large strides. Enaruna averaged 15.6 PPG and 6.5 rebounds per game (RPG). Williams finished at 11.1 PPG and 6 RPG with Lowder and Parker just under 10 PPG. Parker added just over four assists per game (APG) as well. 

The Vikings had some clear strengths and weaknesses this first season as they shot the most two-pointers in the conference, shot the tenth most threes, and had the third most steals. They protected the ball and played tough defense. Some close games were decided at the free throw line where the Vikings shot an atrocious 68.2% during conference play.

Going into the second year, Robinson kept most of the team around. The core of Enaruna, Williams, and Lowder was joined by transfers Tevin Smith and KJ Debrick as well as a Chase Robinson (who had red-shirted the previous year).

The highlight of the beginning of this season was a win against Ohio University (82-78). Despite this win, the Vikings could never truly find their way the rest of the year. They were blown out by Youngstown State in their first conference game (94-69) and could not beat the top teams in the conference.

The Vikings finished the regular season tied for 7th place (11-9, 18-13 overall) in the conference and had to host a first-round tournament game. They won but that meant they needed to travel to Youngstown State for the second round. 

Added to this challenge was Enaruna would be out with injury for the game. The Vikings somehow pulled out a win to get back to Indianapolis for the semi-finals. Chase Robinson led the Vikings with 20 points as Smith, Lowder, and Williams all were also in double-figures. Arnett grabbed a crazy 12 boards.

Enaruna returned for the next game against Oakland but CSU had their Horizon League Tournament cut short again with another close loss (74-71). They once again made their way to the CBI and this time they defeated Northern Colorado in the first round on a buzzer-beater by Enaruna. They then fell to CBI runner-up High Point.

Their stats for the second season were essentially the same as the first. They shot 69.4% from the line in conference play and shot a lot of two-pointers. They only averaged 9.1 turnovers in conference play and their PPG and opponent PPG were in the middle of the conference.

Enaruna upped his numbers to 19.6 PPG and 6.5 RPG as Williams and Lowder were both above 10 PPG again. Arnett was almost at five RPG as the only true big man on the team once Debrick went down with a leg injury. The team had a tough time after his injury and after two seasons, the Vikings had two CBI appearances but no conference titles, conference tournament titles, or NCAA berths.

And now Enaruna was gone to the Maine Celtics. And Williams was gone. And Lowder was gone. And Woodrich…was on Oakland?

Post-Enaruna Era:

With essentially the entire offense gone, it was up to Smith, Arnett, and Chase Robinson to pick up the slack. Transfers Ebrima Dibba, Tahj Staveskie, and Isaac Abidde were brought in along with freshmen Je’Shawn Stevenson and Daniyal’s son Reece Robinson.

It was another year where things looked to not be in great shape but the Vikings decided to go on a 13-game winning streak and shock the conference and most of the country. 

After starting the season 4-6, the Vikings won 13 games from December 7th to January 30th. They had a commanding lead in the conference and everyone was ready to give them their best shot. Staveskie and Smith were the main scorers with Arnett being the middle of the offense and defense. Dibba and Chase Robinson proved to be a perfect pair of ball-handlers to run the offense.

Then the bottom fell out. A 3-5 record in February saw the Vikings fall from first place and a close loss in the semi-finals (56-54) of the conference tournament saw the Vikings out again. Three straight one-score losses in the tournament and three straight CBI berths.

This CBI proved to be the best as the Vikings advanced to the championship game before falling to Illinois State 79-68.

In all, this looked like a good stepping stone year for the team. Staveskie showed he was an elite scoring threat, Arnett progressed into a better player on both ends of the floor, and Stevenson had an amazing freshman season (winning Freshman of the Year). With Reece Robinson also making the All-Freshman team, the Vikings looked to build off the success next season.

From a full team aspect, the free throw shooting got slightly better (71% in conference play) but overall they were the same type of team. They shot a lot of two-pointers and played defense well to create turnovers.

So where does all this leave CSU? In the portal age, who knows who is around next year. With Smith, Chase Robinson, and Dibba graduating already, will anyone be around for 2025-26?

To help see this all, let’s break down Robinson’s tenure into three arbitrary categories: best games, worst games, most fun games.

Best Games:

1. 2024 Horizon League Tournament win against YSU: Mentioned above as the game Enaruna was out for, this proved how well the team worked together.
2. 2025 CBI win over Florida Gulf Coast University: This win put the Vikings into the CBI championship.
3. 2023 win over OU: Something that was once thought impossible.

Worst Games:

1. 2022 loss to D-II Notre Dame College: See above
2. Back-to-back 2025 home losses to RMU and YSU: These continued the tumble from first place.
3. 2024 loss to Morehead State: This game as part of the Viking Invitational in Woodling Gym saw the Vikings mount a serious comeback in the second half but fall just short. The offensive shortcomings of the team were on full-display in the first half.

Most Fun Games:

1. The Best Game was also the Most Fun Game: 2024 conference tournament win against YSU without Enaruna.
2. Spring 2024 buzzer-beater win in the CBI: see above.
3. Fall 2024 win over Valpo: Beating a former conference opponent is always fun.

Robinson leaned on his guys to play tough defense and get turnovers but his teams never shot particularly well (especially from three) and there were always stretches where they couldn’t score (especially at the end of games). He proved he could win without Enaruna but he never proved he could win the big games. Robinson leaves the program in similar shape to when he arrived but they never were able to get over the finish line.

Daniyal Robinson leaves after three good years but does that matter in these times of college basketball? Will anyone stay? Will this six-year run by CSU just be a blip? Who will be the new coach? Well for that last question, read what Bob has to say here.

For the rest, CSU has some great regular seasons to look back on but not much else. Sure, diehards watched the CBI, but that doesn’t excite a local fanbase that is largely apathetic to the school. Until the school can have sustained success in the postseason and get a few NCAA berths, you’ll continue to see more Scarlet and Gray in Downtown Cleveland than Green and White.

The post Dissecting Daniyal Robinson’s CSU Tenure and Departure appeared first on Cleveland Scene.

Cleveland State may not have made the NCAA Tournament or the NIT, but for the third season in the row they flew down to Daytona for the College Basketball Invitational (CBI). 

Building on the last two seasons in the CBI, they finished as the runner-up in the tournament this season. After a bye in the first round, they won two good games before falling short in the finale against Illinois State.

By winning two games in the CBI, head coach Daniyal Robinson won his 64th and 65th games. These wins give Robinson the record for the most wins in the first three seasons for a CSU head coach. He surpassed Kevin Mackey (of 1986 Sweet 16 fame).

These games can each be broken down into who was the best player for CSU each game. Tahj Staveskie, Je’Shawn Stevenson, and Tevin Smith are those three players.

The Staveskie Game:

The Vikings started off their CBI run with an excellent win against Queens. Staveskie was the story of the day as he went crazy for 29 points on 10 of 14 shooting from the field. 

Staveskie was four for seven from deep and five for five at the line. He added four assists and a pair of rebounds as well. 

Lost a bit in the shuffle due to Staveskie’s game, Dylan Arnett put up 20 points and six boards. The two of them combined for 49 of the 88 points for the Vikings as they won going away by 15. 

After jumping out to a 9-0 and then 13-2 lead, the Vikings never were in any real trouble. At half they were up by 17 and the final 20 minutes just seemed like an unnecessary formality.

CSU led by 23 at one point and most of this was due to their 52 points scored in the paint. Queens stayed (or better “didn’t fall behind by even more”) in the game because they shot 34 free throws (23 makes), but this wasn’t a very competitive game. 

Staveskie showed how important he is to the CSU offense and put on a show. A 14-6 run at the end by Queens couldn’t really close the gap at all and the Vikings moved on to face Florida Gulf Coast University.

The Stevenson Game:

Next up for the Vikings was FGCU but this wasn’t Dunk City from back in the day. Either way, this game would prove to be a much taller task for the Vikings compared to Queens.

Arnett started the scoring with a long bank shot but the Vikings found themselves down for the first time in the tournament 4-2. Shortly after, an Abidde three put the Vikings back on top 7-4 and it looked like CSU might run away with the game again.

A Reece Robinson three put the Vikings up 18-14 but a 4-0 run by FGCU tied the game again. Between an unfathomable amount of free throws plus a missed 10-second violation (by both the referees and the announcers), the game went back-and-forth for the rest of the half. 

An Abidde three as the half ended put the Vikings up 36-29. At the half, Abidde had six points and five boards and no fouls (a unique game for him). Staveskie was playing well again with ten points. The Vikings also had five blocks (one by five separate guys). 

FGCU came out looking to win as they took the lead briefly in the second half before the score was tied at 41 at the first media timeout. 

Stevenson converted on a pair of three-point plays in the second half to start his (and the Vikings’) surge. 

Another beautiful play for the Vikings was a Euro step by Smith for two. A Franklin three put the Vikings up three but this game was too crazy and a 7-0 run put FGCU right back on top. 

Stevenson hit a three to tie the game again before Smith and Staveskie closed out the game with a slew of buckets. 

FGCU split a pair of free throws and committed an offensive foul in the waning seconds of the game as the Vikings escaped with a 72-65 win.

Stevenson finished with 17 points including 8-8 at the line. Staveskie added 16 points. Every time the Vikings needed a basket, Stevenson provided the score. The freshman helped lead the Vikings to their final game of the season against Illinois State for the CBI Championship.

The Smith Game:

The Redbirds and the Vikings both had very similar paths to the championship game and for the first 15 minutes it looked like the game was going to come down to a possession or two. 

The score went back-and-forth for about eight minutes until CSU grabbed a four-point lead. This slight lead was followed by the Redbirds grabbing a six then eight then nine-point lead to end the half. 

CSU could not consistently get stops and the Redbirds consistently shot well and got wide-open cuts to the basket. There were multiple times that Illinois State made a short bucket with no Vikings within five feet of the basket.

CSU was only able to shoot 48% from the field in the half as Illinois State shot a blistering 62.5%. The Redbirds also hit six threes to the Vikings’ two.

The second half was more of the same as the Vikings were unable to stop an offensive onslaught by the Redbirds (specifically Caden Boser who went 7-7 for 20 points and was 4-4 from deep). 

Numerous times the Vikings got within a few points but the Redbirds hit every important three and just enough foul shots to close it out. 

Illinois State hit another five threes in the second half (CSU hit 3 of the 14 they took) and closed it out with consistent play up and down the roster. 

The Redbirds had five players finish in double figures…but so did the Vikings. Smith was the high scorer with 16 and he finished some great baskets to almost will the Vikings back into the game. 

In the end, Smith and the Vikes couldn’t get close enough and lost by 11 (79-68) and finished in second in the tournament.

The Vikings ended the season at 23-13. In February and March, they went 6-7 after their winning streak.

The post Cleveland State Vikings Finish Season as CBI Runners-Up appeared first on Cleveland Scene.

Round Two of the Horizon League Championship featured a rubber match between two teams that had very different (but similarly opposite?) seasons. With Cleveland State scuffling through February after winning 13 games in a row, Northern Kentucky (who ended that streak) came in on a five-game win streak after a tough start to the year.

Northern Kentucky (17-15, 11-9 Horizon League) at Cleveland State (20-11, 14-6)

With these schools meeting for the third time this year, the first two games went to the home team. CSU won back in January 76-58 but NKU picked apart the Vikings in February to win 85-75 and start the downward slide for the Vikes.

The Vikings (the two seed) just missed out on the regular season championship and top seed of the conference tournament, but they entered the game after a bye. The Norse (the seven seed) destroyed Detroit Mercy in the first round on Tuesday 99-75. They put up 49 and 50 points in each half of that game so the Viking defense had a tough assignment.

With regular starters (minus injured Reece Robinson) of Tevin Smith, Tahj Staveskie, Ebrima Dibba, Isaac Abidde, and Dylan Arnett, the Vikings got the scoring going with an Arnett putback on a Staveskie missed three. 

The starting five for the Norse was their normal lineup of Dan Gherezgher Jr., Trey Robinson, Sam Vinson, Josh Dilling, and Keegan Itejere.

The first few minutes were an Arnett and Staveskie show as they both had four points to create a quick 8-2 lead. Arnett continued to be all over the boards and grabbed numerous rebounds on both ends.

Both teams decided they didn’t want the ball and turnover after turnover saw the score stagnate. The Norse finally hit another shot with 10:47 to go in the half, and CSU was also working through some issues on offense so the score sat at only 10-5 Vikings.

The Norse cut it even closer with a basket on their third chance on one possession (following two CSU blocks). Smith and Itejere traded two baskets each to keep the game close then a Dibba drive right through the lane started to open up the lead.

The Norse were losing on the scoreboard but they kept winning on the offensive board. A missed free throw directly led to another Norse three to close the gap. 

Horizon League Freshman of the Year (both official and Horizone Roundtable) Je’Shawn Stevenson got in on the action with a three plus a difficult lay-in. The Vikings had opened a 27-17 lead. 

The Norse charged forward with a classic three-point play, a powerful Itejere dunk, and then a Vinson three. The Vikings hit two free throws right before halftime, but the game was now incredibly close at 33-27.

The Norse came out hot and sunk two threes to start the half. These makes cut the deficit to two points and the Vikings were on their heels. Arnett continued to keep the Vikings going on offense, but Itejere continued to answer (cutting it to a one-point game at the under-16 minute media timeout).

Abidde put the lead back to three with an emphatic slam but Trey Robinson finally got on the scoreboard with a three to tie the game at 40.

Another Abidde bucket, followed by a Chase Robinson steal and Smith layup put the Vikings back ahead by four.

A 6-0 run by the Vikings plus a charge taken by Cole Franklin had the Wolstein Center getting loud. It was 50-41 with 8:45 to go in the game. A pair of Dibba (41.1% from the line on the season) free throws grew the run to 8-0 and eventually 10-0. 

Not to be outdone, a pair of made threes by the Norse pulled them right back in the game. Though they hadn’t scored from the field from the 14:14 mark to the 5:50 mark, it was back to a seven-point game with just over five minutes to go.

Another Trey Robinson three cut the Norse deficit to just six points with under three minutes to go. A bit of back-and-forth plus a bunch of free throws by both sides saw the point differential hover around six.

Suddenly with less than a minute to go, the Norse cut the score to a four-point game and then shortly after a three-point game (on a difficult Dilling three). 

Smith put the game away with a slew of free throws and the Vikings escaped with a 68-63 win to head to Indianapolis for the fifth year in a row. 

Key takeaways:

1. CSU only made one three the entire game (taking 10). NKU went 10 for 27 from deep but the Vikings were able to win the battle in the paint. CSU out-scored NKU 42 to 24 in the paint despite the Norse grabbing 20 offensive rebounds. “[Vikings Head] Coach [Daniyal Robinson] emphasized at the beginning of the game and before we went out [that] it was gonna be a paint game,” Smith noted afterwards.
2. The Vikings were able to stop all the Norse runs with great defense. NKU never led and once they tied the game at 40, CSU went on a 14-1 run. Eight blocks and nine steals highlighted the amazing defensive effort. Arnett spoke about how this defense was going to help the Vikings moving forward. “I feel like our defense is made for March. The way we play, the way we guard, it’ll definitely help us win games.”
3. CSU went 19 for 22 from the line. Getting to the line has been a struggle for the Vikings lately but they fixed that during this game. The Norse went 9 for 12 but the Vikings beat them with volume. Coach Robinson also discussed the foul shots a bit after the game. “Tonight, we needed them all because NKU kept the pressure on us. They kept coming and so we needed all those free throws. Those guys were able to step up and knock them down. So [I’m] really proud of them and really proud of their effort.”
4. Arnett put up another double-double (16 points and 10 boards) plus four assists and four blocks. Smith added 16 points and Franklin added eight rebounds off the bench in only 14 minutes. All nine of the Vikings that played contributed and showed their versatility as a team. Showing the team’s mentality, both Smith and Arnett talked about taking the rest of the year “game by game.” Coach Robinson added, “all the things that we’ve been through all season-long have prepared us for this.” He continued, “it’s the concentration level. It’s the extra effort. It’s all this stuff that doesn’t necessarily show up in box scores. You can take Cole Franklin, for instance, his impact on the game tonight was as great as anyone. And I think he had two points, but defensively he was elite, and he was momentum-changing. He made momentum-changing plays defensively.”
5. NKU sees their year end after a great end of the regular season. Gherezgher finished with 18 points. Itejere had 13 points. LJ Wells added a true double-double (10 and 10). Head Coach Darrin Horn after the game had nothing but praise for his team. “[I’m] really proud of our guys’ fight, especially in those last eight minutes. [They] played hard, never gave up, and gave us a chance to win there at the end. [We] just weren’t able to come through.” Talking about what led to the Vikings winning, Coach Horn added, “[the] difference in the game was that they were able to finish the same kind of looks we weren’t able to. I give a lot of credit to them and their fight and poise down the stretch with us pressuring them.”

Next up for the Vikings:

CSU (21-11, 14-6) takes on Youngstown State (20-12, 13-7) at 9:30 PM EDT on Monday in the semifinals of the Horizon League Championship in Indianapolis. This is the fifth year in a row that CSU will play in Indy. Coach Robinson was more than ready. “It’s our expectation here at Cleveland State.”

The post CSU Vikings Bounce Northern Kentucky and Move On in Horizon League Tournament appeared first on Cleveland Scene.

February for the Vikings ended with another thud, but they were able to start March off with a bang. In a week filled with massive leads, the Vikings lost a very tough game at Wright State before coming home and out-lasting Purdue-Fort Wayne. With these two results, the Vikings dropped to second in the Horizon League standings but still secured a bye and home game in the conference tournament. In a crazy, “Horizon’s gonna Horizon” year for the Vikings, they’ve still put themselves a short distance from an NCAA berth.

Away game at Wright State (13-16, 7-11 Horizon League)

With Reece Robinson sidelined with a knee injury, Isaac Abidde stepped back into the starting lineup for the Vikings. The rest of the normal lineup was present for CSU (Tahj Staveskie, Tevin Smith, Ebrima Dibba, and Dylan Arnett) and they got out in a hurry.

Before four minutes had gone by, the Vikings were up 12-5. Staveskie had a three while Abidde and Smith had twos, but it was Arnett who started his outstanding performance early. He added four points and multiple rebounds to lead the Vikings.

Arnett contributed another dunk at the 14:47 mark shortly before Abidde and Staveskie hit back-to-back threes to pad the lead. With just over six minutes gone by in the game, the Vikings were up 22-9 and were playing with a voracity that had been unseen in the last few weeks.

Another Arnett dunk followed a WSU basket as both teams went on offensive runs at the same time. It was at this point Brandon Noel started to get to the basket with incredible ease for the Raiders. It was only baskets by Chase Robinson and Je’Shawn Stevenson that combated Noel’s offensive surge.

Arnett again scored directly after another Noel bucket and it seemed that the Raiders may never get within 10 points again. A Smith three with 8:56 to go in the half put the Vikings up 14. 

The next nine minutes would be fairly routine for both sides. Wright State got within eight on a three by Solomon Callaghan but Stevenson neutralized this shot with a three of his own. Next, another Noel layup was negated by an Abidde layup. 

Abidde also emphatically blocked Noel with a bit over two minutes to go in the half. This play directly led to another Arnett basket with 1:49 to go in the half. This basket put the Vikings up 16 before a 4-0 Raiders run cut it to 12. But Arnett wanted the last laugh of the half. He scored another layup and the Vikings went into halftime up 45-31.

And then the game ended and the Vikings won…

In reality, WSU came out and made almost every three of the second half. Before the first media timeout of the half, the Raiders had made four threes and closed the game to 51-45. That’s a 14-6 run to start the half. 

Bad luck was everywhere for the Vikings. Dibba saved the ball from going out-of-bounds on defense and Noel caught it and put it in the hoop. It was suddenly a two-point game.

Chase Robinson had a nice jumper to go back up four and then things got super sloppy for both teams. Turnover after turnover stagnated the game for a minute before Staveskie and Robinson had the Vikings up eight. Around this same moment, the Raiders were finally called for their first foul of the half (at the 13:03 mark).

An eight-point lead was not enough with the way WSU was shooting from three as they sank another to get back to within five. A nice jumper by Smith put the Vikings up seven at the under-12 minute timeout.

Some more bedlam occurred for both teams that saw neither team score for about two minutes. Lost in all the insanity was a great block by Arnett. Just as WSU cut the deficit to five, Robinson hit a three for the Vikings but the Raiders responded with one of their own plus a foul (and a made free throw).

WSU was finally called for their second foul of the half with 6:20 to go. Smith would split the free throws before Stevenson made a great play for a steal. With a dunk on the ensuing possession, Arnett had a career-high 20 points. CSU was up seven with 5:25 to go.

But…WSU hit a three again and then made two free throws to cut the lead to two with 4:20 left. Stevenson responded with a beautiful drive but 37 seconds later, WSU hit yet another three off an offensive rebound by Noel. With just over two minutes to go, WSU was at the line and made both shots to take the lead 75-74.

CSU would score only two points the rest of the game and were forced to continue to foul WSU. The Raiders scored seven more points and won 82-76.

Key takeaways:

1. WSU went 9 for 11 from three in the second half. CSU went 2 for 9. Even though CSU shot better from the floor overall for the game, that discrepancy was the story of the game. Just amazing shooting by the Raiders in the second half.
2. Noel and Arnett both finished with 20 points. There were times in the game where both took over for their respective teams. In the second half, the Vikings were unable to get Arnett going as much and that seemed to lead to some of the aforementioned stagnation. If these teams meet in the conference tournament, this will be an interesting matchup to watch.
3. CSU had 16 turnovers. Compared to during the winning streak, the Vikings have been turning the ball over in some careless ways as of late. They slightly made up for this with nine steals, but overall, they need to be more careful with the ball.
4. Dibba had 0 points…but seven assists! He continues to be a main part of the fabric of the Vikings offense. His play-making ability and vision on the court cannot be overstated.
5. CSU only took four free throws while WSU took 19. Seven fouls for an entire game for a team is unfathomable. Nothing more to say.

Home game vs. Purdue-Fort Wayne (19-11, 12-7 HL)

With CSU celebrating Senior Day and Reece Robinson still out, all three seniors started for the Vikings (Chase Robinson in for Abidde). Wanting to have fun on their day, the seniors got started quickly. Smith scored first before Robinson added a three. 

In the blink of an eye it was 9-0 and the Mastodons were calling a timeout. Dibba wanted to make sure all the seniors scored early on, so he added a bucket as well. PFW finally got on the board with a three but this was all they had at the second media timeout. 

The Vikings were running away with the game (figuratively and literally) as Steveson entered and stole the ball for a layup and free throw. It was suddenly 21-3 a second later and Cleveland fans were having flashbacks to the Celtics-Cavs game the night before (hoping that the team with only three points wouldn’t come back and win this time).

The Mastodons went on a little run (7-0) but Stevenson sank a three to keep the Vikings up by 14. PFW decided to do their best Wright State impression and started hitting threes to cut the lead to 10 then 8 then 7 and then 5. 

Smith was able to add a nice layup with 8 seconds to go in the half and was fouled (he missed the free throw). PFW came up empty on their final possession of the half and CSU led by seven points at halftime (31-24).

In the first half, the Mastodons had made only eight shots from the field (and only three from inside the three-point line) but they were still within double-figures.

The rounded-out scoring for the Vikings showed up at the start of the second half. Smith, Staveskie, Robinson, and Arnett all had buckets in the first four minutes to put the Vikings back up 12 points.

As fast as the Vikings offense scored these baskets, the lead disappeared even faster. The Mastodons hit layup after layup plus a three and a mid-range jumper and it was a one-point game. CSU was forced to call a timeout clinging to a 41-40 lead with 11:12 to go.

Staveskie hit a three eight seconds later and a bit of back-and-forth saw the point-differential stuck at five. A beautiful layup and free throw by Cole Franklin put the Vikings back up eight but PFW cut it back down to three shortly after with a Rasheed Bello three.

Smith hit a three for the Vikes and the Mastodons got called for a 10-second violation to help get some separation on the scoreboard. Robinson and Smith both sank free throws before Stevenson had another amazing drive (for a made basket and made free throw) to put the Vikings back up by nine points.

Bello hit another three but Staveskie started the celebration with a three at the 2:09 mark. A free throw frenzy occurred and CSU won handedly 68-57.

Key takeaways:

1. The Mastodons were down their top scorer (Jalen Jackson) but Bello was almost unstoppable. He finished with 20 points and had some great drives. CSU played good defense, but he really got around them.
2. Smith finished with 17 points and five boards. A nice end to his last regular season game. CSU didn’t have a 20-point scorer this year, but Smith did a great job being the guy who had the ball in the big moments. Smith talked about what he learned this year and what led him to turn into the team’s top scorer. “This year it really made me realize you’re going miss some [shots]. You’re gonna have a bad game. You’re gonna have good games. You just can’t think about it, so just shoot the next one. One of them is gonna fall in eventually.”
3. Arnett just missed a double-double with 10 boards and eight points. Stevenson finished with 14 points. Staveskie had 12. Robinson had 10. Team-first basketball at its finest. Robinson (who has been with Coach Daniyal Robinson all three years of his tenure) talked a bit about what Coach Robinson had done for the program. “Coming in, [Coach Robinson] was just super hungry. [He] wanted to make any impact he [could].” Chase Robinson continued, “Through the years he just kept building and just wanted to install his culture with his vision he’s seeing here.” Coach Robinson added some words on Stevenson’s growth over the season. “Je’Shawn was fantastic today on both ends of the floor. He’s been playing well here lately. Those seniors, those guys got a lot of miles on their legs. They’ve got a lot of miles on them. And for him, he looks like he’s got fresh legs [and] he’s got energy…He’s also learned a lot throughout the season. He’s not making the same mistakes he was making in December and January. He looked a little bit more like a veteran out there today.”
4. CSU brought their turnover number down a bit for this game (11). The mentality of “hitting singles and not trying to hit home runs” as Coach Robinson says definitely helped keep this down. They had nine steals again and forced 16 turnovers in general. If they can continue to cause issues like this on defense, they can beat anyone.
5. CSU had nine more rebounds than PFW. They had ten more second-chance points. These numbers are pure effort. This is just another piece of the puzzle for a team trying to win games in March. After the game Smith pointed to how the team needed to do “whatever we got to do to win” and how they continued to “scrap” the entire game.

With this win, the Vikings have won 20 games in four consecutive seasons for just the second time in school history. They lost out to Robert Morris for the conference regular season title but they still are the second seed in the conference tournament. Coach Robinson put it best. ”This is a special time of year. This is when dreams come true”

Up next for the Vikings:

CSU (20-11, 14-6) will take on the second-lowest remaining seed in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League tournament at the Wolstein Center on Thursday at 8 PM EDT (following the women’s game at 5:30 PM EDT).

The post CSU Vikings Lose Out on Conference Title But Finish Regular Season on High Note appeared first on Cleveland Scene.

Cleveland State is no longer in first place. After controlling the division for most of the season, a 1-1 week saw Robert Morris leapfrog the Vikings. With only two games left, CSU will now need to win both and see RMU lose their last game to capture the number one seed in the conference tournament. If the Vikings win out, they would tie for the regular season title. How did they get here?

Away game at Detroit Mercy (8-20, 4-13 Horizon League):

The typical Viking starters (Tevin Smith, Tahj Staveskie, Ebrima Dibba, Dylan Arnett, and Reece Robinson) got off to a slow start against the Titans. Arnett started the scoring off for the Vikings but that would be the only scoring for the first few minutes. 

The Titans took the lead 3-2 just under the 17:30 mark on a basket and foul shot. Staveskie was able to grab the lead back with a three but that was all the scoring both teams could muster in the first 4:46. At the first timeout, the Vikings led 5-3 after some sloppy play on both ends.

A putback by Detroit Mercy tied up the score but a free throw by Smith helped the Vikings go back on top. Chase Robinson added to the lead with a three of his own. 

After seven minutes, the Vikings were leading 9-5 and their defense was not allowing any good looks for the Titans. The offense was not able to capitalize on a slew of fast breaks though, so the scores remained 9-5 at the second media timeout. 

A Titan basket directly after the timeout cut the lead to two points but Staveskie hit another three to put the Vikings up five. Another good defensive stand and beautiful behind-the-back pass by Isaac Abidde added two more points. Abidde added a basket of his own with a nice step-back jumper and Reece Robinson added another three.

Some missed free throws by the Titans, a missed dunk by Abidde, and some fouls had the score fixed at 19-14 with 7:21 to go in the first half. Danny Young (playing for the first time in a while) entered and hit a three but the Vikings committed another foul and the score sat at 22-16. 

A great defensive play created a turnover by the Titans on an inbounds play before Reece Robinson hit a shot as the shot clock expired. With just under six minutes left in the half, the Titans connected on their first three of the evening to cut the score to 25-19. 

A Reece Robinson steal, Titan flagrant foul, and two made free throws by Robinson put the Vikings up eight. A nice post up by KJ Debrick and a few free throws was just about all the Vikings did in the last few minutes of the half. Luckily, the Titans didn’t score in the last 2 minutes. Smith hit a shot at the last second to help take a 33-25 lead into the intermission for the Vikings.

The first minute of the second half saw no scoring but Arnett put in a nice reverse layup and was fouled with 18:57 to go in the contest. He sank the free throw to put the Vikings up 11 points.

More great pressure by the Vikings was nullified by a goaltend but Dibba fed Reece Robinson to get the points right back. A 4-0 Titans run got them right back in the game but Dibba added his first points on a nice cut to the rim.

The Titans missed two free throws directly before a third Staveskie three as the Vikings took a 12-point lead. At the first media timeout of the half, the Vikings were leading 43-33. A great offensive rebound (on a Staveskie miss) by Arnett got Staveskie yet another made three.

A 7-0 run by the Titans closed the game to six points right at the 12:00 mark. A beautiful steal by Je’Shawn Stevenson and a layup by Chase Robinson stopped this run. An offensive foul on Detroit Mercy plus another basket and the lead was back to ten points.

Yet another turnover by the Titans created a long three for Stevenson and with just under ten minutes to play, the Vikings were back up 13 points. 

In this second half full of small runs by both teams, the Titans next scored five in a row to cut the deficit to eight points. Staveskie stopped this run as well with a two-pointer, but the Titans immediately responded with two baskets of their own to cut the game to six points yet again.

The Titans cut it to three points with a free throw and another basket. With the game suddenly within one possession, CSU head coach Daniyal Robinson called timeout with just under four minutes to go.

Out of the timeout, Smith was fouled and sunk both shots. The Vikings defense dug deep to get the ball back before Smith hit a step-back to go back up seven points with just under three minutes to go.

The Titans turned the ball over again and Staveskie hit another three as the shot clock expired to put the nail in the coffin. With two minutes to go, the Vikings had a ten-point lead again. 

Typical free throw mania occurred but the Titans actually closed the game to four points with just under a minute left. They needed to continue to foul the Vikings and Staveskie sunk both. After a bunch more free throws on both ends, the Vikings walked away with a 73-65 win.

Key takeaways:

1. Staveskie finished with 22 points including five three-pointers. If the Vikings are going to go on a run in the conference tournament, they need that type of shooting. Add in his two steals and 5-6 from the line, and he had a super well-rounded game.
2. 12 guys played for the Vikings including Chaz Watson and Danny Young. It was nice to see Coach Robinson go deep into his bench against one of the lower teams in the conference. With it being towards the end of the season, it was good to see some of the younger guys get some work in.
3. Team rebounding was the name of the game. No one had more than five rebounds for the Vikings (Chase Robinson had the five) and the Titans actually out-rebounded them. The important thing was CSU got the timely rebounds and everyone contributed.
4. 14 assists and 10 steals leads to a lot of points. The Vikings continue to be quick and smart with the ball. Their ten turnovers this game seems like a lot compared to most of their games but that shows how careful they are.
5. Finally scoring above 70 again was nice to see but the Vikings are still looking for some answers on offense. Luckily there are plenty of scoring options, but recently it hasn’t looked like there is a consistent plan on the offensive side of the ball.

Away game vs. Oakland (12-16, 9-8 HL):

If you add Jayson Woodrich‘s points to the Vikings’ total, they would’ve had 106. Unfortunately, he now plays for Oakland which contributed to them scoring 91 points in an overtime thriller (or breakdown if you’re CSU).

The regular starters for the Vikings were quickly down 2-0 but a great defensive effort by Arnett prevented them from being down more. Arnett next found Reece Robinson on the block for the first CSU points of the day. Robinson added another basket before a Dibba bank shot after an Oakland turnover made it a 6-2 lead. 

Arnett was whistled for a touch foul but Oakland couldn’t convert and Arnett responded with a basket on the other end. At the first media timeout, the Vikings had a 8-2 edge.

The Golden Grizzlies got back on the board with a DQ Cole three but Chase Robinson got the Vikings another two on a great cut on an inbounds play. The teams traded baskets for a few minutes and the Vikings were unable to pull away as the foul discrepancy started to grow. 

Stevenson hit a three to go up seven and a Viking steal and layup grew the lead to nine at the under-12 minute timeout. Chase Robinson added a three shortly after the timeout but Cole responded with one of his own.

Another CSU steal and Chase Robinson layup put the Vikings up 29-17. More Oakland free throws briefly cut the lead but Staveskie connected on a three to put the Vikings back up 11 points with just under eight minutes to go in the half. Two Arnett free throws put the Vikings up 13.

Abidde found Chase Robinson for three again but Woodrich connected to nullify the points. Abidde also found Cole Franklin for a layup to help stop an Oakland run and stay up 41-32.

Oakland ended the half on a bit of a run though, as they finished the first half on a 10-5 run from that point. This run was aided by some free throws by Oakland while they were only called for four fouls all half. At halftime, the Vikings led 46-42.

The second half was essentially the same as the first. The Vikings got on the board with an Arnett dunk and Smith added a three as the shot clock expired. The Vikings were back up by nine points a minute into the half.

Woodrich cut into the lead with a beautiful spin and bank shot but Reece Robinson was knocked down hard on the play. He continued in the game but then came out at the next stoppage after looking to be in pain due to his left leg. He would not return to the game.

Another mini-run by Oakland cut the lead to three with about 16 minutes left in the contest. The CSU offense went cold at the same time as Oakland cut further into the lead to see the score at 53-52 at the under-16 minute timeout. 

About a minute later, the Golden Grizzlies took back the lead for the first time since the first basket of the game. The teams went back-and-forth for the lead for a few more minutes but Oakland was able to grab a slight edge (four points) with a Woodrich three.

Smith cut this deficit to two out of the under-8 minute timeout but Oakland again got to the line and then got another basket on their next possession. 

CSU was looking at a seven-point deficit before a Chase Robinson three gave the Vikings some hope. Staveskie hit a three of his own the next time down and all of a sudden, it was a one-point game.

Arnett tied the score at 72 with about four minutes to go and Stevenson took back the lead with a tough layup. Neither team was able to score again until Woodrich hit a corner three to give Oakland a one-point lead with 1:02 to go.

A great steal by Chase Robinson after a missed shot gave the ball back to CSU, and Stevenson drove and was fouled while making the shot. He sank the free throw but Oakland quickly tied the score at 77. Stevenson hit the rim for the last shot and the Vikings and Golden Grizzlies went to overtime.

Oakland started the overtime scoring with one free throw but Stevenson made two of his own to take the lead with 3:30 to go. A minute later the game was tied at 81 but from that point on it was all Oakland. A slew of missed shots (including some Hack-A-Dibba by Oakland) by CSU and made free throws by Oakland ended in a 91-86 loss for the Vikings.

Key takeaways:

1. Four Vikings finished in double figures including Chase Robinson with 18 off the bench. Stevenson ended with 16 off the bench as well and Staveskie hit five threes for 15. Arnett rounded it out with 10 points. The widespread scoring usually works for the Vikings; it just didn’t this game.
2. Dibba led the team with eight rebounds and six assists. With Reece Robinson taken to the trainer’s table, both Dibba and Debrick (four boards) stepped up on the glass. Arnett only had three rebounds. Oakland out-rebounded CSU 47-32.
3. 25 to 13. That’s the foul discrepancy. Oakland shot almost three times as many free throws as CSU (13 to 38). All there is to say is…interesting.
4. Woodrich helped beat his old team with 20 points including six threes. In a year marred with injury, it was an impressive performance on Oakland’s Senior Day.
5. This game was the closest game this year for the Vikings outside of the tournament in Woodling Gym (wins or losses). They were up by as many as 13 points but could never get away from Oakland. This loss puts a lot of pressure on the Vikings to now win their final two games.

Up next for the Vikings:

CSU (19-10, 13-5 HL) travels to Wright State (13-16, 7-11 HL) Thursday at 9 PM EDT before finishing out the regular season at home against Purdue-Fort Wayne (19-10, 12-6 HL) on Saturday at 4 PM EDT. Both game are nationally televised. 

The post CSU Sneaks by Detroit Mercy Before Former Viking Drops Them to Second Place appeared first on Cleveland Scene.

It was bound to happen at some point in this congested league. Cleveland State is sliding a bit while losing three out of their last four games. This week saw the Vikings lose at home to both Robert Morris and Youngstown State. What can be learned from these contests and what does the rest of the season look like for them?

Home game vs. Robert Morris (18-8, 10-5 HL)

As with the last few weeks, CSU rolled out the regular starters of Tevin Smith, Tahj Staveskie, Ebrima Dibba, Dylan Arnett, and Reece Robinson. Robert Morris was looking for revenge after an 11-point loss a month ago at RMU, but CSU came out looking good. 

After misses on both ends to start the frame, Arnett and Staveskie put in shots to go up 4-0 before a 7-2 run by the Colonials put the Vikings behind 7-6 at the under-16 minute timeout. 

It was then time for a patented CSU offensive run as they would score the next nine points. This run all started with a good find by Dibba to Arnett before a Robinson dish (Chase) for a Robinson dunk (Reece). Reece Robinson scored again before Staveskie hit a three and the Vikings saw themselves up 15-7. 

This wouldn’t be enough to run away from the Colonials. Amarion Dickerson responded with his own three for RMU before Alvaro Folgueiras connected on another three to cut the deficit to two.

The offense for the Vikings continued to click as Smith backed down the RMU defense for a nice bucket. Cole Franklin also found Arnett for a basket and Je’Shawn Stevenson continued to pour it on with a bucket and free throw. It was déjà vu as Franklin again found Arnett and Arnett slammed it through. 

Another Arnett basket on a putback plus a free throw and then another Staveskie three had the Vikings cruising up 30-20. 

RMU would not go quietly as they went on a 6-0 run to end the half. The Colonials actually had another chance but couldn’t convert on their last possession so the Vikings led 30-26 at halftime. 

The second half began with RMU continuing their march to tie the score. Staveskie did make a great pass to Arnett for a bucket and foul but he missed the free throw. The Colonials hit a three to close the gap but Reece Robinson made a nice move and Smith hit a stepback to put the Vikings up five.

RMU went on a mini-run of four points before a Dibba jumper. Then it finally happened. RMU hit a three to tie the score at 38. 

Another three put RMU up 43-40 a few moments later. Staveskie split a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to two but another(!) three by the Colonials had the Vikings down five and on the ropes.

Stevenson threw in a lefty floater but with 11 minutes to play, the Vikings were down three and in serious offensive trouble. The teams traded some free throws and then KJ Debrick came through with a monster block on one end and a layup on the other. A dunk by Reece Robinson had the Vikings back on top by one with 8:31 to go. 

The next two minutes saw some back-and-forth before yet another three by RMU put them up two and they would not relinquish the lead again. 

The deficit slowly grew to five (at the last media timeout) then eight after RMU got fouled after making a basket. They missed the free throw but got the rebound as well as another basket. 

An alley-oop put the Vikings down 11 and there was no magic at the Wolstein Center to be had. The final showed 68-59, advantage Colonials. RMU had gotten their revenge.

Key takeaways:

1. Arnett finished with 16 points and eight boards. Outside of that, Staveskie had 11 points and Reece Robinson finished with 10. The worst part about the offense was a putrid 2-16 from three.
2. RMU had 16 offensive rebounds. They controlled the ball most of the game and got the ball in important moments. CSU head coach Daniyal Robinson had something to say about this after that game. “There’s a lot of work to be done left in this season. And so you know, I think the urgency, I think could be a tick better.”
3. RMU had 13 fast break points while CSU only had four. This definitely points to the speed at which the team is currently playing. As this discrepancy was also the point differential, a faster pace might have helped the Vikings.
4. CSU had a respectable 13 assists (RMU had 17) but the ball does not seem to be moving at the same speed as when they were on their winning streak. This led to a lot of long possessions. Coach Robinson gave some credit to RMU for this stagnation on offense. “We’re normally comfortable running deep into the clock, and I think with their length, they switched out a lot. They made us make an extra pass, [and] they did a great job of being in help and having us kick it out, and so we had some guys that were handling the ball at times late in the clock where we were off a little bit.”
5. The defense could not stop the top scorers for RMU. They only shot 30.8% from three but that meant eight made shots. They also got to the basket with relative ease compared to other Horizon League teams against CSU. Some unlucky rebounding, some bad rebounding, some slow closeouts, and other factors led to some easy baskets for the Colonials.

Home game vs. Youngstown State (17-10, 11-5 HL)

The Battle of Northeast Ohio Part 2. Last time these teams met, EJ Farmer didn’t play for the Penguins and CSU ran YSU out of their own building. This time Farmer played and the opposite happened.

CSU again went with their normal starters and YSU got on the board first. Arnett allowed everyone at the Wolstein to sit down with a two of his own and Staveskie added a great drive to put the Vikings up super early.

Farmer showed his presence early with a three before Dibba made a great pass for a Smith dunk. There was also some sloppy play by both teams so the score sat at 7-6 at the first timeout with YSU holding the slim lead.

Both teams went on five-point runs highlighted by a YSU three by Cris Carol to tie the game as the shot clock expired. A three from Chase Robinson took back the lead for CSU and Arnett rolled beautifully to the basket for a dunk.

Penguin Siem Uijtendaal (who pushed off his defender with no whistle) made it a one-point game at 22-21. Gabe Dynes hit two free throws, Juwan Maxey hit a three, and YSU was up 28-24.

Arnett had another bucket but at halftime the Vikings were down 30-27. Arnett started the second half off nicely with a basket as well but YSU continued to get to the basket and Maxey was fouled.

Slowly, just like the RMU game, the Vikings saw themselves down seven and then down ten. 

The Vikings came to life one last time as Arnett threw down a dunk and was fouled. He missed the free throw but Stevenson got a breakaway for a dunk and The Wolstein was alive. 

Smith added a layup before a Dynes offensive foul and Stevenson layup made it a five-point game. Staveskie made it a four-point game with a three but YSU stopped the run. Two buckets put them back up eight.

Somehow, the Vikings continued to score and it was suddenly a two-point game with 2:51 to go. At this point it was 62-60. CSU did not score again. They had plenty of open looks and forced some turnovers but they couldn’t connect on any shots. In the end, after some fouls, YSU had also gotten their revenge 68-60.

Key takeaways:

1. YSU went 20-26 at the line including 8-8 in the first half. CSU went 13-19. In such a close game, those points were important.
2. Adding to free throws, YSU hit six threes (out of 14) while CSU only made three (out of 20). The shots just did not fall for CSU. Smith after the game said they got good looks but “I think it’s just a confidence thing to me. [It’s] just knocking it down and knowing it’s gonna go in before you shoot it.”
3. CSU could not stop Penguin Nico Galette. He finished with 19 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. Coach Robinson spoke about Galette after the game. “He played with some force tonight and then when we double-teamed him, he got it out to their shooters and they re-attacked.“
4. Although the Vikings and Penguins both finished with 30 points in the paint, the Vikings had a hard time getting to the basket for the first 30 minutes of the game. what was different in the final 10 minutes? “It was the urgency. It was our urgency, and our back was against the wall,” said Coach Robinson after the game. “Our back was against the wall and sometimes […]when you’ve played so well for so long, you feel like, it’ll come, it’ll come.“
5. CSU has now dropped three out of four games and is only a half a game up on the second place teams. With four games left, the Vikings need to find their shot again. Back-to-back games with 59 and 60 points isn’t going to do it. In both they still only gave up 68 points but the offense just wasn’t good enough.

Next up for the Vikings:

CSU (18-9, 12-4 HL) travels to Detroit Mercy (8-19, 4-12 HL) Friday at 7 PM EDT before heading to Oakland (12-15, 9-7 HL) Sunday at 3 PM EDT. 

The post Cleveland State Vikings Had a Lot of the Good So Far This Year, But This Week Was the Bad and Ugly appeared first on Cleveland Scene.

The streak has ended. With their game at Northern Kentucky going the Norse’s way, the Vikings needed to get a bounce-back win against Milwaukee after their 13-game winning streak was in the past. The Vikings showed that the streak wasn’t just a fluke by dominating the Panthers.

Away game at Northern Kentucky (10-13, 5-7 Horizon League)

The usual lineup of Tevin Smith, Tahj Staveskie, Ebrima Dibba, Dylan Arnett, and Reece Robinson took the floor to face a Northern Kentucky team that was demolished in Cleveland a few weeks ago. At home, the Vikings had beaten the Norse by 18, but Northern Kentucky has not been a fun place to play for the Vikings. This game would continue that trend.

The Vikings got off to a hot start with baskets by Arnett and Smith before a Staveskie three made it 7-3. A foul on a three-point attempt and three made free throws cut the lead to one before a Trey Robinson layup put the Norse up 8-7.

A Reece Robinson three and two Arnett free throws had the Vikings up four early before a 6-0 Norse run and Arnett block and layup had the score tied at 14.

NKU stepped out of bounds immediately following the layup but the Vikings were unable to capitalize on the extra possession. The Norse went on another run (this one 7-0) to pull ahead. The Vikings offense stagnated during this run as even good plays (like a nice cut and pass to Cole Franklin) were broken up (this one by a travel). They even went into their full/three-quarter court press and forced a turnover but then immediately turned it over themselves. 

Right before the second media stoppage, Franklin got a basket off a block by NKU and then Dibba got on the board with a nice shot after the timeout.

One of the main stories of the day was the Norse responding to any Viking scoring and they did that very quickly to go up 23-18.

A goaltend by KJ Debrick and then another basket by NKU put them in front 27-18 as the Vikings couldn’t figure anything out on offense.

It was time for two of the Viking veterans to step up. Smith hit two threes before Chase Robinson hit a three of his own to close the gap to just three points.

Arnett grabbed a crazy rebound on his own miss and proceeded to shoot from under the backboard to get the bucket.

An NKU three was negated by another three by Staveskie. Chase Robinson grabbed a steal and Debrick tied the game with a mid-range jumper with about a minute to go in the half. Somehow, despite all the runs by the Norse, the Vikings were tied with them at halftime at 36.

Speaking of scoring runs, the Norse started the second half on a 6-0 run. Staveskie stopped the run with a mid-range jumper for two and Smith almost completed a powerful dunk but a foul made him miss. He converted both free throws and the Vikings were only down four. 

The luck was not with the Vikings though as a Norse three as the shot expired put them up 49-42. 

Chase Robinson hit another three (as the announcers were discussing his great game the week prior) and the Norse held a 7-point lead at the under-12 minute timeout.

The Vikings cut it to three but a three and a tip-in by the Norse forced CSU head Coach Daniyal Robinson to call a timeout with 8:22 to go and his team down eight.

A Smith jumper out of the timeout cut the deficit to six but then the Norse started to pour it on.

The Vikings saw themselves down 11 with about six minutes to go. Then they saw themselves down 14 with about five minutes to go. Poor shooting and turnovers were making the score get out of hand.

Je’Shawn Stevenson gave the Vikings a bit of life as he banked in a three to cut it to an 11-point game but time was running out. 

An Arnett bucket made it a 9-point game with just under four minutes left. The Vikings looked to do the impossible as Smith made it an 8-point game with 2:10 on the clock. With the Vikings forced to play close defense and foul, the Norse made their free throws and closed out the game. Another three by Stevenson with 56 seconds to go pulled the Vikings within seven again but that was about it.

The Vikings had given up 85 points and only scored 75. They lost their first game in exactly two months and the winning streak ended at 13 games (one shy of tying the school record).

Key Takeaways:

1. All streaks come to an end. With big matchups at Purdue-Fort Wayne and Northern Kentucky, this seemed like the time that it would happen to CSU. Even with a rough start to the game, the Vikings looked poised to win again as they tied it before half, but it was not to be. For a team picked to finish 7th in the conference and with plenty of new faces, what CSU has accomplished is, frankly, insane.
2. CSU was out-rebounded 34-29 and the Norse had 7 more second chance points. The ball definitely did not go the Vikings way and the Norse out-hustled CSU on a lot of plays.
3. The Vikings committed 12 turnovers (the Norse only had 8) which led to 17 Norse points (10 for the Vikings). It wasn’t the cleanest game by a normally careful team.
4. Although they didn’t win, the Vikings still scored 75 points. Smith finished with 18 points while Arnett had 17. Stevenson and Staveskie also both broke into double figures. Even on a bad day, the well-rounded scoring of the Vikings showed up.
5. The Norse out-scored the Vikings 40-26 in the paint. That’s the game right there.

Home game vs. Milwaukee (16-8, 9-4 HL)

The Vikings’ bench loves to yell “T-O!” and put up letters with their arms after every forced turnover. The game against Milwaukee had to have the bench exhausted from this chant. 

The usual starting lineup played amazing defense on the opening possession that led to a tie-up and jump ball.

Playing against the team that beat them two months before, Smith immediately showed the Panthers that CSU was ready for payback. He tried to throw down an emphatic dunk but a foul prevented the finish. He converted on both free throws before a Staveskie bucket and free throw put the Vikings up 5-0.

By the first media timeout, the Vikings were up 7-2 and the Panthers had yet to make a field goal. Arnett split a pair of free throws out of the timeout before a Chase Robinson layup followed by a Staveskie three put the Vikings up 13-2. Coach Robinson was very happy with the start for the Vikings. “Our level of physicality was where it needed to be and [I’m] just really proud of how they came out and took our game plan and put it into the game.”

Milwaukee called timeout to try to stop the bleeding but all they could muster was two more free throws before Debrick converted on a layup to make it 15-4. 

At 13:11, the Panthers finally converted on their first shot from the field with a Themus Fulks jumper. Another two free throws by Milwaukee pulled them to within seven points, but the Vikings were just getting started. 

A 10-2 Viking run was highlighted by Staveskie getting a great feed from Arnett for a layup. Staveskie also put in a tip-in after two missed shots and rebounds by the Vikings. 

Staveskie continued to score in every way as he drove to the basket for a bucket and then put up a shot-fake before going around the Panthers for a jumper on the baseline. 

It was all Vikings until the 2:21 mark when the Panthers had their best offensive minute of the half. Back-to-back buckets cut the deficit to 14 and forced CSU to call a timeout. Staveskie hit another jumper out of the timeout and Smith hit two free throws.

With 11 seconds left in the half, Milwaukee turned the ball over again and Tevin Smith hit a three as time expired. After the game he said buzzer-beaters and shots like that are “what I live for.” The Vikings had 41 points while the Panthers had 20 (including only four made field goals).

With the Vikings rolling, the Panthers only chance to get back in the game was starting their scoring quickly. They did exactly that. 

A 10-0 Milwaukee run to start the half led to a Vikings timeout and then Milwaukee added another two points to make it a 12-0 run. 

The offensive hero of the day, Staveskie, hit another three to stop the run and then another three a few possessions later put the Vikings back up by 13.

A super strange play occurred as Smith was called for a foul and then a technical foul before the play was reviewed. This wild sequence saw Smith receive the original foul plus a technical and Milwaukee’s Jamichael Stillwell was also issued a technical foul. The Vikings were given the ball but an illegal screen by Stevenson gave the ball right back to the Panthers. 

The Panthers tried to chip away again as they cut the lead to seven on a three with 9:42 left to play. Both teams traded baskets (including a great reverse layup by Reece Robinson) before another Staveskie three excited (and calmed) the crowd as the Vikings were back up 12 points. This three was also bookended by another two turnovers by Milwaukee. 

A fantastic pass off the dribble by Staveskie to Arnett began the endgame. Although Milwaukee cut it to eight points with three minutes to go, Staveskie hit yet another three. Even when things didn’t go the Vikings’ way, good things happened. Stevenson grabbed a steal and missed the wide-open layup but Chase Robinson was right there for the putback. 

At this point, Milwaukee had to foul and the Vikings pushed the lead back to 20 before a Panther three cut it to 77-60. This score would hold and the Vikings were back to their winning ways.

Key takeaways:

1. Staveskie has been a great pickup for the Vikings. He finished with 30 points and four assists plus was +22 for the game. He went 11-16 from the field and a perfect 3-3 at the line. On a day that saw Smith foul out and Dibba with no assists or points, Staveskie stepped up. When asked about how shooting so well allowed him to be a bit more of his classic point guard position, Staveskie said “[I] definitely felt like I was playing a little bit more point guard today coming off a lot of screens and on the top of the key because that’s where I’m effective.” He continued, “I can shoot a deep three coming off the high ball screen.” “I feel like I played off-ball well and then when I had the opportunity to play on the ball, I played well with that too.”
2. CSU had a sloppy game with 15 turnovers, but Milwaukee finished with 25(!) turnover. CSU scored 30 points off these turnovers (Milwaukee scored 8). Some of this was bad Panther offense, but most of it was great CSU defense. Adding to the turnovers were eight blocks by the Vikings (five by Debrick). Coach Robinson talked about how Debrick “held it down” for the Vikings in the first half. “I felt like he did a great job protecting the rim and being ready when his number was called.”
3. Milwaukee made only 18 baskets all game. It’s truly hard to win a game when you make four field goals in the first half (including 0-5 on threes). The Vikings did a great job keeping the pressure on the Panthers and not allowing them easy access to the paint. Smith had this to say after the game, “they drove a lot on us in the first game. They had a lot of paint points, a lot of [offensive] boards.” That certainly didn’t happen this game.
4. Chase Robinson’s stat sheet doesn’t light up for this game. He had six points, four rebounds, and two assists. The story goes deeper than that though as he played 33 minutes and was +20. With Dibba and Smith in foul trouble most of the game, Chase ran the offense with Staveskie and kept the team going. He’s a force off the CSU bench.
5. When a team wins 13 in a row, people start looking at everything they do and how they became so good. Having watched most teams warm up this year, the way CSU warms up before a game is different. There are multiple drills always going on with every player and coach doing something specific. There is no wasted energy and no wasted time. Guys stretch and run drills and take shots that they are going to get in games. They don’t needlessly dunk on an unprotected basket over and over. There’s a method to them winning and it starts with the way they prepare. When asked about the difference for CSU warmups versus other teams, Coach Robinson said they “try to make sure everyone has a job to do and everyone understands their focus [and] understands what’s needed of them, and so it’s great to hear that those things stand out.” He reiterated that “how you do anything is how you do everything. Those things carry over from how these guys show up to go to class every single day, how we practice every day, how we eat breakfast together every day, how we start our warmup together every day. You get into a routine of just doing the job regardless of how you feel.”

Next up for the Vikings:

CSU (18-7, 12-2 HL) takes on red-hot Robert Morris (18-8, 10-5 HL) at home Wednesday at 7 pm EDT before Youngstown State (16-10, 10-5 HL) comes to town for a nationally televised game Sunday at 3 pm EDT. 

The post Win Streak Ends for Cleveland State Vikings But Revenge Against Milwaukee Is Sweet appeared first on Cleveland Scene.