Jan. 3, 2005

Final Stats

Contact: Brian McCann

CHICAGO - The injury bug that haunted the Vikings against Loyola during the final weekend of last season continued to taunt this year's squad in Chicago, as Cleveland State fell to the Ramblers, 70-55, Thursday night at the Joseph J. Gentile Center. CSU (3-6, 0-1) was limited to 36.2 percent (17-47) shooting from the field as the Ramblers (3-9, 1-1 HL) hit 42.6 percent (23-54) for their first league win.

The Vikings shot only 8-24 in the first half, with sophomore guard Victor Morris the only CSU player to burry two field goals. Cleveland State was able to keep the game relatively close, thanks to 11-12 shooting from the line (91.7 percent), but Loyola used a 16-30 clip in the first to take a 39-27 advantage into the locker room.

"They were able to stop us from running and they really clamped down on our perimeter shooters," head coach Mike Garland said. "They even gave up some offensive rebounding opportunities to get back defensively, and that was a smart move."

Forward Patrick Tatham was a pre-game casualty, as the 6-6 sophomore rolled his right ankle during pre-game practice and was scratched from the starting lineup. The Vikings were also without junior forward Frashon McGee (wrist) and sophomore guard Raheem Moss (ankle).

"I don't want to use that as an excuse," Garland said of the injuries sustained by the Vikings to this point in the season. "We still had enough players to get it done, but we just didn't step up and play.

"Patrick (Tatham) is such an important part of what we do, especially defensively, that he was missed. We're going to have to figure some things out by Thursday."

Senior forward Omari Westley posted another solid performance, notching his 13th career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds in 40 minutes of play.

"The stats don't show it, but Omari (Westley) really played his heart out," Garland remarked. "When he's playing next to a 6-2 power forward (Steve Gansey), it's pretty easy to become the focus of another team's defense."

Morris added 10 points in 38 minutes, while Gansey pulled in a career-best nine boards while sinking 4-of-5 from the field for 10 points.

Loyola's Majuk Kou came off the bench to lead all scorers with 22 points, hitting 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Forward Blake Schilb added 16 points and six boards.

Cleveland State wraps up their road swing at Wright State on Thursday (Jan.6) at 7:15 p.m. before returning home to host Youngstown State on Saturday (Jan. 8) at 5:30 p.m. in the Convocation Center.