Game 13 - Midway vs. Cleveland State
Wolstein Center - Cleveland, OH
12:00 p.m. 

All-Time vs. Midway: First Meeting

Last Meeting: N/A

Tickets: csuvikings.com

Radio: Fox Sports 1350 AM

Play-By-Play: Al Pawlowski, Pat Vuyancih, Ed Daugherty(Host)

TV: ESPN+

Play-By-Play: Al Pawlowski, Pat Vuyancih

SETTING THE SCENE

The Cleveland State Men's Basketball team returns to the court in the Wolstein Center to host Midway in its final non-conference matchup of the season. The Vikings have won three in a row with the last two coming at home. Midway is 3-6 on the season and makes the trip north from Midway, Kentucky. Midway is located in a small town just north of Lexington in the northern part of the state.

THE CLEVELAND STATE/MIDWAY SERIES

Sunday's game will be the first-ever meeting between Cleveland State and Midway. The Eagles play in the River States Conference. This marks the second time the Vikings will match up with a team from the league after playing Brescia last weekend. Cleveland State is one of three Division I opponents on Midway's schedule after the Eagles faced off with Bellarmine earlier this season and are scheduled to play James Madison up next.

VIKINGS DOWN OAKLAND FOR THIRD STRAIGHT WIN

Cleveland State took care of Oakland on Thursday night with a 92-75 win to improve to 2-1 in league play. The Vikings committed a program record low three turnovers and balanced that with 21 assists on 34 made field goals. Tevin Smith had a career night finishing with 37 points on 63 percent shooting from the field. Tahj Staveskie added 20 points including a career best six made three-point field goals and Chase Robinson set a new season high with 14 points. Cleveland State led the entire second half in rolling to the double-digit win.

VIKINGS CRUISE PAST BRESCIA IN NON-LEAGUE ACTION

Cleveland State downed Brescia this past weekend inside Woodling Gymnasium, cruising to a 103-37 win. The Vikings yielded just 11 points after halftime and held the Bearcats scoreless for the game's final ten minutes. The win is the second largest margin of victory in program history and the Vikings also set a new program high with 15 made three-pointers in the win. Je'Shawn Stevenson led a group of five players in double figures with 17 points. Reece Robinson finished with his first collegiate double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

JE'SHAWN STEVENSON PICKS UP BACK-TO-BACK #HLMBB FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK AWARDS

Je'Shawn Stevenson has posted three consecutive double-figure scoring performances and has earned the Horizon League's Freshman of the Week award the last two weeks. Stevenson poured in a new career high of 20 points at Green Bay to help the Vikings to their first conference victory of the season. In the win over Brescia he shot 50 percent from the field and finished a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line. The two awards are the first for Stevenson in his career and the first two weekly honors for Viking student-athletes this season.

CLEVELAND STATE SPLITS CONFERENCE-OPENING ROAD TRIP IN WISCONSIN

Cleveland State split last week's road trip in Wisconsin to open Horizon League play. The Vikings fell at Milwaukee on Thursday before rebounding with a 22-point win at Green Bay on Saturday. The game against Milwaukee was much closer than the final margin indicated, with the Vikings trailing by just two points with under three minutes to play before a 10-0 Panther run to close the game. In the Green Bay game, Cleveland State set a new season best for three-point field goals made in a game with 10 and Je'Shawn Stevenson recorded a career-high 20 points. Cleveland State out-rebounded Green Bay and recorded 47 points from its bench, the second highest total of the season.

VIKINGS OPEN THANKSGIVING THROWBACK TOURNAMENT WITH WIN OVER NJIT

Cleveland State defeated NJIT in the opening game of the Thanksgiving Throwback Tournament 56-53. The Vikings held off the Highlanders in a game where neither team held a lead greater than nine points. NJIT took the lead late going up six with 4:51 to play before the Vikings clawed back. Tevin Smith scored the game-winning bucket with under 30 seconds to play which gave CSU the lead for good. Smith tallied 13 points and Cole Franklin added 12. Tahj Staveskie chipped in seven points. Smith was named Tournament MVP after scoring in double figures in both games. Staveskie and Franklin each earned All-Tournament Team honors.

VIKINGS DEFEAT EASTERN MICHIGAN FOR SECOND STRAIGHT WIN

Cleveland State defeated Eastern Michigan on Saturday to improve to 3-2 on the year with a 71-63 win over the Eagles. The Vikings shot 51 percent from the field and had four players in double figures in a balanced offensive attack. Tevin Smith led the way with a career best 24 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and 8-of-11 from the free throw line. The game was close throughout with neither team holding a lead of more than nine points the entire way. Ultimately it was a 9-0 Cleveland State run in the closing minutes that sealed the victory.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES

Midway is 3-6 on the season headed into Sunday's game. The Eagles are playing back-to-back Division I opponents as they take on Cleveland State and then James Madison next week. The Eagles have lost two games in a row coming into play today and are 1-3 away from home on the season.

VIKINGS DEFEAT EASTERN MICHIGAN FOR SECOND STRAIGHT WIN

Cleveland State defeated Eastern Michigan on Saturday to improve to 3-2 on the year with a 71-63 win over the Eagles. The Vikings shot 51 percent from the field and had four players in double figures in a balanced offensive attack. Tevin Smith led the way with a career best 24 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and 8-of-11 from the free throw line. The game was close throughout with neither team holding a lead of more than nine points the entire way. Ultimately it was a 9-0 Cleveland State run in the closing minutes that sealed the victory.

VIKINGS EARN FIRST ROAD WIN AT VALPARAISO

Cleveland State defeated Valparaiso on the road Tuesday night for its first road victory of the 2024-25 season. The Vikings trailed at halftime before a second half surge propelled them to a 75-67 victory. Dylan Arnett recorded his first double-double of the season finishing with 19 points and 14 rebounds along with three blocked shots. Tahj Staveskie had 19 points including 60 percent shooting from three-point range. Staveskie provided an offensive spark with two key three-point makes in the second half to give the Vikings a lead they would not relinquish. Tevin Smith added 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field.

ARNETT ATTACKING THE OFFENSIVE GLASS

Through the first month of the season, Dylan Arnett has been a force on the offensive glass for the Vikings. Arnett is currently tied for eleventh in the country with 38 total offensive rebounds through the first nine games of the season. Arnett averages 3.6 offensive rebounds per game and leads the team averaging 7.7 total rebounds per contest.

HOME SWEET HOME

Cleveland State has made a habit of protecting its home court throughout the last two seasons. The Vikings are 5-2 at home to start this season and finished 14-3 at home in the 2023-24 season as well as a 30-8 overall record in Cleveland in the Daniyal Robinson era. Cleveland State outscored opponents by over 10 points per game in home contests in the 2023-24 season.

20 WIN CAMPAIGN FOR THE THIRD YEAR IN A ROW

Cleveland State has amassed 20-plus wins for three straight seasons. The Vikings have also made four straight postseason appearances, which is a program record.  Cleveland State appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 2021, the NIT in 2022 and the CBI in 2023 and 2024. Daniyal Robinson is the most successful two-year head coach in program history, becoming the first coach to win 20 games in his first two years in charge in the history of the program. Robinson has amassed 42 total victories over his first two seasons.

VOICE OF THE VIKINGS ENTERS 20TH SEASON

Veteran broadcaster Al Pawlowski begins his 20th season as the play-by-play voice of Cleveland State men's basketball this season. Pawlowski has held many roles throughout his career in the Cleveland media market, he currently serves as a part time sports anchor at WKYC Channel 3 as well as the pre-and post-game host of "Guardians Live" throughout the baseball season. Pawlowski has won six Emmy Awards for his work on the pre-and post-game show and is the second-longest tenured current voice in the Horizon League. Wright State's Chris Collins is the lone broadcaster in the league who has served in his role longer.

UP NEXT

Cleveland State returns to conference play next weekend, as the Vikings play host to Wright State on Sunday, December 29. The game is part of a doubleheader with the women's basketball team, with the women's game tipping at noon and the men's game at 3:00.