GAME #20
Cleveland State (5-14, 1-7) vs. Youngstown State (9-10, 2-6)
Saturday, January 17 | 2:00 pm | Wolstein Center
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SETTING THE SCENE
The Vikings play their second consecutive home game against Youngstown State before hitting the road for three straight games. The contest with the Penguins is the first of four games that will air on Rock Entertainment, along with ESPN+.
 
LAST GAME OUT
Cleveland State had three double-digit scorers and a three-point lead, 40-37, entering halftime against Green Bay before falling at home, 88-73. Tre Beard led the way with 18 points and four rebounds, while Dayan Nessah had 16 points and four assists. Preist Ryan was next with ten points.
 
The Vikings rattled off the first six points of the game before stretching the margin to 13-3 at the first media timeout, behind nine early points from Nessah. The ten-point margin was the largest for the Green and White. Cleveland State battled through four ties in the first half and didn't relinquish the lead until the 17:45 mark of the second half.

A WIN ON SATURDAY WOULD…
Give the Vikings their first win in 2026…Put Cleveland State back over .500, 5-4, at home on the year…See the Green and White hold a 7-3 edge in the last ten matchups…Make it 8-1 at home versus the Penguins since 2018-19.

LAST YEAR WITH YSU
These two teams met three times last season, with each team winning on the road before the Penguins defeated the Vikings in the Horizon League Semifinals, 56-54. The Vikings claimed the first matchup 80-72, and YSU followed up with a 68-60 triumph.

ABOUT YOUNGSTOWN STATE
The Penguins make the short trip to the Wolstein Center with a 9-10 overall record and a 2-6 mark in the Horizon League. In their last game, YSU had five players score double-digits while connecting on 14 three-pointers in a 93-83 loss at Wright State on Thursday evening.
 
YSU LEADERS
Youngstown State has two players averaging double digits, led by Cris Carroll with 16.4 points per game, followed by Bryson Dawkins with 11.4 points per game. Rich Rolf and Vlad Salaridze each average 4.7 rebounds per game. Drew King has a team-best 71 assists. On the defensive side, Jason Nelson has 29 steals, and Imanuel Zorgvol has 35 blocks.
 
LEADING THE WAY FOR THE VIKINGS
Cleveland State has four double-digit scorers, led by Dayan Nessah with 13.9 points per game on 55.0 percent shooting. Tre Beard is close behind with 13.4 points, followed by Chevalier Emery at 12.2 points, and Jaidon Lipscomb with 10.6 points per game. Nessah has pulled down 106 total boards to top the squad, while Preist Ryan has grabbed 40 offensive boards. Lipscomb is top in assists with 53.
 
On the defensive side, Lipscomb has 20 steals, and Holden Pierre-Louis has 21 blocks.
 
BEARD IS BIG FROM DISTANCE
Tre Beard is 60th in the nation and third in the Horizon League in three-point shooting percentage at 43.4. The senior averages 2.88 made three-pointers, ranking second in the league. In addition, he is 17th in the league in scoring at 13.13 points per game and 12th in assists per game at 3.13.
 
SHOOT OUT FROM DEEP
The Vikings rank second in the Horizon League in three-point field goal percentage at 36.8 percent, just behind Wright State, which is shooting 37.3 percent from beyond the arc.
 
NESSAH IN THE LEAGUE
Dayan Nessah's 13.9 points per game rank him 14th in the league. The sophomore has reached double-digits in 14 contests and has reached the 20-point plateau in four games. He is also tied for sixth in the league with 5.98 rebounds per game and has reached double-digits twice.
 
FIRST SEASON FOR SUMMERS AS HC
This season marks the first for Rob Summers as the Cleveland State head coach after being named the 18th head coach in program history in April. Summers is a familiar face to the Vikings, serving as an assistant coach under Dennis Gates from 2019-22. During that time, the Vikings won two Horizon League regular-season titles and one tournament championship. The teams made postseason appearances in the NCAA Tournament in 2021 and the NIT in 2022. Following his three-year stint with the Green and White, Summers spent two seasons as an assistant at Miami (OH) before reuniting with coach Gates as an assistant at Missouri this past season. Summers is a Columbus, Ohio, native and played at Penn State and West Virginia, helping the Mountaineers advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in 2006.
 
GET TO KNOW THE COACHING STAFF
Rob Summers has added an experienced group of five assistant coaches to his first Cleveland State staff. Associate head coach Frank Young comes to Cleveland after six seasons at Appalachian State. Young and Summers were teammates at West Virginia for their final two collegiate seasons. Veteran assistant Louis Rowe brings almost two decades of coaching experience and most recently was an assistant at Oregon. Rowe and Summers coached together at James Madison where Rowe was the head coach for four seasons. Assistant coach Michael Hunter comes to Cleveland after two successful seasons of head coaching experience at Shawnee State University. Hunter coached under Summers at Urbana University. Assistant coach Casey Perrin brings almost a decade of experience at three Division I programs. Perrin most recently was an assistant at Louisiana for the past three seasons. Dalon King returns to his alma mater as an assistant coach. King was on staff with Summers for all three seasons of his first stint at Cleveland State and went on to Missouri where the two worked together again last season. 
 
FRESH FACES
Cleveland State features a brand new roster this season. The Vikings added 15 new players this offseason who will be suiting up in the green and white for the first time. Cleveland State is one of six teams in Division I with all new players. The Vikings are one of ten teams in the country with zero returning points and one of eight teams with zero returning scholarship players.
 
BREAKING DOWN THE ROSTER
Cleveland State's roster features 14 transfer student-athletes and one incoming freshman. Among the transfers, 11 are upperclassmen. The roster includes five seniors and six juniors, along with three sophomores and one freshman. Among the transfers, seven have Division I playing experience.
 
LOCAL FLAVOR
Among the Cleveland State newcomers are some familiar names who have had success in the high school and college ranks in the Northeast Ohio region. Junior Josiah Harris comes from Akron where he played in six games last season before suffering a season-ending injury. Harris played his high school basketball at Richmond Heights, located on Cleveland's east side. Harris was a Northeast Lakes Division All-District IV first team selection. Manny Hill is another local product who is a familiar face as he follows in his older brother's footsteps. Yahel Hill played four years for the Vikings and graduated in 2023. Manny has made stops at Notre Dame College, Cuyahoga Community College and most recently Heidelberg University. Hill will play his final season of college basketball at Cleveland State.
 
UP NEXT
Cleveland State will play its next three games on the road, starting with Wright State on Wednesday, January 21, at 7 p.m.