SETTING THE SCENE
Cleveland State hosts Purdue Fort Wayne for Senior Day on Saturday at 2 p.m. inside the Wolstein Center. The Green and White enter with a 10-18 overall record and a 6-11 mark in the league, while the Mastodon's are 15-13 overall and 9-8 in the Horizon League.

THANK YOU, SENIORS
The Vikings will honor two managers along with six players prior to the game on Sunday. Sean Kulling, Abdul Muazu, Manny Hill, Lucas Burton, Foster Wonders, Chevalier Emery, Jaidon Lipscomb, and Tre Beard.
 
REMAIN IN YOUR SEATS AT HALFTIME
Cleveland State will be recognizing members of the 1985-86 team at halftime for the 40-year anniversary of the "Run N' Stun" Sweet Sixteen team.
 
A WIN ON SUNDAY WOULD…
End a four-game losing streak…Put the Vikings back over .500 at home this season at 7-6...Make it seven straight home wins against PFW...Favor CSU 8-2 in the last ten meetings.
 
GETTING IT DONE IN THE CLASSROOM
The Cleveland State men's basketball team had the highest GPA in the department for men's sports with a 3.62 GPA. Ten players were named to the Dean's List while the entire team had a GPA above 3.00.
 
UP NEXT
Cleveland State hosts Northern Kentucky in its home finale on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. The promotion for this game is the Tim Misny bobblehead giveaway.
 
NEARING THE END
After hosting NKU on Wednesday, the Vikings conclude the regular season at Robert Morris on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 1 p.m.
 
LAST GAME OUT
The Vikings fell to Youngstown State 106-82 despite Jaidon Lipscomb scoring a career-and game-best 32 points on 12-of-21 shooting, with eight of those made baskets coming from behind the arc. Kamari Jones received the start and finished with a season-best 14 points.

The Penguins led the entire game and were up 13-4 when a Josiah Harris three-pointer sparked an 8-2 run to get within a possession, 15-12, with 13:27 remaining in the first half. Cleveland State wouldn't get any closer, trailing 52-38 at halftime, with both teams connecting on nine three-pointers in the half.

In the second half, the Green and White got as close as 63-51 at the 14:26 mark when Youngstown State went on a 12-0 run to claim a 75-51 advantage with 11:36 to go in the contest.
#THROWBACK TO FIRST MEETING
Cleveland State was edged by Purdue Fort Wayne 74-71 in the first game of the calendar turn despite five players reaching double figures. The Mastodons jumped out to an early 14-8 lead with 12:21 left in the first half before CSU rattled off a seven-point run to claim a one-point lead. The Vikings biggest run was ten points that culminated at the 3:27 mark of the first half. The biggest lead of the game was 40-24 and led 43-32.
 
Purdue Fort Wayne was able to cut the lead to one at the 12:34 mark of the second half before CSU got the lead back up to nine on an Emery layup. The game went back-and forth until a PFW run got the Mastodons the lead at the 2:39 mark. CSU cut the lead to one with two seconds left but missed the game-tying half-court shot after two made free throws on an intentional foul.
 
About Purdue Fort Wayne
The Mastodons are 6-5 since defeating the Vikings and are coming off an 87-71 loss at Northern Kentucky on Wednesday. Purdue Fort Wayne is 15-13 overall, but have struggled on the road this season, sporting a 4-10 mark.
 
Three players average double-digit points, led by Corey Hadnot with a Horizon League best, 20.3 points per game. He was named to the Lou Henson Award Watch List which recognizes the best player in NCAA Mid-Major basketball. Darius Duffy averages 4.5 rebounds per game and Hadnot has dished out a team-best 91 assists.
 
OVER/UNDER FOR THE WIN
The Vikings are 7-1 this season when shooting better than 50 percent from the field, with the only loss coming in their last home game against Wright State.
 
Cleveland State is 8-5 on the year when scoring more than 80 points.
 
LEADING THE WAY FOR THE VIKINGS
Cleveland State has four double-digit scorers, led by Nessah with 15.5 points per game on 55.3 percent shooting. Beard is close behind with 13.3 points, followed by Lipscomb with 12.5 points, and Emery rounding out the group at 12.4 points per game.
 
Nessah has pulled down 166 total boards to top the squad and has a team-best 46 offensive boards. Lipscomb is tops in assists with 84.
 
LETTING IT FLY FROM DEEP
Cleveland State has reached double digits in three-pointers in 18 of its 27 games this season. The top four marks this season are 17 against Oakland and 16 three on the road at Green Bay, Purdue Fort Wayne, and Youngstown State.
 
NESSAH NAILING IT
Nessah is eighth in the league, averaging 15.4 points per game, and is seventh in the league with 6.3 rebounds per contests. The sophomore ranks 13th in the league in free throw percentage at 75.0 percent.
 
BREAKING DOWN BEARD
Beard averages 13.3 points per game which is 19th in the league and averages 3.3 assists per game which is 12th in the Horizon League.
 
He is tops in three-point percentage at 42.4 percent and three-pointers made at 3.1. The senior is fourth in assist/turnover ratio at 2.7 and is shooting 88.1 percent at the charity stripe.
 
PROTECTING THE PAINT
Pierre-Louis has 31 blocks this season, averaging 1.4 per game, which ranks fourth in the league.
 
GOT THAT DEEP BALL RECORD
Three times this season, Cleveland State tied the three-ball record of 16 before breaking it with 17 made three-pointers against Oakland on Feb. 4 in Woodling Gymnasium.
 
The Vikings tied the mark at Purdue Fort Wayne (1/4/26), at Green Bay (1/30/26), and Youngstown State (2/18/26).
 
In the record setting game against OU, the Green and White had just five long balls at the half before exploding with 12 in the second half.
 
TWICE IS NICE
Nessah has twice been named the Horizon League Player of the Week and is the only Viking to receive this honor. He claimed the first after picking up a double-double at Wright State with 31 points and 10 rebounds, to go along with five assists.

The following week, he repeated as the award winner after averaging 18.5 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists during the Wisconsin trip.
 
WISCONSIN SWEEP
Cleveland State has been making the trip to Wisconsin for a pair of games for nearly 30 years, completing the sweep for just the fourth time, with the last coming under Coach Gates in 2021-22.
 
COACHES SHOW
You can listen to the weekly Rob Summers radio show at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, on SportsRadio 99.1.