SETTING THE SCENE
The Vikings, winners of four consecutive games, face Oakland on Wednesday. Cleveland State sits at 9-14 overall and 5-7 in Horizon League games, while the Grizzlies are 14-10 overall and 10-3 in league contests.

A WIN ON WEDNESDAY WOULD…
Extend the Vikings winning streak to five straight…Make it four straight victories against Oakland at home…Split the season series for a second straight year.

MAKE IT TWO STRAIGHT FOR NESSAH
Dayan Nessah picked up his second straight Horizon League Player of the Week honor after leading Cleveland State to a Wisconsin sweep. The sophomore averaged 18.5 points, 11 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in those games.
 
Nessah started the week with a team-best 18 points and a game-best nine rebounds against Green Bay and followed it up with his fourth double-double of the year at Milwaukee behind 19 points and a game-best 13 rebounds. This season, he has reached double-digit points in 18 games.
 
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. It was also the first win in Milwaukee since that season.
 
LAST GAME OUT
Cleveland State used a pair of last-second free throws to prevail at Milwaukee on Sunday, 90-88. Jaidon Lipscomb scored a game-best 21 points, while Dayan Nessah picked up his fourth double-double of the year behind 19 points and 13 rebounds.
 
The Green and White scored the first basket of the game and would not trail for the remainder of the game.  The largest lead of the first half was eight, but Milwaukee tied the game at 36-36 with 1:30 left in the first half. CSU closed the half with an 8-3 run to lead 44-39.
 
The Vikings took their largest lead of the game, 66-54, as the Panthers chipped away at the deficit, tying the game on a three-pointer with three seconds left. However, with one second left, Lipscomb was fouled at midcourt, giving him two free throws and the win.
 
#THROWBACK TO FIRST MEETING
The Vikings fell 97-72 to then-first-place Oakland on January 9th, as four players finished with double digits, led by Nessah with 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting. Priest Ryan was next with 15 points, followed by Lipscomb and Tre Beard with 11 points apiece.
 
Cleveland State scored the opening five points, but Oakland came right back with the next eleven points and didn't relinquish the lead again. The Green and White got as close as two, 11-9, with 12:41 left in the half.
 
ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES
Oakland comes into town with a 14-10 overall record and a 10-3 mark in Horizon League games. The Grizzlies are 5-2 since the last meeting and are winners of three straight after toppling Northern Kentucky at home on Sunday, 76-65. Brody Robinson leads the team in scoring with 16.7 points, while Isaac Garrett is the top rebounder with 7.1 boards per game. Brody Robinson is tops in assists with 151 and steals with 33.
 
OVER/UNDER FOR THE WIN
The Vikings are 7-0 this season when shooting better than 50 percent from the field, eclipsing that mark in each of the four games during the winning streak.
 
LEADING THE WAY FOR THE VIKINGS
Cleveland State has four double-digit scorers, led by Dayan Nessah with 15.7 points per game on 55.4 percent shooting. Tre Beard is close behind with 13.9 points, followed by Chevalier Emery at 12.6 points and Jaidon Lipscomb with 11.2 points per game.
 
Nessah has pulled down 146 total boards to top the squad, while Preist Ryan has grabbed 40 offensive boards. Lipscomb and Beard are tops in assists with 62.
 
LETHAL DUO FROM LONG RANGE
Jaidon Lipscomb and Tre Beard are the top two players in three-point field goal percentage. Lipscomb is shooting 45.2 percent from beyond the arc, while Beard is just behind him at 42.8 percent shooting from three-point range.
 
In the NCAA, Beard is sixth in three-point percentage, and Lipscomb is 22nd.
 
LETTING IT FLY FROM DEEP
Cleveland State has reached double digits in three-pointers in 15 of its 23 games this season. Twice have the Vikings tied the program record for most threes in a game, 16, done at Purdue Fort Wayne and Green Bay.
 
NESSAH NAILING IT
Nessah is seventh in the league, averaging 15.7 points per game, and is fifth in the league with 6.6 rebounds per contest. The sophomore ranks 15th in the league in free-throw percentage at 75 percent.
 
BREAKING DOWN BEARD
Beard averages 13.9 points per game, which is 16th in the league, and averages 3.1 assists per game, which is 15th in the Horizon League. He is second in free-throw percentage at 87 percent and tops in three-point percentage at 45 percent.
 
PROTECTING THE PAINT
Pierre-Louis has 26 blocks this season, averaging 1.3 per game, which ranks fourth in the league.
 
RYAN GETS THE REBOUND
Ryan has 40 offensive boards, which is 15th in the league.
 
UPCOMING REGIONAL GAMES
Cleveland State has two more games remaining on Rock Entertainment Sports Network, a joint venture between Rock Entertainment Group and Gray Media.
 
2/15/26 | 2 p.m. | vs. Wright State
2/25/26 | 7 p.m. | vs. Northern Kentucky
 
COACHES SHOW
You can listen to the weekly Rob Summers radio show at 6 p.m. on Tuesday on SportsRadio 99.1.
 
UP NEXT
The Vikings head to IU Indy on Saturday, Feb. 7, at 2 p.m.