SETTING THE SCENE
The Vikings open the 2026 Barbasol Horizon League Men's Basketball Tournament on Monday, March 2 at 7 p.m. against IU Indy in the play-in game.
 
A WIN WOULD…
Advance Cleveland State to the second round of the tournament at regular-season champion, Wright State, on Wednesday, March 4 at 7 p.m.
 
A POSITIVE OUTCOME MONDAY WOULD…
Be the first postseason win for head coach Rob Summers…Snap a season-long seven game losing streak…Tilt the season series with IU Indy to 2-1…Make it 16 of 17 wins against the Jaguars after IU Indy snapped the 15-game win streak in early February at home.
 
STREAK BROKEN
The Green and White had its season-best five game winning streak snapped by IU Indy in the second meeting on February 7. Three of the five wins during the streak came on the road at first-place Wright State, Green Bay, and Milwaukee. The other two wins were against Youngstown State and Oakland.
 
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.
 
GOT THAT DEEP BALL RECORD
The three-point game record entering the season was 16, which had been matched four times throughout the year. Those came at Purdue Fort Wayne (1/4/26), at Green Bay (1/30/26), at Youngstown State (2/18/26), and vs. Purdue Fort Wayne (2/22/26).
 
The new record was set against Oakland inside Woodling Gymnasium on February 14 when the Green and White connected on 17 from beyond the arc. CSU had five long balls in the first half before exploding for 12 in the second half.
 
REGULAR SEASON FINALE
The Vikings fell to Robert Morris on the road, 83-64, despite the game being tied at halftime. Cleveland State used all 13 players in the finale, with 12 of them getting into the scoring column, led by eleven points from Chevalier Emery.
 
Robert Morris held a 12-5 advantage when an Emery jumper sparked a 14-0 run capped off by a Kamari Jones three-pointer to lead for the first time, 19-12, with 10:57 remaining in the first half.
 
The Vikings pushed the margin to the largest of the half, 29-18, on a Manny Hill three-pointer with 7:22 to go in the half. RMU responded with a 12-1 spurt to even the game at 30-30 at the 4:15 mark. Foster Wonders then connected from deep to put the Green and White back in front and remained there until the Colonials hit a jumper with three seconds left, tying the game at halftime, 39-39.
 
The Green and White led five of the first six minutes in the second half despite four lead changes and two ties. After Beard knocked down a three-pointer to lead, 54-50, at the 14:15 mark, Robert Morris used a 23-2 run to lead 73-56 with 5:54 left in regulation and went on to win the finale, 83-64.
 
SEASON SERIES IS TIED 1-1
Cleveland State won the first meeting at home 99-86 on December 29 before falling on the road 82-74 on February 7. Emery led the way in the first contest with 29 points, and Nessah paced the team in the second game with 24 points.
 
ABOUT IU INDY
The Jags enter the postseason with a 7-24 overall record and were 3-17 in league games. IU Indy has lost six consecutive games and has just two wins on the road this year. The team is putting up a league-best 83.6 points which ranks 37th in the country and has a turnover margin of +4.3 which is eighth in the NCAA. They are also second in the nation in assists at 20.1 per game and lead the country in field goal attempts, 69.2 per game.
 
Kyler D'Augustino is second in the Horizon League with 18.8 points per game, while Finley Woodward is second in assists with 5.9 per game.
 
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 at home against Wright State.
 
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 next with 13.0 points, followed by Lipscomb with 12.6 points, and Emery rounding out the group at 12.5 points per game.
 
Harris leads the way on the glass with 6.6 rebounds per game. Ryan leads the way on the offensive board with 48. Beard tops the team in assists with 3.4 per game.
 
LETHAL DUO FROM LONG RANGE
Lipscomb and Beard hold the top two three-point field goal percentage in the league. Beard is shooting 42.6 percent from beyond the arc, while Lipscomb is shooting 41.5 percent.
 
In the NCAA, Beard is 24th in three-point percentage and Lipscomb is 26th.
 
LETTING IT FLY FROM DEEP
Cleveland State has reached double digits in three-pointers in 20 of its 31 games this season. The top five marks this season are 17 against Oakland and then 16 four-times versus Green Bay, Purdue Fort Wayne, Youngstown State, and Purdue Fort Wayne.
 
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 13.0 points per game which is 19th in the league and averages 3.4 assists per game which is 12th in the Horizon League.
 
He is tops in three-point percentage at 42.6 percent and three-pointers made at 3.3. The senior is fourth in assist/turnover ratio at 2.7 and is shooting 88.6 percent at the charity stripe.
 
PROTECTING THE PAINT
Pierre-Louis has 32 blocks this season, averaging 1.4 per game, which ranks fourth in the league.
 
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.