Dec. 9, 2004

Contact: Brian McCann

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GAME 5
Kent State (6-2) at Cleveland State (3-1)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 11, 2004
Time: 5:30 p.m. EST
Site: Goodman Arena (8,500), CSU Convocation Center
Promo: Homecoming (Free foam Viking sword for first 2,500 fans)
TV: None
Radio: WKNR, 850 AM (Frank DeMarco)
Series: Kent State leads, 23-15
Last Mtg.: KSU 116, CSU 66, Dec. 17, 2003, Cleveland, Ohio

SETTING THE SCENE: The Vikings return home for the final home contest in the month of December when they host Kent State on Saturday, Dec. 11 beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the Convocation Center. The game will serve as the annual Homecoming contest with the university community joining together to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Cleveland State University. The game is the middle piece in a tripleheader with the Viking women's basketball team hosting Toledo beginning at 3:00 p.m. and the wrestling team taking on No. 17 Michigan State at 7:30 p.m. in Woodling Gym. The Vikings are 3-1 this season after dropping a 79-75 decision at Akron on Wednesday (Dec. 8). After suffering back-to-back early season losses at Marquette (66-61) and Old Dominion (64-59), Kent State is on a roll, bringing a 6-2 record and five-game winning streak into Saturday's game. This will be the 39th meeting between CSU and Kent State in series that dates back to the 1932-33 season.

PREVIEWING KENT STATE: Coming off a 67-58 win at previously unbeaten Creighton on Tuesday night, the Golden Flashes are on a roll. KSU brings a five game winning streak to Cleveland, three of which have come on the road. Balance and depth have been the strength of the Flashes as four of the five starters average in double figures and third year head coach Jim Christian is able use a rotation the goes nine players deep. Junior forward Kevin Warzynski, a transfer from Georgia Southern, leads the team in both scoring (13.3) and rebounding (5.9) with the trio of guards DeAndre Haynes (11.0 ppg, 7.4 apg), Jason Edwin (12.5 ppg) and Jay Youngblood (11.1) providing additional offense.

HOMECOMING: The Kent State game will serve as the annual Homecoming contest with a day full of events planned around the three major athletic events being held on the CSU campus on Saturday. Earlier in the day, the women's basketball team will host Toledo with the wrestling team capping the day off with a 7:30 match vs. No. 17 Michigan State in Woodling Gym. This year's Homecoming is a little more special as the university community will be gathering to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Cleveland State University.

RIVALRY WEEK: The Vikings will face its two oldest active non-conference rivals this week, dropping a 79-75 decision at Akron on Wednesday and hosting Kent State on Saturday (Dec. 11). The 62 games against Akron makes the Zips the longest-running active non-conference opponent while Kent State is second with 38 games. The Vikings have played five other opponents more than 38 times, but four of those are against teams that CSU has not faced since at least 1984-85. The 64 games against Hiram makes it the most-played rival though the two teams have not met since 1967-68. Also on the list are league opponents Youngstown State (61 games) and UIC (52).

CSU IN THE NCAA STATS: The Vikings received numerous mentions in the inaugural NCAA men's basketball statistics of the year, which were released on Tuesday (Dec. 7) and included games through Dec. 6. As a team, CSU ranked 10th nationally in assists (19.5), 19th in scoring margin (19.7), 32nd in steals (10.6), 33rd in scoring (81.0) and 48th in three-point field goals a game (8.3). Individually, Omari Westley was sixth in rebounding (12.0), Modibo Niakate was sixth in field goal percentage (.710) and 25th in three-pointers (2.7) Raheem Moss was ninth in three-pointers (3.7) and Walt Chavis was 28th in steals (3.0). The statistics will be updated every Tuesday (except Dec. 28) through the end of the regular season.

THE VIKINGS ARE BETTER AFTER THE BREAK: One trend that has emerged in the first four games this year is that the Vikings have proven to be a second half team. In the four games, CSU is outscoring its opponents by half a point a game in the first 20 minutes, scoring 35.5 points a contest while allowing 35.0. The second half has been a different story entirely as the Vikings are averaging 44.0 points a game while limiting opponents to just 30.8 points, a 13.2 scoring margin. Included in those totals are a nine-point win over Hillsdale that came after trailing 34-30 at half. CSU has not been outscored in the second half yet this year.

ROAD TRIP ANYBODY?: After playing three straight games at home to open the season, the Vikings can say goodbye to the Convocation Center for the better part of the next seven weeks. The Akron game earlier this week started a stretch during which CSU will play 10 of its 12 games on the road before returning home on Jan. 27 to start a four game home stand. The 10 road contests will span six different states in three different time zones over a 46-day span. Only once will the Vikings play two games during the same trip, that coming when CSU is at Loyola on Jan. 3 before playing at Wright State on Jan. 6. If you were to drive the entire road trip -- which fortunately the Vikings will not have to do -- it would cover 8,946 miles. The longest trek is a 1,747 mile jaunt to Orem, Utah when CSU faces Utah Valley State. The shortest trips bookend the stretch, a 40-mile road trip to Akron on Dec. 8 and closing with a 74-mile journey to Youngstown State on Jan. 22.

SCORING BALANCE: As anticipated, the Vikings have shown a good scoring balance this year. Through the first four games of the regular season, the Vikings have had three different players lead the team in scoring with the team's leading returning scorer (Omari Westley) not being the leading scorer in any game. Only four players led the team in scoring last year.

THE TREY TRIO: The Viking trio of senior Modibo Niakate, sophomore Raheem Moss and freshman Steve Gansey have provided the Vikings with consistant outside shooting during the first four games this season, combining to shoot an amazing .542 (32-59) from three-point with each shooting .500 or better. Moss has made 11 of his 19 treys (.579) to lead the group while Gansey, who was five-for-seven at Akron on Wednesday, is coming on strong, shooting .529 (9-17). Niakate, the CSU career record holder for three-point percentage (60-131, .458), is shooting .522 (12-23). Moss, Gansey and Niakate are second, fifth and sixth, respectively in three-point percentage in the Horizon League.

NIAKATE NAMED HORIZON LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: After coming off the bench to score a career-high 31 points in the Nov. 27 win over Norfolk State, Modibo Niakate earned his first career Horizon League player of the week honor. He was 12-of-15 from the field and five-of-seven from three-point in tying a CSU school record for points by a reserve. Niakate is the first Viking to receive the award since Omari Westley was honored last November.

NIAKATE'S RETURN BOLSTERS OFFENSE: The Vikings have received a big offensive boost this season from the return of senior Modibo Niakate, who sat out the 2003-04 season as a redshirt. Niakate, who leads the Horizon League with a 20.0 scoring average, has scored in double figures in every game. He has shot a blistering .646 from the field this year (31-48), including .522 from three-point (12-23) and .760 from two-point (19-25). He led the team, and ranked second in the Horizon League, in 2002-03 with a .444 three-point field goal percentage (48-108). Niakate made three or more triples in nine games en route to posting the fourth-best season three-point shooting effort in CSU history. Niakate led the team with an 11.9 scoring average in his only Viking season.

MORE ON MO: The 31-point effort by Modibo Niakate against Norfolk State on Nov. 27 allowed the senior to record several other accomplishments:
• It tied the school record for points by a reserve, equalling the mark set by Percell Coles against IPFW on Nov. 18, 2002.
• No Viking had scored more points in a game since Theo Dixon scored 33 at Loyola on Feb. 3, 2001.
• The 26 points in the second half were the fifth-highest single half scoring total in school history and the most since Damon Stringer scored 28 vs. UW-Milwaukee on Jan. 29, 2000.
• It was a career scoring high, topping the 23-point efforts he had against Boston University (12/21/02) and Bowling Green (12/28/02). It was his sixth career 20- point game.

GARLAND GOES FOR THE LINE CHANGE: On two different occasions during the opener against Hillsdale, head coach Mike Garland turned to the Viking bench and summoned a group of five new players into the game. That was a far cry better than the second half of the 2003-04 season when he didn't have five different players to put in. CSU only played 10 players once during the last 14 games a year ago, with two of those players being walkons. The depth problems culminated in the Horizon League Tournament game at Detroit in which the Vikings had just seven players in uniform with two of those being walkons.

. . . AND THE BENCH STATS SHOW THE CHANGE: The change in the bench depth has been evident on the scoreboard as well. The Viking reserves are averaging 40.3 points a game, including a 52-point outburst at Akron, the most since the Vikings bench tallied 51 points against IPFW on Nov. 18, 2002, and 51 points against Norfolk State. With a full roster last year, the Viking bench averaged 18.7 points in the first 15 games. After injuries depleted the roster, CSU managed just 80 points total off the bench over last 14 games (5.7 ppg).

. . . THE EVIDENCE OF DEPTH IS IN THE MINUTES: Further evidence that Mike Garland has not only a quantity of players at his disposal this year but quality as well can be found in examining minutes played. Only once this year has a Viking played more than 30 minutes (Moss 33 vs. Clarion) with 10 players averaging 10 minutes or more. Last year, CSU had just one game in which no player surpassed the 30-minute mark (at Kent State) and never played 10 players at least 10 minutes in a game. The Vikings closed the year with a streak of 15 straight games of playing at least three players for more than 30 minutes.

WESTLEY ON THE BOARDS: Omari Westley's defense of his Horizon League rebounding title has begun on a bright note as the senior pulled double figure rebounding totals in each of the first three games to easily take the rebounding lead. His 10.3 rebounding average is well ahead of second place Adrian Tigert from UW-Milwaukee, who is averaging 8.0 rebounds a game. Westley, who also leads the league with 4.8 offensive rebounds a game, posted double-doubles in each of the first three games, giving him 11 in his career. He led the league in both offensive (3.1) and total rebounds a year ago (8.6).

. . . AND WESTLEY TO THE LINE: Omari Westley's quickness inside has allowed him to pick right up in the the first four games where he left off last year. Westley, who ranked second in the league a year ago with 175 free throws attempted (6.25/game), has attempted 29 free throws this year (7.3). He went to the foul line 12 times against Hillsdale, the fifth time in his career that he attempted 10 or more free throws in a game.

THREE-POINT RECORDS FALL: The win over Norfolk State on Nov. 27 allowed the Vikings to make a few new entries in the school single game record book. In the game, CSU was 12-of-32 from three-point, tying the school mark for three-pointers made in a game while breaking the record for three-pointers attempted. The 12 treys equalled the record set against Northern Illinois (1/6/92) and Drake (12/30/03) while the 32 attempts broke the old mark of 28 set against Hawaii-Hilo (11/28/99).

. . . AND THE TREY NUMBERS RISE: After a less than impressive three-for-15 shooting performance from three-point in the season opener, the Vikings have rebounded to average 10.7 three-pointers over the last three games. In addition to the school-record tying 12 three-pointers against Norfolk State, CSU has knocked down 10 treys against both Clarion and Akron. The Vikings have gone 20-for-43 from behing the arc over the last two games (.465).

PRESSURE, STEALS & BALL CONTROL: Two things that Mike Garland vowed after the 2003-04 season was that the Vikings were not only going to apply more defensive pressure this season, but CSU would also do a better job of taking care of the ball. Both objectives have been accomplished in the early going as the Viking lead the Horizon League in steals (10.3 spg), turnover margin (+6.8) and assists (18.3) and are second in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.16). Last year, the Vikings were fifth in the league in steals (5.9), seventh in assists (12.9) and last in turnover margin (-3.6) and assist-to-turnover ratio (0.63).

. . . AND THE TURNOVER TURNAROUND HAS BEEN IMPRESSIVE: The Vikings have indeed done a better job of taking care of the ball this year and it has shown in the statistics. Last year, CSU committed 534 turnovers in 29 games, or 20.5 per game. In four games this year, the Vikings have averaged only 15.8 turnovers a game, including back-to-back efforts of 12 vs. Norfolk State and 10 vs. Clarion. As a comparison, CSU turned the ball over 87 times in the first four games last year.

A STRONG DEBUT FOR MOSS: Sophomore forward Raheem Moss spent most of the 2003-04 season fighting off the frustration of being unable to contribute on the court while he sat out the season following his transfer from Bowling Green. Moss has taken all of that frustration out early this year as he is averaging 11.0 points and shooting .579 from three-point (11-19) in the four games this year. He is second in the Horizon League in three-point percentage, and third averaging 2.8 treys a game. Not included in his totals are a 21-point effort in the exhibition win over Ohio Dominican on Nov. 8, during which he was seven-of-15 from the field, including four-of-seven from three-point.

TATHAM SHINES IN RETURN: It didn't take long for sophomore center Patrick Tatham to shake off the struggles that he endured during the 2003-04 season. He scored a career-high 17 points in the season opener against Hillsdale College, connecting on eight-of-13 field goal attempts while grabbing six rebounds. That effort came on the heals of his 21-point, five-rebound effort in the exhibition win over Ohio Dominican on Nov. 8. In the four games this year, Tatham is averaging 8.3 points and 4.5 rebounds. Last year, Tatham averaged 3.8 points and 4.7 rebounds a game, playing on an injured knee that ultimately required surgery, keeping him out of the final six games of the year. He shot just .293 from the field (29-99).

WESTLEY NAMED TO HORIZON LEAGUE SQUAD: Senior forward Omari Westley, who ran away with the Horizon League rebounding title a year ago, is one of five members of the 2004-05 Horizon League Preseason team, which was determined in voting of the league coaches, sports information directors and media from around the league. Westley is joined on the preseason squad by the Illinois-Chicago duo of Cedrick Banks and Armond Williams and UW-Milwaukee's Ed McCants and Joah Tucker. Westley averaged 14.8 points and 8.6 rebounds a game last year, more than one rebound a contest ahead of Loyola's Paul McMillan (7.4). He also paced the league with 11 double-doubles.

VIKINGS INK ONE ON SIGNING DAY: The Vikings received an added bonus on Nov. 11 when Flint (Mich.) Northern High standout J'Nathan Bullock signed a national letter of intent to attend CSU and play basketball beginning next fall. Bullock, a 6-4 forward, averaged 17.3 points and 10.1 rebounds a game as a junior last year, shooting .545 from the field to earn first team all-city and all-region honors. He also received first team all-city accolades as a freshman and sophomore along with being a second team all-region choice as a sophomore. A nominee for the 2005 McDonald's All-America team, he is ranked as the 28th best player in the state of Michigan by Prepspotlight.com and was voted the League MVP and All-Star Game Runnerup MVP at the 2004 Cage Scope/Blue-Chip Basketball Camp in Georgetown, KY.

CSU IN THE CONVOCATION CENTER: Cleveland State is in its 14th season playing in Henry Goodman Arena in the CSU Convocation Center. The Vikings own a 99-75 (.566) record during that span, including winning records in five of the last seven seasons.

. . . AND THE CONVO TAKES ON A NEW LOOK: A new seating configuration debuted in the Convocation Center last week, helping to create a more fan-friendly atmosphere. The playing surface has been shifted to the east, towards the Viking Loge, with a curtain being added behind the western edge of the playing surface. The move reduces the seating capacity in Goodman Arena to just under 9,000 seats while creating an area on the western end of the floor -- and behind the curtain -- that will be available for a variety of uses.

NIAKATE TO PLAY JUST 13 GAMES: Senior guard Modibo Niakate will play in just the first half of the year for the Vikings after a clarification of his athletic eligibility determined that his five years of NCAA eligibility will run out in January. He is eligible to practice and play until Jan. 17, the day before the start of the spring semester at Cleveland State. He will then remain enrolled at CSU for the spring semester and complete his requirements towards receiving a bachelor's degree in communications. Niakate initially enrolled as a full-time student at Hutchinson Community College in January of 2000 but even though he did not begin playing basketball at Hutchinson until the November of 2000, his eligibility clock started in January of 2000. NCAA rules allow a student-athlete four years of intercollegiate eligibility, provided that those four years are completed during a five-year period that starts the day that a student-athlete is first enrolled as a full-time student.

TICKET UPDATE: Tickets for Cleveland State University men's basketball games are currently on sale and available in several forms. They are:
• Season Tickets: Pro-rated tickets for the remaining nine games comes at varied prices, $108 for seats between the baselines, $90 for corner seats and endzone seats running at $72. Big Green (mid-court section) and Courtside Coaches packages are also available.
• Value Plan: Includes single game tickets for five home games, Kent State (Dec. 11), Youngstown State (Jan. 8), Butler (Jan. 27), Illinois-Chicago (Feb. 12) and UW-Milwaukee (Feb. 26). Value plan tickets are set at $60 (between baselines), $50 (corner) and $40 (endzone).
• Three-Point Plan: Includes single game tickets for three home games -- Kent State (Dec. 11), Butler (Jan. 27) and UW-Milwaukee (Feb. 26) -- are available for $30 (corner) and $24 (endzone).
• Single Game: Single game seats are available in-person through the CSU Convocation Center Ticket Office or by contacting Ticketmaster. Single game prices are $8, $10 and $12.
Season, Viking Value Plan and group tickets are available by calling the CSU Athletic Ticket Office at (216) 687-4848. Ticketmaster can be reached by calling (216) 241-5555, stopping by any of the area Ticketmaster outlets or by going on-line at Ticketmaster.com.

LOOKING AHEAD: The Vikings close out 2004 with three straight road games, beginning the stretch at Utah Valley State on Saturday, Dec. 18 and continuing with games at Eastern Michigan on Dec. 23 and North Carolina on Dec. 30.