For the fifth straight season, the Cleveland State Vikings men’s basketball team has advanced to the Horizon League tournament semi finals following a quarterfinal victory over crosstown rival Youngstown State. The Vikings will head to Indianapolis for a semifinal battle with the Oakland Golden Grizzles following an improbable quarterfinal performance that saw Cleveland State win in a hostile environment without first team all league performer Tristan Enaruna.
In what can be described as a signature victory for Daniyal Robinson at Cleveland State, the undermanned Vikings received performances of the year from multiple players, en route to a decisive 82-70 win. Despite Cleveland State’s lineup continuing to be in flux, Dylan Arnett has been a constant the entire season, and has shown substantial improvement on both ends as the year has gone on. Arnett’s motor on the offensive glass causes headaches for oppositions, and Thursday was no different as the sophomore grabbed four of his twelve rebounds offensively, leading to extra possessions for the Vikings.
In addition to Arnett, Chase Robinson provided timely baskets in what was a career night for the junior guard. Robinson’s minutes have fluctuated throughout the regular season, but has become an integral member of Daniyal Robinson’s bench in recent weeks. Acting as Cleveland State’s sixth man, Robinson poured in a career high twenty points in Thursday’s quarterfinal victory while shooting a perfect four of four from behind the three point arc. With Tristan Enaruna questionable for Monday’s Horizon League semifinal, players such as Robinson, Tae Williams, and Drew Lowder will need to continue to provide a scoring punch.
With a matchup against regular season conference champion Oakland on Monday night, Cleveland State will look to upend the Grizzlies in the rubber match of their season series. The Vikings defeated Oakland at The Wolstein Center in December, before dropping the rematch on the road in early February. One key for Cleveland State will be to contain the three point shooting of Oakland, as the Grizzlies’ shooters burned the Vikings in Cleveland State’s defeat in Michigan. However, the Vikings’ three point defense has been proficient, as over the last four games they have held each opponent under 30% shooting from behind the arc.
Daniyal Robinson was also able to make history on Thursday night as he becomes the first ever Cleveland State men’s basketball head coach to win twenty games or more during their first two seasons at the helm of the program. While this season has not gone as smoothly for the Vikings as last, Robinson and his staff have done an admirable job at navigating the waters and situations they have been presented. Injury has taken a toll on the team’s depth, and players have been able to step up in critical moments when their names are called. Coach Robinson has shown a steady hand throughout, as he solidifies his name in Cleveland State history.
Looking back to Cleveland State’s victory over Oakland earlier in the year, the Vikings were able to stifle Horizon League player of the year Trey Townsend, as they frustrated the big man all game with defensive pressure. While a plethora of Vikings saw time against Townsend, Coach Robinson credited Tevin Smith for the doing the best job defensively that night. In a win or go home scenario, the Vikings will need to be at their best defensively against an explosive Golden Grizzlies team.
Cleveland State and Oakland will do battle in the first of two semi final games to take place in Indianapolis. Tip-off is scheduled for 7pm, while the second semifinal between Northern Kentucky and Milwaukee gets going at approximately 9:30.
