Cleveland State Vikings season is upon us. With last Wednesday’s exhibition against Lourdes University and Monday’s game against the University of Michigan, there’s a lot to unpack. No time to waste. Here we go.
Exhibition at Home Against Lourdes University
CSU started their fan-attended events with an exhibition against the NAIA Lourdes Gray Wolves in Woodling Gym. Dylan Arnett started the fun with the first bucket and it was mostly smooth sailing from there. To go along with Arnett, Coach Daniyal Robinson started Je’Shawn Stevenson, Tevin Smith, Ebrima Dibba, and Robinson’s son Reece.
The first four minutes of the game saw suffocating defense as well as some rounded-out scoring and the Vikes held a modest 12-10 lead at the first media timeout.
First off the bench for CSU was KJ Debrick out of the timeout for Arnett. Cole Franklin also entered shortly after for Robinson and then Canisius transfer Tahj Staveskie entered, quickly grabbed a steal, and then drew a foul.
The game was tied at 14 but an Isaac Abidde strong basket and foul leading into the second media timeout started a large run that took CSU to the end of the game.
The score at different times after the game was tied at 14 was as follows:
21-14, then 28-16, then 40-18, then finally 40-20 at half.
Other highlights in the first half were a great Abidde slam dunk, the first deep three for Staveskie in a Vikings uniform straight out of a timeout, and a ridiculous block by Smith against the backboard. (Side note: Smith and Jalin Rice should have a contest to see who can jump the highest because they’re amazing.)
Paxton Payne also entered the game in the first half for Lourdes. This former Viking and son of CSU coach Steve Payne would finish the game with four points, an assist, and two steals in 15 minutes.
The second half saw more of the same for the Vikings. Coach Robinson started Chase Robinson, Rice, Debrick, Abidde and Franklin. Overall, the Vikings played everyone essentially the same minutes due to it being an exhibition and everyone got a lot of time to get some of the new season jitters out.
The Vikes led 46-24 at the first media timeout but trouble was about to show its face. CSU already had committed seven fouls just under the 14 minute mark. This then turned into ten fouls with 12:39 left in the game.
The second half was fairly uneventful other than the fouls as the score was 63-35 at the 8:06 media timeout.
One thing to note was that the Vikes taking a 75-41 lead after Chase Robinson hit a straight-on three. It seems like every game he hits the exact shot at least once.
CSU led 75-44 at the last media timeout at 3:08 and then completed the rout and won 84-49. Overall, the Vikes shot 51.9% (44.4% from three).
Key takeaways:
- CSU can win a lot of conference games if they keep up their suffocating defense and rebounding. They out-rebounded Lourdes 41-26 and had seven blocks.
- FREE THROWS!! The Vikes finally hit free throws for the first time in years. They finished 20 for 25. After the game, Coach Robinson was happy but wanted to make sure the Vikings keep getting to the line going forward. “If we can get to the line 25 times, that’s great. When you’re going with force and making the right plays, you get those opportunities.”
- The team has plenty of height compared to last year. Reece Robinson, Abidde, and a healthy Debrick all will help Arnett.
- The scoring will come from a lot of places. Unlike last year with Tristan Enaruna, Tae Williams, and Drew Lowder, this squad is going to have a new leading scorer every game. On Wednesday, it was Stevenson with 18 points.
- Seeing a son play for his dad is awesome. “It’s a joy[…] I get more joy out of it than he does. [I’m] really proud of his hard work and the way he shows up every day,” Robinson remarked.
Extra point: Woodling Gym games are so fun. It gets loud no matter how many fans attend.
First Game at the University of Michigan
From NAIA to Big Ten went about the way one would expect. For the first real game of the season, the Vikings started Arnett, Chase Robinson, Abidde, Staveskie, and Smith.
Overall, the Vikings got outplayed by the Wolverines from the tipoff to the final whistle but there were certainly bright points and things to build off.
Abidde had the Vikings first bucket after Arnett grabbed his first (of many) offensive rebound(s). Then the foul trouble that showed itself in the second half of the Lourdes exhibition showed itself again. The Vikes had three fouls at 18:21 then four fouls at 18:03. To go along with the fouls were three turnovers already by the 17:41 mark.
By the time of the first media timeout, Michigan was up 8-2. Trying to get some scoring, Stevenson was first off the bench out of the media timeout but the Vikings could never get their offense going.
Abidde had the first four Vikings points but that would be it as they started 2-9 as a team.
Arnett continued to be a light among the darkness with a basket and foul to make it 13-7 but that was just about all CSU had in the tank.
The Vikings continued to foul and Michigan was already in the bonus at the 11:57 mark and then the double bonus at the 8:52 mark.
Some sloppy passing and not getting back on defense led to way too many fast break points. A 14-2 Michigan run led to a 41-21 score at the under four minute media timeout. Michigan would take a 54-26 lead into halftime.
The second half was like the end of the first half. Cleveland State didn’t shoot well and Michigan shot insanely well. Michigan flirted with a program record shooting percentage but fell just short in the final seconds. The Wolverines ended the night thumping the Vikings 101-53 after winning the second half 47-27.
Key Takeaways:
- The Big Ten plays fast but CSU has to pick up their pace to run with quicker teams. There were numerous times after a miss where Michigan had guys running and no one on CSU was within 15 feet of them.
- CSU continued to grab rebounds, especially offensive ones. This will be huge in conference games. The Vikings grabbed 20(!) offensive rebounds to the Wolverines 10. Arnett had 8 of those. Just a monster game on the boards.
- Without a clear number one scorer, CSU has to be more careful with the basketball. They had 21 turnovers and no one scored over seven points. They only shot 30% from the floor (2-19 from three). They did go 9-11 from the line though. In close Horizon League games that will be important.
- Michigan might be very good this year. 7-footer Danny Wolf had 19 points and 13 rebounds. The announcers kept saying he plays like guys his size aren’t supposed to play, but Evan Mobley exists. Either way, Wolf looks good.
- This game didn’t mean anything and hopefully CSU can build off this before conference play. The rotation looks to be in flux as Coach Robinson figures out the best way to use everyone. No matter what, it’s one game and the Vikings still showed fight and hustle until the final whistle.
Next up: Cleveland State takes on the Division III Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets at the Wolstein Center Wednesday at 7 pm.
