Vikings Swat Yellow Jackets but Can’t Earn Their Stripes Against Tigers (Plus a Roster Breakdown) 

CSU (2-5 entering the week) played two games against vastly different opponents this week. A matchup against a D-III school combined with a game against an undefeated SEC team was an interesting mix. The Vikings played both games without two of their starters (Josiah Harris and Tre Beard) and due to the difference in opponents, there is a lot to learn about the other parts of the roster. 

After a short review of each game (plus some takeaways), it sounded like a great time to break down the roster for CSU so far. With their next few games in conference play, the “real” season is about to start. 

Home Game against D-III Waynesburg University (3-4) on Tuesday, November 25th

No breakdown of this game can start without talking about the roster for Waynesburg. They have 27 guys on the team (of which 20 would play against CSU). With an announced attendance of 949 people in Woodling Gym, it looked ridiculous.

Even with three starters out (Beard, Harris, and Foster Wonders), the game was over from the start. CSU jumped out to a 14-2 lead and never looked back. The Yellow Jackets would only make eight field goals in the first half (compared to 22 by CSU). The Vikings played very good defense on the under-sized D-III team and continued to gather rebounds. 

By the time the first half was ending, the Vikings held a commanding 53-25 lead and the second half was almost identical (56-31). CSU was never in any danger of this game being close and it’d be difficult to gather any data by going play-by-play. In all, the Vikings won big (109-56) against an opponent they were meant to win big against.

Key Takeaways:

1. Seven Vikings scored in double figures (Preist Ryan, Dayan Nessah, David Giddens, Holden Pierre-Louis, Chevalier Emery, Manny Hill, and Lucas Burton). Ryan led the way with 21 plus eight boards while starting his second game in a row. Head coach Rob Summers had plenty to say about him after the game. “He’s just like a glue guy. He’s a guy who’s accepted his role at a high level.” He also talked about his expectations that he be a guy with the program for multiple years and compared him to former Viking fan-favorite, Tre Gomillion. Burton threw down an incredible dunk as well. “The biggest challenge in Lucas has been his intensity,” Summers mentioned. “Those dunks today are what I need out of him.” He continued, “He can be a good defender with his length.”
2. CSU won the rebounding battle 59 to 27. The Yellow Jackets were very much undersized compared with the Vikings but 11 of the 12 CSU players got at least three boards. This well-rounded nature of rebounding is necessary going forward against teams that have more height than the Vikings. “We’re going to watch the film. We’re going to see the box outs,” Summers said. “We want to make sure we’re talking about getting the ball with two hands.”
3. The Yellow Jackets had 22 turnovers but the Vikings still had 14. They will need to clean up their passing around the top of the key especially.
4. Emery had a great game from deep. He went 5-for-8 for all 15 of his points. He also had two assists and only one turnover. He’s been impressive off the bench so far.
5. Outside Emery, the Vikings only made two more threes. Even with Harris and Beard coming back soon (and Wonders out this game) the Vikings need to get some more threes to fall. There are other guys who can shoot on the team, they just need to get up the shots more consistently.

Away Game at the University of Missouri (7-0) on Friday, November 28th

A Dennis Gates-led Cleveland State team once were on the wrong side of a 40-0 scoring run by Ohio University. His Tigers did their best Bobcat impression as they started the game against CSU by scoring the first 23 points of the game. 

The Vikings had seven turnovers and missed their first 11 shots before Nessah finally hit two free throws and then a jumper to make it 25-4. Even with Wonders back playing, the Vikings were clearly missing Beard and Harris. 

Despite this start, the Vikings played okay the rest of the half as they actually beat the Tigers 24-23 after the initial 23 point deficit. At halftime it was 46-24 Mizzou but the Vikings continued to try to come back. They only lost 40-35 in the second half and shot fairly well from deep. 

The glaring issue from the jump was the Vikings were without their leading rebounder and the Tigers had a team of guys all around seven feet tall. Mizzou never let the Vikings fully back in the game as they grabbed every rebound.

In short, Gates did not welcome his old protege Summers back nicely. In the end, the Vikings lost 86-59 and probably started immediately thinking about the next game in the locker room.

Key Takeaways:

1. CSU shot better from three (especially the second half when they were 8-for-14). Jaidon Lipscomb got up more shots than normal and hit four threes. Wonders was 3-for-6. This is the balanced attack they need.
2. The Vikings only had 26 rebounds. Nessah had nine of these. The Tigers had 47. There’s your game.
3. CSU again gave up a ton of points in the paint (40). The same issues have shown up in nearly every game and being without Harris is not making this part of their defense any easier.
4. The Vikes only had five second chance points. This stat obviously is connected to offensive boards, but combined with the tough start shooting-wise, nothing went right for them.
5. CSU again had a lot of turnovers (17 in the game) and this was a large part of the 23-0 drought. They had seven turnovers just in that stretch.

Team Breakdown Heading into Conference Play:

1. Dayan Nessah: Nessah has proven that his international experience this summer was no fluke. He’s averaging 15.3 points per game (PPG) and 6.4 rebounds per game (RPG). His ability to get to the basket quickly brings back flashes of former Viking, Torey Patton, and he’s clearly becoming the main focus of other teams’ defenses.
2. Josiah Harris: Robin to Nessah’s Batman. Or maybe Batman to Nessah’s Robin? Harris is averaging 7.9 RPG and 10.1 PPG. The defense has taken a step back since he went down against Kent State. Once he comes back, the Vikings will need him to continue to play big minutes.
3. Tre Beard: Coming into the season, Beard was definitely in the running for best three-pointer shooter on the team. He has solidified that position. Last season at Shawnee State he shot 47% from deep. That was going to be hard to replicate in D-I so instead he is currently shooting 48.7% from three! The Vikings need his scoring back soon (15.5 PPG). 
4. Jaidon Lipscomb: Lipscomb has had a strange start to the season. He has started all but one game but his minutes have been a bit random. He’s only shooting 34.8% from the field but he’s added 23 assists. He’s only averaging 5.9 PPG but has been in double figures two of the last three games. Coming off an injury-riddled season last year, it could just be some rust wearing off.
5. Foster Wonders: Coming over from Green Bay, Wonders was expected to be another large threat from three. He’s started every game but the two above and is shooting 34.1% from deep. He’s reached nine points three times (including against Mizzou) but needs to get up more shots.
6. Chevalier Emery: Emery is averaging almost ten PPG off the bench and brings a level of energy that at times seems lacking on the Vikings. Certain possessions, he can look a bit out of control but when he hits five threes (as he did against Waynesburg), who cares what it looks like?
7. Preist Ryan: Stepping into the starting role after Harris was injured, Ryan has played above and beyond the call. He’s averaging 7.6 PPG plus 3.8 RPG. Summers mentioned after the Waynesburg game that he wants him to shoot a bit more from three and he did take two in the Missouri game.
8. David Giddens: Starting the last two games hasn’t been kind to Giddens’ three-pointer percentage. He’s 2-for-16 in those games. Before that, he was 5-for-9 on the season. His quick release can help the Vikings when they need points fast. Side note, on a team of great hair, Giddens is the current front-runner for best hair.
9. Holden Pierre-Louis: The Harris injury opened up some playing time for Pierre-Louis and he’s taken advantage of it. He had 10 points against Waynesburg on 5-for-7 shooting. He was part of the turnover mania against Mizzou (four turnovers plus he fouled out) but he has 7 blocks in the last three games.
10. Manny Hill: Hill hasn’t played a ton (62 minutes total) but he brings a clear veteran presence to the Vikings. He has eight assists and only four turnovers. He’s also a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line.
11. Kevo St. Hilaire: St. Hilaire has only played 29 minutes but they’ve been super fun to watch. He has seven points (four coming right after Harris went down) and nine boards. Vikings’ fans might be looking at their future force down low.
12. Ivan Spirov: Spirov has played sparingly as well but the athletic ability is clearly there. He put up a season-high six points against Waynesburg but he’s also gotten to the rim plenty this season and not finished. He was the last member of the team added so hopefully he continues to mesh more with the team as the year goes on.
13. Kamari Jones: Jones went 3-for-3 from deep in the first game of the season but he has only taken 14 more (and made three) since. He’s only played 73 total minutes but he’s another threat from three the Vikings desperately need when they can’t score.
14. Lucas Burton: One of the most intriguing Vikings (simply due to the fact he’s listed as a wing), Burton has earned himself some playing time after his fun game against Waynesburg. He’s played 27 minutes combined in the last two games (16 prior to that) and has three blocks on the season. His jumping ability is crazy to watch.

Up Next for CSU (3-6):

The Vikings head to Northern Kentucky Wednesday at 7 PM before coming back home to face Detroit Mercy on Saturday at 2 PM.