Cleveland State took down the University of Puerto Rico at Bayamón on Sunday by an 82-45 score, completing a sweep of two games at the Puerto Rico Clasico in Bayamón’s Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez.
Here are five things that stood out, as the Vikings hit the Christmas break with a 12-2 overall record:
1. It’s more than fair to say that the contest did not go according to script, a reality that began far before the ball was tipped.
Originally, Sunday’s opponent was listed as UPR-Mayagüez, the team CSU defeated in last year’s Clasico. Then, a few weeks ago, it was quietly switched to UPR-Bayamón, the local campus in the island’s university system. Chris Kielsmeier fell on his sword over that issue (if it even was one), calling it a simple case of miscommunication.
Regardless of who was on the other bench, they played awfully well.
Within the first four minutes of the game, the Vaqueras’ Abeliz Rodriguez, Franchesca Torres, and Arianis Rivera each hit three-pointers. Those shots, combined with a Rivera free throw, were enough to give Bayamón – an NCAA Division II school, though one that primarily plays other UPR locations – a 10-0 lead over the stunned Vikings.
“We weren’t ready to play,” Kielsmeier said. “We were standing around in our zone. It doesn’t matter who, what, when, where. Shooters that get open looks have good chances to make those shots. And that’s why the zone can be so risky. Like you’ve got to play in it, you stand around and you’re late showing on people, you’re going to get lit up.”
“But [Bayamón] played well. They played hard. And you love to see teams that don’t approach a game like we’re overmatched or this is not going to end well for us. They just played and laced up like we did and they were ready to go.”
Sanity returned pretty quickly after the rough start, as Cleveland State immediately went on a 34-5 run (including 19 straight points to launch it), and were never seriously threatened from that point.
That’s not to say there weren’t still issues. CSU turned the ball over 25 times, and spent most of the morning managing foul trouble to post players Izabella Zingaro, Laurel Rockwood, and Shey Magassa, resulting in extended time at the five for Madison Royal-Davis. The Vikings mustered just nine points in the second quarter, shooting 3-for-14 during the frame.
In other words, it was just about the ugliest 37-point win possible.
“[It’s been a] long semester,” Kielsmeier admitted. “No matter how much you tell them ‘we’ve got to be ready to play, this team’s going to play hard.’ All the right words. You’ve got to process it, and you’ve got to reflect, and you’ve got to go do it. And it was clear we weren’t ready to play, and we battled the game all night.”
2. Jada Leonard was CSU’s saving grace, particularly early in the affair, when very little else was going well for the Vikings.
The Bronx native pulled the green and white out of its early hole with nine of the team’s first 12 points, including a pair of three-pointers. Sarah Hurley helped spring Leonard for a runout bucket after a rebound, and knocked down her own triple to help Cleveland State take the lead for good.
“[Jada] carried us there for a while,” Kielsmeier observed. “We’ve had to do that a little bit, well, too much with players. We have 14 really good players, and there’s been too many moments in my opinion where one person’s had to carry us, but that’s what playmakers do. Jada likes that role. She’s a scorer.”
“She had to play all those minutes today at the point, which is still a position that she’s learning. She turned it over too much. But she played great on both ends of the floor and it’s great to see that she was ready to go.”
Leonard wound up with game highs of 25 points, six assists, and four steals, as well as seven rebounds – and the four turnovers Kielsmeier mentioned. Hurley closed with 11 points and six rebounds, while Paula Pique’s 12 points, eight rebounds, and four assists rounded out CSU’s double-digit scorers.
3. Sunday was World Basketball Day, which commemorates the moment in 1891 when Dr. James Naismith hung his peach baskets for the first time.
Coincidentally, CSU has spent the last two World Basketball Days playing in Puerto Rico – part of the United States, of course, but nevertheless, a place that feels much more like a global adventure than Moon Township, Indianapolis, and other Horizon League locales.
“It’s just a day of reflection,” Kielsmeier said. “When I’m on the bus to the game, I’m locked in, and usually just as calm and peaceful as could be. And I spent the entire time sending text messages to people that I felt impacted my life because of the game. I challenged our players to process it in their own way as well, because the game is so cool and it’s impacted so many lives. Certainly, all of our lives, everybody. Whether you’re a player, or a coach, or a SID, whatever it is…man, the game’s just awesome, huh?”
Cleveland State has typically embraced the international nature of the sport more than most programs, presently including a pair of native Spanish speakers, Paula Pique and Sur Lozano.
That came in quite handy during the trip, as it turned out.
“Sur was like our translator for like the last three weeks, trying to get food set up and stuff,” Kielsmeier said. “She was in Coach [Chenara] Wilson’s office for hours talking to people about food, because most of the restaurants that you call when we’re trying to get it organized and prepped, long before we get there, don’t speak English.”
4. One of the reasons Kielsmeier enjoys the Puerto Rico Clasico is that his team has typically been given a day off in between the MTE’s two games, affording the opportunity for a non-basketball adventure.
On Saturday, CSU used that day for an excursion to El Yunque National Forest, a rainforest.
“We talk about the experience all the time and that was an experience,” Kielsmeier said. “It was an experience for me. I got to sit underneath a waterfall. It was sliding down the slide, and there was a big drop off of it. And I forced myself to get up underneath that thing, and I’m like, ‘This is really cool.’”
As worried as the coach may have been about that waterfall, it decidedly took a backseat to something else: the participation of injured Vikings Queen Ruffin and Colbi Maples.
“It was mud, it was slopes, it was rocks,” he said. “I’m like, ‘What are we doing with two injured players here?’ But they were adamant. ‘I’m seeing that water. I’m seeing those slides.’”
Cleveland State’s support staff helped make sure Ruffin and Maples had adequate escorts, and apparently, everyone made it through no worse for wear.
“Those kids were tough as heck,” Kielsmeier added. “We got them to a certain point. We thought it was close enough and they were like, ‘I didn’t come this far not to see the water and get the full experience. I’m going the whole way.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh my God, okay.’ So we’re signing off on this.”
5. The victory over Bayamón was Cleveland State’s 19th straight at MTE events. Technically, the streak dates back to November 24, 2018, a loss to Tulane in San Diego early in Kielsmeier’s first season at the school. However, the first win didn’t arrive until 2022-23, after COVID-19 wiped out most MTEs for two years.
Nine of those 19 wins took place at the Vikings’ thrice-hosted Thanksgiving event, while the others involved trips to Las Vegas (2), Fort Myers (2), New Orleans (2) and, of course, Puerto Rico (4). It’s certainly true that a handful of those results have come against a pair of UPR campuses, as well as the downtrodden likes of Valparaiso and Chicago State.
However, it’s also true that CSU has brought home some high-quality victories from MTEs, including Southern Mississippi, Drexel, Lamar, St. Bonaventure and, on Friday, College of Charleston.
What’s the secret?
“Good players,” Kielsmeier said. “We have really good players that make plays. We just establish the culture. Let’s talk about this group coming in, and believing that we can continue to do what Cleveland State does.”
“How many doubters and people thought maybe we can’t be this or that, because of all the talent that we lost. And we’ve lost a lot of really good players for seven straight years. It wasn’t just one year. This group is connected. They have had some storms and some things that they had to work through, but that’s a connected basketball team right now that really cares about each other, really loves playing with each other. And I’m really fortunate to coach them because they’re really, really good people.”
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