Vikings Fall to Phoenix, But Rise From Ashes to Defeat Penguins

CSU (5-13, 1-6 Horizon League at the start of the week) was able to capture another conference victory after being blown out by Green Bay. Without its leading rebounder, CSU managed to squeak by Youngstown State and keep its season’s aspirations alive.

At home against Green Bay (10-8, 5-2 HL) on Jan. 15, Josiah Harris was out again. The regular backup crew started for the Vikings — Tre Beard, Jaidon Lipscomb, Dayan Nessah, Preist Ryan and Holden Pierre-Louis. 

Some quick defense and outlet passes immediately put CSU up 6-0 and then 11-3 after a Nessah three-pointer. With just over four minutes gone by, the Vikings had two steals and a ton of energy.

Two Nessah free throws out of the media timeout had the Vikings up by ten before the Phoenix even had a chance to breathe. Alas, this lead would not hold for long as Green Bay scored 11 of the game’s next 13 points to close the gap to one. After those first two steals, CSU only had one more on the day.

A great pass by David Giddens had the Vikings briefly back up by five but GB continued to fight back while CSU couldn’t pull away. Just before the eight minute mark, a Nessah turnover turned into two easy points for the Phoenix and the game was tied at 22.

The basket at 8:12 was the last point by either team until the 5:24 mark of the half. Nessah ended the drought with a three, which shortly opened the floodgates. GB responded with a three before Lipscomb hit a three of his own.

CSU got a bit of breathing room with two Nessah foul shots but they couldn’t close out the half. Green Bay capitalized on the tired Viking defense to tie the game at 37 with under a minute left in the half. Beard played hero with a three with seconds left and the Vikings were up 40-37 going to the break.

The Phoenix came out for the second half ready to take the lead and the game. Within 11 seconds it was a one-point game and just over two minutes in, Green Bay took the lead. 

CSU tied the score at 45 on free throws by Ryan, but Marcus Hall put the Phoenix back on top for good less than a minute later. Hall hit two more threes shortly after to grow the lead to six and send the Vikings spiraling.

Another Hall three ballooned the score to 65-54 with just over 11 minutes left. From the time the score was tied at 45, the Phoenix had gone on a 20-9 run to take total control.

Beard did his best to keep the game within reach with a three but the slowness of the Green Bay game didn’t leave enough time to come back. Kamari Jones closed the game to eight again with 6:26 (as did Nessah with free throws at 4:23) but the clock was too short. 

Green Bay went 9-for-10 at the charity stripe to end the game and grow their lead to 18 before a Foster Wonders three put the final score at 88-73. From the moment of 45-45, Green Bay outscored CSU 43-28.

Key Takeaways:

1. Both teams had 12 rebounds in the first half but GB out-rebounded CSU 15-to-7 in the second half. Head coach Rob Summers was happy with the first half. “We had a really good job in the first half rebounding the basketball and keeping them off the glass.” On the flip side, the second half was a different story. “We really, you know, let our lack of details in the second half show.” No Viking had more than four boards while two Phoenix had seven each.
2. GB shot 58% from the field including 50% from deep. They continued to get open shots by passing it around the perimeter for almost the entire shot clock. Any time CSU made a mistake on defense, they were able to capitalize.
3. Green Bay slowed down the game with their offense and Cleveland State played right into this gameplan. For the first half, this worked well-enough as the Vikings hit 13 shots and nine free throws, but their slightly worse shooting in the second half along with their defense combined into a recipe for disaster.
4. This game was another instance where CSU took an early lead while playing good defense and then faded. “I think we’re fifteen new guys that don’t understand the Horizon League is extremely tough,” Summers said.
5. Their defense at times looked great but then it suffered late into shot clocks, where Green Bay was able to expose their weaknesses. “I’m not worried about the ones that are just those prayer shots of a late shot clock … What I get frustrated is when it gets late in the shot clock and you’re tired of playing defense for 30 seconds so in the last five, you kind of forget a rotation.”

CSU stayed inside the Wolstein Center against Youngstown State University (9-10, 2-6 HL) on Jan. 17.

The Vikings were again without Harris so their lineup looked the same as the Green Bay game. Both teams were unable to get its offenses going in the first few minutes and there were no baskets the first two times up and down the floor. Pierre-Louis made sure the Penguins stayed off the board with a huge block inside. 

A Nessah steal and layup were the first points of the contest, but YSU quickly responded with a 5-0 run to shortly take the lead. The Vikings went back on top 6-5 right before the first media timeout and extended their lead right after. 

At this point, the Vikings lost another big man as Ryan went down hard and limped off the court. Lipscomb hit the first three of the day for CSU but the Penguins immediately responded with a three of their own.

Pierre-Louis next showed off his passing ability with a beautiful feed to Beard for an and-one. The Vikings were rolling on offense and in came Imanuel Zorgvol — YSU’s 7-footer. 

Summers responded by brining in Kevo St. Hilaire, who was able to get in Zorgvol’s way for a bit, but it wasn’t long before a switch on defense led to a huge slam by the Penguin.

A mini-run by YSU put them within one point, and Summers called a timeout to settle the guys. That score held to the eight minute media timeout. 

Wonders connected on a three to grow the lead to four and the Vikings continued to deflect passes on the defensive end. With no Harris and Ryan’s status questionable, Ivan Spirov entered for his first real minutes in a game in over a month.

The Vikings took a 26-21 lead into the final media timeout of the half and extended the lead to seven before YSU made a run going into halftime and tied the game at 28.

Starting the next half, YSU instantly grabbed the lead before two Beard threes tied the game at 37. Summers took exception to the second one not also including a foul and was called for a technical foul.

Another 9-0 run by the Penguins took control of the game because the Vikes couldn’t connect on any shots on the other end. It looked like another Vikings fast start and slow finish.

CSU was able to grab a bit of the momentum back (minus Cris Carroll hitting a crazy shot at the end the shot clock and a long three) and with about 11 minutes to go it was back to a four-point game (51-47).

The Vikings continued to climb closer and Spirov put them within one with a three just before the eight minute media timeout. Nessah then tied it at 59 at the free throw line. The Penguins again grabbed the lead on a three but Beard hit a tough corner three to tie it right back at 62.

A Beard free throw finally had the Vikings up by one before Wonders and Chevalier Emery both hit two foul shots to go up by five.

The fight would go down to the final minutes as YSU continued to punch back and tied the game at 69 with about three minutes left. A timely Wonders three put the Vikings right back on top. 

Even with a six-point lead, the game wasn’t put away as another Penguin three cut the score to 75-73 with just over a minute remaining.

A ridiculous three by Emery off the glass followed by a slew of free throws and it was finally over. The Penguins came up empty on their final possession and the Vikings had their second conference win, 80-78. 

Key Takeaways:

1. CSU was able to get to the line 39 times compared to the 16 for YSU. Nessah was 15-for-21 at the line. Although the Vikings are able to score in bunches from three, the ability of guys like Nessah and Emery to drive is invaluable. “Our guys, like I said, responded to mistakes and really shared the basketball,” Summers noted.
2. YSU put up 43 threes and only connected on eight. On the other hand, CSU went by 10-for-20.
3. With Harris still out and Ryan down early, the Vikings again had a hard time getting rebounds. The Penguins ended with 20 offensive boards which directly led to them putting up 73 shots in the game. In contrast, CSU only had 39 shots and four offensive rebounds. This discrepancy kept the Penguins in the game.
4. Nessah played like a star in this game. Along with the 15 points at the line, he finished with 26 total points, seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and three steals while playing over 39 minutes. 
5. YSU could have easily won this game. All of their starters finished with double-digit points. Carroll led the way with 21 points and 11 boards. They’re a talented team but just need to figure out how to not foul (27 fouls to 17 for CSU) and how to knock down some shots.

With the win, CSU (6-14, 2-7 HL) heads to top-of-the-conference foe Wright State (12-7, 7-1 HL) on Wednesday for its only game of the week.

In Other News: 

With Miami, the real one in Ohio not in Florida, undefeated at 19-0 and Summers having coached there, will he be in attendance when they visit Kent State on Tuesday to try for 20-0? 

“I’m going to drive myself and I’m going to go check them out just because I like those guys a lot and it’ll be an opportunity for me to see them play live. But coach Steele has done a great job … So, they’re doing a great job — a great, great program,” Summers said.