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A Tale of Two Games: Wright State turns heads in multiple ways

Nick Lorensen
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A Tale of Two Games: Wright State turns heads in multiple ways

Wright State would head into the New Year looking to go 5-0 in Horizon League play for the second consecutive season. To do this, they made the trip up to Rochester, Michigan, and faced the Oakland Golden Grizzlies.

Oakland was coming off a fierce weekend sweep against rival Detroit Mercy, and looked to continue their momentum into this past weekend. It didn’t start off all that well for Greg Kampe’s squad.

The teams combined 5-21 from the field heading into the under-16 timeout. From there, it was all Raiders.

A big 14-3 run stretched Wright State’s lead out to double-digits before the under-12 media timeout. From there, they stretched that run out to an extended 39-5 run.

Wright would take a 25-point lead at the under-eight media, where Oakland was scoreless from the field for four and a half minutes, shooting 4-22 on the game.

The Raiders also dominated the boards throughout the first 12 minutes of the half, leading the Golden Grizzlies, 24-10.

At the break, Wright State would take a humongous, 49-21 lead and own the rebounding advantage by an even more impressive, 37 to 16.

College Basketball Twitter was all over the Golden Grizzlies during the first half, wondering how they allowed this to happen, again (they got dominated by Xavier on Thanksgiving Eve). It didn’t get much better in the second half.

At the 17:17 mark, Loudon Love grabbed his fifth double-double of the season and his 41st of his Wright State career. He would finish out the game 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Soon after him, Tim Finke would pick up his second career double-double. This one coming at 15:24. He finished the night off with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

The Raiders would soon after that, stretch the lead out to as much as 40. Some Oakland runs were able to cut it down to 29, but that was enough.

Tanner Holden had another high scoring game for the Raiders, leading the way with 24 points in 27 minutes. 12 Raiders saw action.

Wright State would enter Saturday looking to go 6-0 in Horizon League play for the first time since 2017-18. Oakland wouldn’t let the Raiders come out too hot, starting the game out on their own 13-5 run.

The Golden Grizzlies defense came out swarming, forcing Wright State to take loads of threes. They took 25 on Saturday, something that Coach Scott Nagy says their defense is just designed for.

The shots wouldn’t sink though, as Oakland was able to get up double-digits early, just like Wright State the day before. OU would take a 24-7 lead right before the under-12 media timeout, as their offense was the most efficient of the weekend.

An Oakland technical out of the timeout really changed the game though, allowing the Raiders to retake the lead before the end of the half.

“They beat us by a thousand yesterday, just ridiculous on our part.” said Coach Greg Kampe at the half.

Grant Basile was a key cog to allowing that comeback. He would score 7 points, and pick up 9 rebounds off the bench as the Raiders led by three at the break.

“I was very proud of the guys at halftime. I knew coming off of yesterday’s game it was going to be tough.” stated Coach Scott Nagy at halftime.

The Raiders would start the second half out red-hot as well, going on a 9-3 run and taking a 49-40 lead.

Oakland would slowly crawl back though, retaking the lead at the 8:00. From there on out, it was all Golden Grizzlies.

Wright State would turn the ball over and over again, as they committed 19 of those on the day. A problem that has been honestly plaguing them the whole season.

Oakland would snap the Raiders prospects of a perfect Horizon League start with an 81-71 result on Saturday. Wright State’s first loss to the Golden Grizzlies in their past nine matchups.

“They just started playing harder. We had a chance to get several, several missed shots and we couldn’t get it. They had one Freshman (Townsend) that just whipped us on the glass and I think that was the entire turning point of the game.”

Tanner Holden led the Raiders once again, picking up his second double-double of the season at 16 points and 11 rebounds. Loudon Love lead the way with 17 points, and Trey Calvin and Jaylon Hall followed with 16 points and 10 points respectively.

Wright State will look to get back on track on national TV, as they host Youngstown State on Friday at 7:00. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

Ugh. Not again – Detroit Mercy gets swept in the Metro Series

Karic Jones
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Ugh. Not again – Detroit Mercy gets swept in the Metro Series

If you took the time to watch the two games this past weekend, you probably shared the feeling of getting punched in the gut Saturday and an overwhelming sense of dread on Sunday saying to yourself, “it’s happening again,” with me.

Oakland has Detroit Mercy’s number. Greg Kampe outcoached Mike Davis; he’s out coached every Titans coach he’s faced off with. Beating Detroit Mercy is all he cares about, and to his credit, he keeps doing it. The two games the Golden Grizzlies play versus the Titans every year are the two biggest games of the season. He’s now 14-2 vs. Detroit Mercy.

It also came out postgame Sunday via Tony Paul of the Detroit News that the Titans did not want to play Oakland because of the close contact OU had with an official who did the UIC-Oakland games the previous weekend and came down with COVID.

Detroit Mercy looked lost at points down the stretch on Saturday, and it was 100% because they had more significant concerns. Why the games were played, I don’t know; ask the Horizon League.

Everything in 2020 is weird; the rules don’t make any sense.

Davis has done everything to protect his team, and props go to him because a lot of college basketball coaches don’t seem to care if their team gets it or not. I got a lot of messages from people saying the COVID issue was just an excuse; I understand it may look like that, but honestly, you can’t protest before the game and forfeit; that’s a worse look.

The Titans looked better than they have in a long time all weekend. It’s no longer the Antoine Davis show; the supporting cast is as good as I’ve seen in 11 years of watching Detroit Mercy basketball. Saturday afternoon Bul Koul had another career-best day. 28 points and 4 rebounds 6-12 from three-point land. He was the bright spot in a dark afternoon.

For the Golden Grizzlies, Micah Parrish had 18 points and 8 rebounds, including the game winning basket in overtime. Parrish was recruited by Detroit and OU and opted to attend Oakland.

Detroit Mercy was outrebounded 48-39 by a smaller OU team and turned the ball over 19 times to hand the game to the Grizzlies down the stretch. Sunday was Noah Waterman’s welcome to Detroit party, scoring 19 points and 3 rebounds. Kuol had 14 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Davis had 18 points and 3 assists and made key shots to keep Detroit in the game late in the second half.

But Oakland was red hot from behind the three-point arch Sunday, and that was the difference. Jalen Moore led OU with 23 points 3-4 from downtown, Zion Young had 19 points 4-9 from three, and Rashad Williams had 18 points 5-13 from downtown. For the afternoon as a team, Oakland was 14-31 from three, just under 50%, but down the stretch, late in the second half, they could not miss.

The good news for the Titans is they probably play the Grizz two more times this year; at least that is the plan. Detroit Mercy has tremendous upside. They need it to come together and get wins

All the losses, the pain of not having a good team since 2013 can be forgiven with a trip to the dance, because in mid-major basketball, that is the measuring stick.

Don’t be shocked if Detroit only plays UIC once this weekend. The rumor is due to Horizon League testing protocols; they may only get one game in this weekend. A UIC team that may not be at full strength is an excellent opportunity for the Titans to get back to winning.

Horizon League Power Rankings – Week 5

John Parker
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Horizon League Power Rankings – Week 5

While COVID-19 protocols and cancellations are likely going to be a story on a weekly basis, they feel particularly impactful on the Horizon League this week. With several teams that have shown some of the brightest flashes this season out of action, the gap between the league’s already overwhelming favorite and the rest of the ranked teams was even larger than it might normally be.

UIC, Northern Kentucky, Milwaukee and IUPUI were out of action this week as a result of COVID-19 related cancellations; so they’ll be left off of the rankings this week.

  1. Wright State Raiders (6-1, 4-0 in Horizon League play)

    With three teams that have a combined 5-1 record in Horizon League play out of this week’s rankings, Wright State’s grip on first place is even stronger than it normally would be. The Raiders cruised to another pair of Horizon League wins this weekend, beating Green Bay 67=53 on Saturday and 90-77 on Sunday. Interestingly, WSU continued its trend of letting an opponent hang around before obliterating them late in the game. It’ll be interesting to see if a team that only used two bench players all weekend can keep seemingly wearing opponents down.

    Tanner Holden won Horizon League Player of the Week after he averaged 19.5 points and 9 rebounds per game while knocking down two thirds of his shots over the weekend. Oddly, this is the first time a Wright State player won an outright Player of the Week award.
  2. Cleveland State Vikings (4-3, 4-0 in Horizon League play)

    Cleveland State moved to 4-0 in Horizon League play with a pair of wins over shorthanded Youngstown State. The Vikings never trailed on Saturday, winning 87-69. On Sunday, the team had to overcome a double-digit second half lead. Even better news for the Vikings is that Al Eichelberger played briefly this weekend, meaning he could make a full return soon. If CSU can quickly get the Preseason All-League pick worked into the lineup, the team might be able to establish itself as a mainstay near the top of the rankings.

    Torrey Patton starred for the Vikings this week, averaging 18 points and six rebounds per game against Youngstown State. In Eichelberger’s absence, the Vikings have made use of an abundance of depth. Patton is CSU’s fifth different scoring leader of the season.
  3. Oakland Golden Grizzlies (2-9, 2-2 in Horizon League play)

    With UIC, Northern Kentucky and arguably even Milwaukee out of this week’s rankings, we very quickly wind up in a very different place than we might otherwise be. The Golden Grizzlies get the benefit of the doubt after going 2-0 for the weekend against an arch-rival, but winning by a pair of baskets against one of the league’s two 0-4 teams is…not great. But if not Oakland, who?

    Highly touted Western Illinois transfer Zion Young finally had a breakthrough game for the Golden Grizzlies, scoring 19 points on 6-for-11 shooting. Not only was it a season high for Young, but the first time he’s eclipsed 50 percent shooting on the season.
  4. Robert Morris Colonials (2-3, 1-1 in Horizon League play)

    Robert Morris came out strong against Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday to secure its first Horizon League win with a 102-88 victory. After a convincing win, the script was flipped in surprising fashion on Sunday, where the Mastodons led 68-44 before a late comeback fell short with an 87-82 loss.

    One of the players who likely made the choice for Horizon League Player of the Week a difficult one was RMU’s AJ Bramah. Bramah averaged 25.5 points. and 8 rebounds per game against Purdue Fort Wayne. The 2020 All-NEC performer is averaging 21.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game on the year.
  5. Youngstown State Penguins (4-3, 1-3 in Horizon League play)

    Youngstown State is in a tough spot to figure out in the Power Rankings. Last week’s win at Northern Kentucky was a better one than anybody in contention for third place has so far, but Darius Quisenberry was on the court for it. Without him the Penguins found themselves vulnerable to Cleveland State’s pressure defense, being overwhelmed on Saturday and letting an early hot start slip away on Sunday.

    Shemar Rathan-Mayes stepped in for Quisenberry and did a solid job despite lackluster shooting. Unfortunately for the Penguins, Rathan-Mayes fouled out on Sunday as the game hung in the balance and Cleveland State was able to pull away for a comfortable win.
  6. Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons (2-3, 1-3 in Horizon League play)

    Like Robert Morris, Purdue Fort Wayne got its first Horizon League over the weekend. As a team that has plenty of experience playing pressure defense, the Mastodons absolutely could’ve come away with at least one win over the Colonials this weekend, but that’s more of a matchup issue than a statement on the overall quality of each team.

    Also like Robert Morris, Purdue Fort Wayne had a strong candidate for Player of the Week that likely suffered from the split series. Jarred Godfrey averaged 24.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in the series. His 27 points on 9-for-11 shooting played a large part in the Mastodons holding off RMU on Sunday.
  7. Detroit Mercy Titans (1-7, 0-4 in Horizon League play)

    Despite the 0-4 Horizon League record the gap between Detroit Mercy and Oakland clearly isn’t very significant, with two last-second game winners separating the teams over the weekend.

    Newcomer Noah Waterman got his Detroit Mercy career off to a good start, with 19 points on 7-for-12 shooting on Sunday. If Waterman can continue to provide anything close to the 13.5 points per game he scored over the weekend, he could play a much bigger role than expected and there’s plenty of reason for optimism going forward.
  8. Green Bay Phoenix (0-8, 0-4 in Horizon League play)

    Green Bay’s trip to Dayton was actually a pretty encouraging one for a team that has obvious size issues even within a league lacking in size. Facing off against one of the few Horizon League schools that actually has some size, the Phoenix didn’t get completely overwhelmed.

    With shooter Josh Jefferson out of commission this weekend, Amari Davis needed to play an even bigger role than normal. While it didn’t result in a win, he absolutely delivered on Sunday. Davis scored a career high 35 points on 14-for-24 shooting from the field.

“We don’t lose To Detroit”

Matt Dudek
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“We don’t lose To Detroit”

The quote came from former Oakland standout Xavier Hill-Mais on Twitter and summed up what many OU fans, players and coaches have felt since Oakland joined the Horizon League. “We don’t lose to Detroit.” Coach Greg Kampe has talked about this mantra and instilling in his players the importance of the Oakland/Detroit-Mercy rivalry, often texting them a countdown to the game. This weekend, the Golden Grizzlies showed that the series just means that much more to them.

The old adage about “when these two teams get together, you can throw out the record books” definitely rang true this past weekend. While Oakland came in 0-9 including 2 losses in conference, UDM had one win to its credit in non-conference. Both teams had played tough in their opening weekend of conference play and had games scheduled against other teams for the weekend. Then COVID and the Horizon League scheduling got involved. With only 3 days notice, both teams were now shifting gears to prepare for one another. Who better to get your first conference win of the season against then your rival down the road?

Both OU and UDM were not shy about the fact they didn’t want to play this series this past weekend. For the teams and fan bases, it means something and to throw it in out of the blue felt like it cheapened things. However, the fans and even the schools don’t control these things. Not only were the games going to happen, but they were going to happen at Calihan Hall. The series was scheduled to be played at the Orena this season, and is actually still set to be played there on their original date as the teams may meet 4 times this season. If they play another 2 games, Oakland will be coming in with a 2-0 lead on the season and a 14-2 lead since joining the league.

The first game saw the Titans jump out to an early 3-0 lead. That was significant as it was a 3 pointer from struggling guard Antoine Davis as well as the first time that the Titans had held a lead in the series in 117 minutes and 20 seconds of game action. UDM led the entire first half and while they seemed to be in control, they never could pull away in the half. Oakland was beating them down low despite the Titans clear height advantage including transfer Noah Waterman finally seeing his first game action. Strong play from Yusuf Jihad off the bench late in the half seemed to give Oakland some much needed offense and energy.

In the second half, Oakland continued to hang around. A jumper from Jalen Moore knotted the game up for the first time since the opening tip. From there neither team was able to pull away from the other. A big moment for OU in the half came with Zion Young finally hitting some shots on the season. He finished the game with just 9 but it included a game tying 3 with 33 seconds left in the half. At the end of the half, they were tied up at 66 and headed to overtime.

In the bonus session, Oakland seemed to have the upper hand but could not shake Detroit for good. With 34 seconds left, Matt Johnson tied the game for UDM. This set up the dramatics to end the game. Oakland held for a last shot and Zion Young took it, but missed. However, Micah Parrish did the work down low cleaning up the rebound and scoring with 2 seconds left. Antoine Davis got a good look from 3 on the other end up but shot it off the front rim giving Oakland the first game on the weekend victory.

Oakland was led in the first game by Daniel Oladapo who put up another double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds, Parrish who had 18 points as well to go with 8 boards, and Trey Townsend who had 10 points and 7 rebounds to round out the Golden Grizzly double digit scorers. Jalen Moore had an off night even though he had 12 assists and 8 points He did it on 1-9 shooting and an uncharacteristic 60% from the free throw line. Rashad Williams went just 3-14 from the field and 2-12 from behind the arc. For OU to win a rivalry game even with usually big pieces not contributing their usual numbers was big for the team. You also cannot downplay Parrish hitting the winning bucket. He is a local kid who knows and understands the rivalry. In many ways, that can make the difference. It just means more to the Oakland kids it seems.

Less than 24 hours later, they had to do it again.

Game Two of the weekend saw a bit of a reversal as far as who did the scoring, but it produced the same outcome in the end for Oakland. They were led by the guards on this day where Moore bounced back with 23 points and 7 assists while Williams had 18 points. Williams biggest 3 of the night was his last though as he hit the game winning shot to end the game with 1 second left.

For Oakland the weekend was far from perfect, but anytime you can leave your rival’s gym with not only your first win of the season but your second it’s a good trip. The emergence of Zion Young will be something to watch going forward. He and Kevin Kangu saw extended minutes they haven’t seen yet this year, likely due to a thigh injury for Blake Lampman that kept him out this weekend. If both can play the way they did this past weekend going forward, they may have made a serious change to the minute distribution and rotation for Kampe. Jihad also played strong minutes and showed his offensive skillset. Kampe has said he needs to get him more minutes than he had been and he made good of it this weekend. Jihad responded by playing well and earning more minutes going forward.

All said and done, the weekend went as well as it could for OU. They contemplated not even playing this weekend and taking the forfeit per Kampe. He simply did not want to play the rivalry this weekend without any real notice. UDM coach Mike Davis came out after the game with his anger with the league for scheduling it. His concern was about player safety and COVID protocols. At the end of the day, no matter who really wanted to be there or not, Oakland left Calihan with 2 victories while the 100 or so cutouts of fans around the gym will be left to wait until January 15 to hopefully see their first home victory.

Winning on the road matters and YSU can’t do it

Marc Weems
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Winning on the road matters and YSU can’t do it

A frustrating trend continues for the Penguins

It’s time to talk about a pressing matter for the Youngstown State’s men’s basketball program.

This program doesn’t know how to win on the road…. AT ALL.

If a team can’t win on the road, you can’t win at all. It never has worked and never will.

This YSU (4-3, 1-3 Horizon League) team has no clue how to adapt and win on the road. It’s that simple. Despite the fact that everyone has to play consecutive games for every series, the Penguins can’t seem to figure out how to adjust on the road.

Against Cleveland State (4-3, 4-0 HL) on Dec. 26 and 27, the Penguins simply got outplayed by a team it figured to be better than. Clearly that’s not the case.

Despite missing its number one option of Darius Quisenberry with an ankle injury, the Penguins looked lost in both games.

Abysmal game one

In game one on Saturday, YSU lost 87-69. The Vikings shot 55.4 percent to YSU’s 33.3 percent. CSU assisted 20 times on 31 made shots compared to YSU’s 10 assists on 21 made shots. Those things are the difference.

Jerrod Calhoun’s team yet again trailed at halftime but dug a hole too big to escape from. The Penguins got bullied on the block with a 44-24 points in the paint advantage for CSU. Naz Bohannon didn’t score a single point which can’t happen ever but especially when Quisenberry is out. The only two bright spots were freshmen William Dunn and Cheick Traore combining for 17 points and seven rebounds in just 18 combined minutes.

More of the same in game two

It’s well documented that YSU is a second half team and against Northern Kentucky (3-4 1-1 HL), it was better in the second game. That didn’t happen in Cleveland though.

The same things YSU got bullied for in the first contest was again true in the second game. 

The Penguins were outscored in the paint 50-28 by the Vikings in an 81-74 loss.

Youngstown State actually shot much better on Sunday, but not well enough. It shot 43.5 percent from three but didn’t shoot even one full point higher for the entire floor. That’s how a loss becomes a loss.

YSU turned it over 15 times and got run off the floor as CSU had an 18-3 fast break scoring advantage. The worst of it all is the Penguins actually held a 10-point halftime at 40-30. It shot 36.7 percent in the second half to CSU’s 66.7 percent which made the difference.

Covington had a great showing for the first time all year with 24 points on 8-for-17 shooting with three made threes as well as seven rebounds. YSU did everything right on paper to win the game, but you don’t play on paper and that seems to be what this team is hanging its hat on right now.

A team like CSU wasn’t picked to be as good as it’s been so far but that’s why the games are played. YSU is playing well in them either.

Road Woes

In four years under Jerrod Calhoun, the Penguins have a combined 14-38 away record. I’m not sure if any of you are big math people but the math isn’t good. YSU is winning one out of every four times it goes on the road.

Something needs to be done or this program will continue to be a middle of the road team or maybe a little bit higher. Whether Quisenberry is playing or not, this team needs to find a way to win road games and do that fast.

This inability to win road games is slowly hurting this program and it can’t continue to get any worse. The Penguins went 13-3 at home last year and need to be going at least .500 on the road to be one of the best in the conference and to win this conference.

Looking ahead

The Penguins now get its first home series of the use against the winless UW-Green Bay (0-8, 0-4 HL) on Jan. 1 and 2. Both games are at 4 p.m. These seem like easily winnable games but the way this team has been playing, anything could happen.

Robert Morris shows its potential – and concerns – in mixed opening weekend

Chris Cappella
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Robert Morris shows its potential – and concerns – in mixed opening weekend

Robert Morris hasn’t been immune to an inconsistent schedule and mixed results hampering so many college basketball teams in the COVID-19 era. The program has been shut down twice with COVID-19 infections, resulting in missed games and little practice time. 

For anyone who has followed the Robert Morris basketball program for any number of years, you know the importance head coach Andy Toole puts on practice. Guys do not see the court unless they are practicing well. What they’ve accomplished a game or two before has little impact on playing time moving forward. 

Perhaps I thought – naively – that the Colonials would be better equipped to handle missed practice and game time due to the experience on the roster. Robert Morris returned its starting point guard, shooting guard, power forward and center, and had a key rotation piece, Cameron Wilbon, back after missing the 2019-20 season with a wrist injury. 

The results through the first month of the season have been mixed. The Colonials smashed NAIA Point Park in the season opener in a game that wasn’t as close as the 18-point final score indicated. They played 30 minutes of good basketball against MAC preseason favorite Bowling Green and never really stood a chance against Marshall, who will compete with Western Kentucky for the Conference USA title. 

But perhaps nothing summed up the first month of basketball as much as the program’s Horizon League opening weekend against Purdue Fort Wayne, a team that has offensive output but does not expect to be serious contenders for a conference title this season. 

Robert Morris showed offensive firepower rarely seen in program history. Their 102 points in a 14-point victory in the Horizon League opener were the most scored against a Division I opponent in the Toole era. 

And if anyone thought AJ Bramah would take a step back due to the step up in competition, he quieted those doubts for a weekend. Bramah dominated the Mastodons, using his Dick Barnett-style jumper and athleticism at the rim to the tune of 28 points on 11-of-18 shooting in game one and 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting in game two, grabbing eight rebounds in both games. 

Although a small sample size, Bramah has increased his mid-range jumper volume to the tune of 29 percent of all shots last season versus 43.8 percent this season. While Bramah’s efficiency spiked dramatically with his 2-point jumper, it’s still worth remembering that he — like almost all players, especially forwards – is a more efficient offensive player around the rim, even when shooting in traffic. 

Bramah’s rise in 2-point jumper usage is especially interesting when looking at the Colonials as a whole. They have several players who thrive as jump shooters, especially freshman guards Trayden Williams and Kam Farris. Williams actually leads the team in percent of 2-point jump shots at 48.5 percent. 

And, at least for a weekend, the high volume of jump shooting was no problem, albeit against a poor defensive team. The Colonials scored 123.5 points per 100 possessions through two games. 

What’s been a much larger issue has been slowing teams on the defensive end. Consider that the Colonials are still forcing turnovers on about 20 percent of all possessions, close to matching the same clip as last season, which put them in the top 50 nationally. 

What’s been a much different story has been the actual on-ball defense – and everything that follows in RMU’s defensive scheme. Opponents are shooting 43 percent from 3, 56.7 percent from 2 and have a collective effective field goal percentage of 59.5 percent, putting the Colonials 317th nationally. 

There are some distinct reasons this is happening, but not one quick fix. First, we can see how easily interconnected the game of basketball is. RMU’s offensive turnover percentage has risen from 18.7 percent one year ago to 21.3 through five games this year. That may sound like a small difference, but it’s actually quite large. That takes the Colonials from 165 nationally to 245. Opponents are getting easy, fast break opportunities. These are free points that could be avoided by valuing the basketball more. 

Robert Morris is also rotating in three new freshman guards (Farris, Williams and Cheeks), a freshman forward (Pat Suemnick), transfer forward (Khaliel Spear) and sparingly-used forward (Olisa Ngondai) to help replace center Yannis Mendy. Even if on the surface almost all of these players profile as good defenders, they’re not moving well as a collective unit. 

And the times the Colonials do move well, do everything right and force a missed shot? Teams are grabbing offensive rebounds against RMU at one of the top clips in the country. Even when everything is done correctly, the job isn’t finished. 

The Colonials are a small team that gets smaller without the injured Charles Bain. While Bramah is holding down his end on the defensive rebounding side, no one else really is. Again, while we’re talking about a small sample size, Ngondai, Suemnick and Spear have defensive rebounding percentages of 8.1, 9.0 and 9.0, respectively. That’s what you expect out of point guard Jon Williams, not forwards getting significant minutes. These inexperienced players are going to have to grow up quick and do the dirty work for team success.  

The Colonials have shown glimpses of their true potential. Bramah, Dante Treacy and Williams have all been as good as advertised offensively, and every incoming player has impressed in some way at some point. But right now, Robert Morris looks like a team of individuals rather than a collective unit. This is likely the result of little practice, but the longer these issues persists, the more questions will remain. 

CSU takes two from in-state rival Youngstown State

Alec Kwait
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CSU takes two from in-state rival Youngstown State

The Cleveland State Men’s Basketball team came into this past weekend’s set of games against the Youngstown State Penguins looking to improve on their best start to league play since the 2014-2015 season.

The underhanded Penguins came into town without the services of star guard Darius Quisenberry for both contests, something that severely hindered YSU’s ability to consistently break CSU’s 2-2-1 full court press. While the pressure resulted in 23 turnovers over the course of the two games, it also forced YSU to get into their offensive sets slower than they would have liked following a CSU made field goal. The implementation of a full court press has aided the Vikings significantly so far in the young season.

Game One of the two-game set saw the Vikings put on their most prolific offensive performance of the season, as they scored 87 points on a staggering 55.4% from the field.

The Vikes were paced by senior Torrey Patton, who scored 17 points in just 23 minutes of action. D’Moi Hodge also contributed with 14 points, in addition to two blocked shots; something that is quickly becoming a staple of Hodge’s game on the defensive end. Chris Greene also deserves special recognition for his performance in game one as he poured in all of his 13 points in the second half. The Vikings were able to put together a solid 40 minutes of basketball in Saturday’s 87-69 win.

Game Two provided a different challenge for the Vikings, as YSU jumped out to an early lead forcing the Vikings in an early double digit hole. Despite missing Quisenberry, the Penguins benefited greatly from 24 points from senior guard Garrett Covington. While Youngstown State carried a ten point lead into the halftime intermission, CSU was able to chip away the entire second half.

Cleveland State was led by junior do it all guard Tre Gomillion, who poured in 23 points on a scorching 11-12 shooting from the field. While Gomillion has excelled at providing the Vikings with intangibles, it was his scoring that aided CSU tremendously on Sunday afternoon. Patton also contributed to the effort with 19 points and six rebounds.

Sunday’s contest also saw the return of Vikings big man Algevon Eichelberger. The preseason second team all conference selection played just three minutes off the bench for Cleveland State in his regular season debut as he works his way back from a foot injury. Despite YSU’s early lead, the Vikings second half onslaught was enough to propel them to a 81-74 victory.

Two things stand out as Cleveland State is now 4-0 in conference play, their best start since the 2010-2011 campaign. First and foremost, the depth CSU brings to the table this year has been more than a luxury for Gates and his staff. Only one player in each game this past weekend played over 30 minutes; Gomillion in Game One and Deante Johnson in Game Two. This allows for the Vikings to implement their full court press for the entirety of the game, as they constantly have fresh bodies checking in and out of the contest. Secondly, the impact the CSU bench has made from an energy standpoint has been outstanding.

Following game one of this weekend’s double header, Gates stated, “That’s Jeremy Sanchez…he’s the bench captain. Ben Sternberg is the assistant bench captain, and that’s their culture that they’re building, it’s their leadership and they’re making sure some things are taking place…we miss our fans without a doubt…these young men have to provide their own energy for each other and we were doing this last year.”

In a year where it is unknown if fans will be allowed in the building, it is imperative for any team’s bench to provide energy to players on the floor. So far this season, the Vikings bench has done that extremely well.

Up next for Cleveland State, a pair of road games against IUPUI. The Jaguars have played only one game so far this season, a non conference tilt against Tennessee State, due to COVID issues within their own program. Tip off of Game One is currently scheduled for January 1 at 2pm.

The More Things Change…

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While the Horizon League schedule remains in flux, thanks to COVID protocols, Bob and Matt have no shortage of things to talk about, including Detroit Mercy and Youngstown State’s struggles, Cleveland State’s strong early showing, and the first-ever conference wins for Robert Morris and Purdue Fort Wayne. Also, Bob details the changes coming to the 2021 Jimmy Lemke Fan Battle Royale.  

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Wright State sweeps Green Bay, moves to 4-0 for the second year in a row

Nick Lorensen
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Wright State sweeps Green Bay, moves to 4-0 for the second year in a row

Wright State Raiders men’s basketball would return home on Saturday, looking to move to 3-0 for the second year in a row.

In came the winless Green Bay Phoenix. They were coming off two close losses to Milwaukee to open up conference play. Along with this, they were ranked as a bottom 50 defense on KenPom, really struggling on 2-point field goal percentage.

After an injury scare last week, Tim Finke was back in the lineup. It started slow for the Raiders as they were 2-13 from the field going into the first media timeout.

Wright State would trail by five out of that, then tie the game up soon after, going on a 5-0 run. A later 4-0 run gave the Raiders a half-high three-point lead, led by Grant Basile’s five points.

Basile would end the game with 11 points and 8 rebounds off the bench, ranking 48th nationally in effective field goal percentage. Him and Loudon Love would play the final ten minutes of the first half.

“Having them on the floor at the same time is great, they can both play the four, they can both play the five” stated Jaylon Hall postgame “It makes it a lot easier on the guards.”

The Raiders would take a 23-21 lead at the break, in quite possibly their worst start of a game this year. They would begin 11-35 from the field, and 1-8 from three point range.

It was back-and-forth throughout the first twenty minutes with 8 lead changes. Loudon Love had 8 points and 12 rebounds early.

The next ten minutes would be back-and-forth once again, but a Tim Finke three at the 11:30 mark would give them a game-high seven point lead. They would hold onto that throughout, getting it up to ten at 4:20 and as much as 12 before the final media timeout.

Wright State would win game number one, 90-77, as Loudon Love had another double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Tanner Holden would follow with 18 points and 10 rebounds, good for his fourth career double-double.

Jaylen Hall would be the only other double digit scorer, scoring 12.

” I’m super proud of him that he was able to work through that in the game, and so that we didn’t lose him, because I feel like in the past we would’ve lost him.” said Nagy on Hall postgame.

Wright State would also show a tight defensive approach, keeping Green Bay to 38.3% shooting throughout the game. The Raiders would own the rebound advantage, 47-30.

Heading into Sunday afternoon, the Raiders would look to go 4-0 for the second year in a row. They struggled out the gates once again, as Green Bay went into the first media timeout with a 7-0 run, taking a 14-8 lead early.

The game would be tied or real close the rest of the first half as Wright State would trail by three at the break.

“Everyone was kinda mad. It felt like a fifteen point game to us, but we were only down three. Just because you know how much better you could do.” said Tanner Holden postgame.

Defense was the problem early, as Green Bay shot an impressive 14-28 from the field. Amari Davis would score 20 of his 35 in that half.

“Overall I thought they played better than we did, and I’m not too happy about it.” said Coach Scott Nagy.

Tanner Holden would have an impressive first half as well, going 5-5 from the field, scoring 13. He would have 19 on the game.

Out of the break the Raiders would begin the half on a 14-4 run. They didn’t look back from there.

They would take a double-digit lead with 12:21 remaining, and later go on a 17-2 run giving them a 70-53 lead. Wright State would win, 90-77.

All five Raiders starters scored double-digit points, led by Jaylon Hall’s 22. Loudon Love played the least time of the five and was only one rebound shy of a double-double with 15 points and 9 rebounds. Grant Basile also had 10 off the bench.

“We always play for each other. It’s not about “me”, it’s about “we”.” said Holden during Sunday’s postgame press conference.

The difference on Sunday was free throw attempts. Wright State had 30 in comparison to Green Bay’s 11, and the Raiders really capitalized. They went 24-30 from the charity stripe, good for 80%. Green Bay only made eight of their attempts, good for 72.7%.

Wright State will continue conference play on New Years Day at Oakland University. The Golden Grizzlies swept Detroit Mercy over the weekend to get their first two wins of the season.

How will the new transfers do?

John Parker
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How will the new transfers do?

Could newly-eligible transfers change the league’s outlook?

Noah Waterman, F, Detroit Mercy

Last week, the NCAA Division I Council voted to grant all transfer waivers for the 2020-21 College Basketball season. That decision came just as 7-foot-1 graduate transfer Buay Koka became eligible for Detroit Mercy. Finally, on Tuesday Emmanuel Ansong — who followed Will Ryan from Wheeling University — was granted immediate eligibility.

Here’s a look at the players who will be jumping into Horizon League play and the impact that they could have for their teams this season:

Due to the Division I Council vote, Waterman was technically eligible last weekend, but was held out due to COVID-19 protocols. When Waterman is cleared to play, it’ll be the first time he sees the court in over a year. The 6-foot-11 forward earned a starting spot at Niagra just three games into his freshman year, but went down for season in the team’s eighth game. If he’s fully recovered from the injury, it seems likely that he could be a solid contributor for the Titans.

One thing to note is that despite his height, Waterman’s contributions aren’t likely to come in the form of a dominant low post threat. Almost half of his shots last year came from beyond the 3-point arc, and his rebounding rate is more comparable to some guards than to prominent Horizon League post players.

I’ve mentioned it on the podcast before, but Waterman strikes me as a guy who might be a year away from a Trevon Faulkner-style breakout from role player to reliable double-digit scoring option.

Buay Koka, C, Detroit Mercy

Because he was a graduate transfer and wasn’t subject to any COVID-19 protocols, Buay Koka was able to step onto the court for Detroit Mercy in the team’s opening weekend of Horizon League play. While Koka’s debut saw him score just two points in nine minutes against Horizon League favorite Wright State, he had a much better outing on Sunday. Koka went 4-for-7 from the field for 9 points while blocking two shots and securing a pair of rebounds.

The type of impact to be expected from Koka is a bit difficult to figure out. He wasn’t a particularly productive player at Tulane in his three seasons there, but he’s also playing for a team that desperately needs help in the post. The fact that he was able to take on the best frontcourt in the Horizon League and come away with the same number of fouls as blocks seems to indicate he might have better luck staying on the court in this league than he did in the AAC.

Donovan Moore, G, Green Bay

Moore transferred from Toledo after a freshman year where he averaged 1.4 points per game in eight contests. While the non-conference portion of the season made it clear that much of the MAC is well ahead of the Horizon League — despite the Horizon League taking a 7-6 advantage head-to-head this year — it’s not totally clear how much of an impact a reserve will be able to have.

Milwaukee guard DeAndre Gholston had a similar impact as a freshman at Kent State — albeit with almost twice as many appearances — but expecting anything remotely comparable out of Moore this year seems premature. Gholston spent last season as a third-option on an extremely talented JUCO team before joining the Panthers.

Based on Moore’s first two games with the Phoenix, it seems Green Bay is willing to let him have a fairly significant role. Moore took nine shots in 16 minutes during his two games against Milwaukee this weekend, including seven shots in 10 minutes on Saturday alone. While he didn’t find his jumper in his first action with the Phoenix, it’s clear Green Bay Head Coach Will Ryan is going to be willing to let him shoot.

Emmanuel Ansong, F, Green Bay

After initial reports that the Division I Council’s decision didn’t affect transfers moving from Division II to Division I, there were doubts that Green Bay would have Ansong available this year until Tuesday’s announcement. The junior averaged 14.4 points and 7.4 rebounds for Will Ryan’s Wheeling University last year.

While it’d be easier to predict him translating as a key player for the Phoenix if he were coming from a top Division II program, at the very least it’s not unreasonable to think his rebounding should translate well enough. From there, it wouldn’t be a shock to see him getting some points off of putbacks on offense. If Green Bay can figure out a role for the 6-foot-4, 195 pound Ansong to play defensively he should be a solid player in his first year in Division I.

Jordan Lathon, G, Milwaukee

While Lathon isn’t currently eligible and the podcast might need to start a #FreeJordan campaign soon, Milwaukee Head Coach Pat Baldwin put out a statement last week saying that the Panthers are optimistic that Lathon will be on the court this year.

If he is, the 6-foot-4 junior could be the biggest difference maker on this list. He averaged 10.9 points per game as a freshman and was UTEP’s assists leader in each of the last two years. With Lathon at their disposal, Milwaukee would be able to come up with 40 minutes of high-quality point guard play virtually every night. When he was done spelling Te’Jon Lucas, Lathon could slide over to the wing where he would likely be able to fit into a glue-guy role similar to the one Courtney Brown plays, but with better scoring ability and passing skills.

Kahliel Spear, F, Robert Morris

Another player who already took the court for his new school last weekend; Spear tallied 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 blocks in the 85-65 loss to MAC preseason favorite Bowling Green. Given how much of a struggle teams have been having to come out fresh this season, it was an impressive all-around output for the 6-foot-7 junior forward. Last year, Spear averaged 4.8 points and 3.2 rebounds for a Bucknell team that would’ve likely been most comparable to Green Bay, Youngstown State or Oakland.

Going forward, it would probably be a surprise for Spear to be among the team’s leading scorers. Instead, expect him to be a very valuable rotational big for Robert Morris.

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