Notre Dame College at Cleveland State Game Preview

*** Cleveland State University Press Release***

GAME #9
Notre Dame College (3-6) at Cleveland State (2-6)

Sunday, December 10, 2017 | 2:00 pm
Cleveland, Ohio | Wolstein Center
Live Stats | ESPN3 | AM 1420

PDF GAME NOTES
Notre Dame College at Cleveland State

GAME #9
Notre Dame College (3-6) at Cleveland State (2-6)

Sunday, December 10, 2017 | 2:00 pm
Cleveland, Ohio | Wolstein Center
Live Stats | ESPN3 | AM 1420

PDF GAME NOTES
Notre Dame College at Cleveland State

GAME PREVIEW:
•     Cleveland State returns home for the first time in two weeks and the fourth time this year when the Vikings host Notre Dame College on Sunday (Dec. 10) at 2:00 pm in the Wolstein Center.
•    The Vikings are 2-6 this year following a 78-67 setback at Western Michigan on Wednesday night.
•    Notre Dame (OH) is 3-6 this year and fell at West Virginia State, 98-88, on Wednesday. The Falcons also host Charleston on Saturday.
•    Sunday’s game will be available on AM 1420, AM 1220 and AM 1440, as well as ESPN3 with Al Pawlowski (play-by-play) and Pat Vuyancih (analyst) providing the call.
•    Sunday is a Family Value Weekend with $1 hot dogs, and a FREE KidZone. The first 1,000 fans will receive Viking lip balm.
•    Tickets are available by phone or text at 216-687-4848, in-person at the Wolstein Center Box Office or online at www.csuvikings.com.

THE NOTRE DAME (OH) SERIES:
•     Sunday will be the first meeting in men’s basketball between CSU and Notre Dame (OH).

GAME 8: @WESTERN MICHIGAN 78, CSU 67 (12/6/17):
•     The Vikings fell at Western Michigan on Wednesday night.
•    Tyree Appleby scored a career-high 24 points with three rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
•    Kenny Carpenter scored 13 points with three steals and Bobby Word added 13 points. Anthony Wright finished with seven points and nine rebounds and Kasheem Thomas scored nine points.
•    WMU went 27-of-37 at the free throw line, including 24-of-33 in the second half to hold off CSU’s rally.

APPLEBY NAMED HL FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK:
•     Tyree Appleby was named the Horizon League Freshman of the Week on Monday (Dec. 4) for the first time in his career.
•    Appleby averaged 10.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals in two games last week, shooting .562 (9-16) from the floor.
•    In Wednesday’s win vs. Arkansas State, Appleby scored seven points and dished out a career-high seven assists, adding two rebounds and two steals. On Saturday at Kent State, he poured in 13 points, hitting 6-of-10 from the floor, adding three boards and a steal.

… AND POURS IN CAREER HIGH:
•     Tyree Appleby scored a career-high 24 points in Wednesday’s setback at Western Michigan.
•    Appleby hit 8-of-10 from the field, including 4-of-5 from three-point and all four free throws, while adding three rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
•    It was the most points by a CSU freshman since Rob Edwards scored 26 points at Detroit Mercy on Jan. 4, 2016.

THE WRIGHT STUFF:
•     Anthony Wright recorded his first career double-double on Dec. 2 at Kent State.
•    Wright scored a career-high 21 points, hitting 8-of-11 from the field, including a career-best four three’s (in six attempts). He also had a career-high tying 11 rebounds.
•    Wright is averaging 8.5 points and ranks fifth in the League with 7.5 rebounds per game.
•    After coming off the bench in the first two games, Wright has drawn a starting assignment in each of the last five contests.

CARPENTER NETS CAREER HIGH:
•     Senior Kenny Carpenter scored a career-high 26 points against Coppin State (Nov. 17), bettering his old career-high of 24 points set at UIC as a sophomore.
•    Carpenter – who scored 24 points in the first half – hit 10-of-17 from the field, including 6-of-11 from three-point.
•    The six three-pointers are tied for the fourth-most in a game in program history and the 17th time a CSU player made six three’s.         •    Carpenter is the first CSU player to make six three’s since Charlie Lee hit six at Oakland on Feb. 6, 2014.

CARPENTER DOUBLES UP (x2):
•     Kenny Carpenter has posted two double-doubles this year, the first two of his career.
•    Carpenter recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and a career-high 12 boards in the season opener at Akron (Nov. 11).
•    He posted a career-high 26 points and 11 rebounds against Coppin State (Nov. 17).

… AND BEGINS SENIOR YEAR STRONG:
•     Through seven games – he missed the game at ECU due to illness – Kenny Carpenter leads the team in scoring (14.0) and assists (3.3) and ranks second in rebounding (6.6).
•    Carpenter ranks 13th in the League in scoring and eighth in rebounding and assists.
•    In addition, he is shooting .500 (41-82) from the field, which is fifth best in the League. He is also fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.1).

HIGHSMITH MAKES CSU DEBUT:
•     Dontel Highsmith made his CSU debut at ECU (Nov. 20) after missing the first three games of the season.
•    He posted nine points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals at ECU.
•    He scored a team-high 17 points vs. CCSU (Nov. 24), going 8-of-12 from the floor.
•    Highsmith is a graduate transfer from Northern Illinois where he spent the 2013-17 seasons, missing two years (2014-16) with knee injuries. He started all 32 games last year, averaging 6.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists.

APPLEBY HAS STRONG START TO FRESHMAN YEAR:
•     Freshman Tyree Appleby has also had a solid start to his collegiate career, averaging 11.6 points, 1.9  rebounds, and 2.8 assists, while leading the team with 13 steals.
•    He is 18th in the League in scoring – second highest among all freshman – 16th in assists and ninth in steals.
•    Appleby scored a career-high 24 points at Western Michigan (12/6), hitting 8-of-10 from the floor, including four of five from three-point.
•    The Arkansas native dished out a career-high and CSU season-high seven assists in a win over Arkansas State (Nov. 29).
•    Appleby scored a team-high 13 points in the season opener at Akron (Nov. 11) and tallied a career-best 15 points – all in the second half – at ECU (Nov. 20).

THOMAS IN THE STARTING LINEUP:
•     Kasheem Thomas has started all 39 games in his CSU career.
•    He started all 31 games as a freshman last year, the most starts for a first-year player in program history and has started all eight games this season.

CARDIAC VIKINGS:
•     CSU played in three straight one-possession games from Nov. 20 through Nov. 29.
•    The Vikings fell at ECU, 72-69 (Nov. 20), lost at home to Central Connecticut, 74-73, (Nov. 24), and knocked off Arkansas State, 75-72, on Nov. 29.
•    It’s the first time CSU has played in three straight one possession games since the 1999-2000 season when CSU fell at St. Bonaventure, 71-69, (12/30/99), and won at Loyola, 70-68 (1/6/00) and at UIC, 91-89 (1/8/00).

VIKINGS TIE THREE POINT MARK:
•     The Vikings went 14-of-32 from three-point against Coppin State (Nov. 17), tying the single-game mark for three’s made in a game.
•    It marked the fourth time in school history that CSU hit 14 three’s in a game and the first since Feb. 6, 2014 at Oakland.
•    CSU hit 13 three’s vs. Central Connecticut (Nov. 24), tied for the second most in a game in program history.

FOR THREE:
•    CSU has hit a three-pointer in a school record 605 consecutive games.
•    The Vikings have hit at least three three’s in 154 straight contests, extending the streak with eight trifectas at Western Michigan on Wednesday night.
•    The last time CSU failed to make a three-pointer was Feb. 21, 1998, when the Vikings were 0-for-8 in a 60-57 win over Detroit.

UP NEXT:
•    After a week off for final exams, the Vikings will return to action on Tuesday (Dec. 19) with a 7:00 pm game at Niagara.
•    CSU will also play at Cincinnati on Thursday (Dec. 21) at 7:00 pm and return home to host Toledo on Saturday (Dec. 23) at 2:00 pm.
•    The Vikings travel to Michigan State on Dec. 29 for the final non-league game of the season.