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Jan. 3, 2008
Contact: Brian McCann
Complete Release in PDF Format
With the start of the classes for spring semester still two weeks away, the athletic schedule at Cleveland State will be light as the majority of Viking student-athletes are away from campus. That is not the case for the men's and women's basketball teams, who will each get into the thick of the Horizon League schedule by playing a pair of home doubleheaders this week. Both teams will host Loyola on Thursday (Jan. 3) and UIC on Saturday (Jan. 5) with the women playing at 5:00 p.m. each day followed by the men at 7:30 p.m. Saturday's games will each be televised regionally by SportsTime Ohio with Mike Cairns and Franklin Edwards providing the commentary. The wrestling team continues tournament action when the Vikings travel to Buffalo, N.Y. to take part in the Buffalo Duals on Saturday (Jan. 5). CSU will wrestle against West Liberty State, Mercyhurst and host Buffalo during the one-day team tournament. Men's Basketball Hosts Loyola & UIC. . . Back-to-back winning months for the first time since the 2000-01 season will propel the men's basketball team into the new year where Horizon League play resumes with a pair of home games. The Vikings will host Loyola on Thursday (Jan. 3) and UIC on Saturday (Jan. 5) with both games starting at 7:30 p.m. in the Wolstein Center. "This is the week that we have been pointing all of our efforts towards," head coach Gary Waters said. "It is important that we take what we have learned during our first dozen games and use that to start the league schedule well against two pretty good teams. "We also need to take the next step towards making the Wolstein Center a difficult place for our opponents to play us. We were just 7-25 at home in league play the last four years and we have to do much, much better if we want to accomplish our goals of winning a Horizon League title." The Vikings enter the new year with an 8-5 overall record and in third place in the Horizon League with a 1-0 mark. CSU has found success because of its defense and rebounding, leading the league in steals (8.9), rebounds (36.3), offensive rebounds (13.9) and rebounding margin (+3.9). Cedric Jackson (16.2 ppg) and J'Nathan Bullock (14.5) continue to lead a balanced CSU offense. Jackson also leads the Horizon League in both assists (5.0) and steals (2.9) while Bullock's eight points at Kent State on Saturday raised his career total to has 924 career points ranks him 22nd and he is closing in on becoming the 17th player to score 1,000 career points. Women's Basketball Opens League Play At Home. . . Cleveland State (6-5) will open Horizon League play with a pair of home games this week, beginning with a 5:00 p.m. contest against Loyola on Thursday, Jan. 3, in the Wolstein Center. The Vikings are also slated to host UIC on Saturday (Jan. 5) at 5:00 p.m. in the Wolstein Center. CSU ran its win streak to three straight with a 65-63 victory over American on Saturday (Dec. 29) in the Wolstein Center. Sophomore Kailey Klein led the way with 21 points, six rebounds and four assists. Her biggest two points came right at the buzzer as she sank a 17-footer from the left wing with two defenders in her face to give the Vikings the win. Dominique Butler added 12 points, six steals and five rebounds. It is the first time CSU has won three straight games since the end of the 2004 season. "That was a very important win for us," head coach Kate Peterson Abiad said. "We have played in so many close games over the last few years, but could never seem to win many of them. This will give us confidence as we head into league play that we can win close games. We need to build off the momentum from the American game as we begin conference play." Klein has led CSU all season and is ranked first in the league in scoring with an 18.6 points per game average. She also contributes a team-best 6.2 rebounds per game, which ranks her eighth in the conference. As a team, the Vikings are ranked first in the conference in field goal percentage defense (.358), free throw percentage (.782) and assists (15.6), while ranking second in steals (10.6). Wrestling Competes At Buffalo Duals. . . The Cleveland State wrestling team will travel to SUNY at Buffalo for this year's Buffalo Duals on Saturday, Jan. 10 beginning at 11:00 a.m. in Buffalo's Alumni Arena. The Vikings will wrestle in dual meets against Buffalo, Mercyhurst and West Liberty State in the one-day tournament. In their last competition at Northwestern's Midlands Invitational, wins were few and far between as the 10 Vikings who made the trip combined to score only six victories, with junior Rashard Goff leading the way with a 2-2 record. "Overall I would have to say that Midlands was just a nightmare," head coach Jack Effner said. "I think that we really were hurt mentally by Christmas break, but the good thing is that what hurts us in the short run will end up helping us in the long run." With heavyweight Goff back in the lineup after sitting the fall out to concentrate academically, Cleveland State now has two quality contributors at the 285-pound weight class, with Goff (14-4 on the season) and freshman Eric Schwartz (11-9). Despite a tough showing at Midlands, freshman Robbie Michaels leads the team with 19 victories. Michaels leads eight Vikings who have double digit victories on the season, including juniors Marcus Effner (15-5), Goff (14-4), JT Miller (16-10) Antonio Nicholson (12-9), sophomore Shaun Mitchell (10-7), and freshmen Alek Hughes (12-7), Michaels (19-4) and Eric Schwartz (11-9). Viking High Fives Kailey Klein: The sophomore hit a 17-footer from the left wing at the buzzer to give CSU a 65-63 win over American on Saturday. Jakub Dobies: The sophomore swimmer from Plock, Poland was named Cleveland State's male athlete of the month for November following his performance at Miami (OH). D'Aundray Brown: The men's basketball freshman has shown improvement with every game, shooting .509 from the field this year. He scored a career-high 10 points at Kent State last week. Chris Moore: The men's basketball junior hasn't missed a field goal attempt in almost a month, converting 15 straight shots going back to the first half of the game at Chicago State on Dec. 4. The Schedule Ahead For The Vikings Jan. 3 (Thursday) Men's Basketball hosts Loyola Jan. 5 (Saturday) Men's Basketball hosts UIC Wrestling at Buffalo Duals
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