Central Connecticut (2-3) at Cleveland State (1-3)
Showcase on the Banks Classic
Friday, November 24, 2017 | 5:00 pm
Cleveland, Ohio | Wolstein Center
Live Stats | ESPN3 | AM 1420
PDF GAME NOTES
Central Connecticut at Cleveland State
GAME PREVIEW:
• Cleveland State returns home to host Central Connecticut on Friday (Nov. 24) at 5:00 pm in the Wolstein Center.
• The Vikings are 1-3 this year following Monday’s 72-69 setback at ECU. CCSU is 2-3 this year and is coming off a 74-71 overtime win at home against Coppin State on Tuesday night.
• Friday’s game will be broadcast live on ESPN3, as well as AM 1420 and AM 1440.
• Al Pawlowski (play-by-play) and Pat Vuyancih (analyst) will be on the call for ESPN3 and the radio.
• Friday’s game will feature 216 Hoopy Hour with $2.00 pulled pork sliders, $1.00 drafts and $6.00 tickets.
• The first 216 fans in Hoopy Hour will also receive a CSU replica blackout jersey.
• Tickets for Friday’s game 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 CENTRAL CONNECTICUT SERIES:
• Friday will be the second all-time meeting in men’s basketball between the two schools.
• CSU won the first meeting, 118-66, in Woodling Gym (11/30/85).
GAME 4: @ECU 72, CSU 69 (11/19/17):
• The Vikings fell at ECU, 72-69, on Monday night.
• Bobby Word scored 17 points, while Tyree Appleby scored all 15 of his points in the second half.
• Dontel Highsmith tallied nine points, nine rebounds and three assists, Stefan Kenic had 14 points and eight boards and Anthony Wright grabbed 11 rebounds.
• Appleby had a three-point attempt at the buzzer that would have tied the game, but it was just off the mark.
FELTON EARNS FIRST WIN AT CSU:
• First-year head coach Dennis Felton earned his first victory at CSU with Friday’s 80-56 win over Coppin State.
• Felton, who made his CSU regular season debut on Nov. 11 at Akron, was named the 15th head coach in CSU history on March 24.
• Felton is a coaching veteran with more than 30 years of experience, is in his 12th season as a head coach, having spent five years at Western Kentucky and five-plus seasons at Georgia.
• During his time on the sidelines Felton has amassed 185 victories, won seven conference championships and led six of his teams to the postseason, including four NCAA berths.
CARPENTER NETS CAREER HIGH:
• Senior Kenny Carpenter scored a career-high 26 points in Friday’s (Nov. 17) win over Coppin State, bettering his old career-high of 24 points set at UIC as a sophomore.
• Carpenter – who scored 24 points in the first half on Friday – 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 three games – he missed the game at ECU due to illness – Kenny Carpenter leads the team in scoring (16.0), rebounding (9.7) and assists (3.7).
• Carpenter is shooting .588 (20-34) from the field this year, including 7-of-15 (.467) from three-point.
JUST A KID FROM BELGRADE, SERBIA:
• Freshman Stefan Kenic has had a strong start to his collegiate career, ranking second on the team in scoring (12.0) and adding 4.5 rebounds.
• He has scored in double figures in all four games this season.
• Kenic tallied career-highs in points (14) and rebounds (8) on Monday night at ECU.
• Kenic, who has six assists, three blocks and two steals this year, is shooting .381 (8-21) from three-point.
APPLEBY HAS STRONG START TO FRESHMAN YEAR:
• Freshman Tyree Appleby has also had a solid start to his collegiate career, averaging 10.3 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists. • He leads the team with five steals.
• 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. 19).
IMPROVEMENT AT THE LINE:
• CSU opened the year by going a combined 13-of-37 (.351) at the free throw line for the first two games.
• Over the last two games, the Vikings have shown dramatic improvement, hitting 25-of-31 (.806) at the charity stripe.
WORD UP:
• Senior Bobby Word is the top returning scorer from last season as he averaged 11.1 points per game, while also ranking seventh in the League with 2.1 three’s per game.
• After a slow start to the season in which he scored just five points in the first two games, Word is averaging 14.5 points in the last two contests.
• He scored a season-high 17 points at ECU on Monday night, hitting 6-of-12 from the field, including three three-pointers.
THE WRIGHT STUFF:
• Anthony Wright is averaging 6.3 points and 7.3 rebounds this year.
• After coming off the bench in the first two games, Wright has drawn a starting assignment in each of the last two contests.
• He is averaging 7.0 points and 10.5 rebounds in two starts. Wright grabbed 10 rebounds against Coppin State (Nov. 17) and had a career-high 11 rebounds at ECU (Nov. 20).
HIGHSMITH MAKES CSU DEBUT:
• Dontel Highsmith made his CSU debut on Monday (Nov. 20) at ECU after missing the first three games of the season.
• He posted nine points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals at ECU.
• 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.
THOMAS IN THE STARTING LINEUP:
• Kasheem Thomas has started all 35 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 four games this season.
• Last year, Thomas averged 7.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists (9th in HL) last ranking third in the League in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.1) with 102 assists and 49 turnovers.
VIKINGS TIE THREE POINT MARK:
• The Vikings went 14-of-32 from three-point against Coppin State on Friday, 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.
FOR THREE:
• CSU has hit a three-pointer in a school record 601 consecutive games.
• The Vikings have hit at least three three’s in 150 straight contests, extending the streak with six trifectas at ECU on Monday 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.
WILLIAMS & JOHNSON SIGN WITH CSU:
• Detroit, Mich., natives Rashad Williams and Deante “Spider” Johnson have signed National Letters of Intent to attend CSU beginning in the fall of 2018.
• A 6-foot-3 point guard, Williams averaged 24.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 6.7 assists at Wayne Memorial HS last year.
• He was the first player from Wayne Memorial to earn Associated Press first team all-state honors in 20 years, leading team to the district finals.
• The 6-foot-9 Johnson was named to the Class C all-state team and was selected as the Class C Defensive Player of the Year in Michigan.
• He led the school to its first regional championship and appearance in the state semifinals, averaging 16.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.5 blocked shots, while shooting 68-percent from the field last year.
UP NEXT:
• The Vikings remain home to host Arkansas State on Wednesday (Nov. 29) at 7:00 pm.
• CSU then travels to Kent State for a 7:00 pm game on Saturday (Dec. 2).
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