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Mieskoski's Weekly News and Notes: Horizon League Tournament Edition
By: Tom Mieskoski
With 1:19 left in the first half of Cleveland State's 56-43 victory over Detroit, CSU's sophomore guard D'Aundray Brown left the game with a hyper-extended right knee and will be evaluated today.
Brown got hurt after Detroit's 7-foot-3 center Jason Bennett blocked his lay-up attempt. After the play, both players fell to the ground, with Bennett landing on top of Brown's knee.
"I'm very worried (about Brown) because he is the key to the team," said CSU coach Gary Waters. "We were a .500 team when he was out. And around .900 percent when he was playing."
C-Jack shuts down Kennedy:
Detroit's leading scorer, Thomas Kennedy (11.6 points) was killing the Vikings in the first half, scoring 10 points on 5-for-7 from the field. At the half, Waters decided to make a change, putting the Horizon League's Defensive Player of the Year, Cedric Jackson to guard the 6-foot-7 Kennedy, instead of Brown. The move payed off as Jackson shut him down in the second half, limiting him to two points on 1-for-3 from the field.
"I tried to stay away from team defense and tried to take him out of the equation," said Jackson.
Even before Brown got hurt, Waters said he was going to make the change at halftime. "Kennedy was shooting the ball at a high rate and feeling confident. We needed to get him off of that," he said. "So we put Cedric on him in the second half. I thought that was the key to the game. He literally shut down that guy."
J'Bull's last game at Wolstein?:
Tuesday's game was most likely the final home game of J'Nathan Bullock's phenomenal career at CSU. The Vikings still have a slim chance of hosting the Horizon League Championship game, but it's a long shot.
The Vikings would have to beat Illinois-Chicago in the Quarterfinals on Friday. Then beat Green Bay in the Semi-finals on Saturday and hope that Butler is upset in the Semi-Finals on their home court.
"For me, it was kind of emotional (playing my last game at the Wolstein Center) because I have been here for four years," said Bullock. "I just cherish the moment of just playing with this team and this environment. And having the name Cleveland State on my chest. I just love to represent it."
The gambling man:
With CSU's offense struggling in the first half and Bullock sitting on the bench with two fouls, Waters made a decision that he couldn't keep Bullock on the bench for the rest of the half. So Waters gambled and put him back into the game.
"That was a calculated situation that could of went bad," said Waters. "Because I knew we didn't have any offense. I couldn't keep him out the rest of the half. So we played him on the weakest player."
Waters on UIC:
"UIC is playing in my estimation the second best basketball right now. They have won five in a row and got two players back. They are feeling pretty confident now," said Waters. "If you remember early in the season, they went to Georgia Tech and won. And they went to Vanderbilt and won. So they got the potential to beat you."
Cole versus Mayo:
Sophomore guard Norris Cole is looking forward to guarding UIC's first-team All-Horizon League guard Josh Mayo (16.8 points, second in Horizon League) on Friday.
In the first meeting, on Jan. 10 at the Wolstein Center, Mayo was held to six points on 2-for-10 from the field. And in the second meeting at UIC on Feb. 5, Mayo was limited to 10 points on 3-for-8 from the field.
"I take guarding Mayo as a personal challenge," said Cole. "I try to defend him well and make everything difficult for him."
Miscellaneous notes:
Tuesday's win over Detroit gave CSU it's 13th win this season at the Wolstein Center, a new school record.... Bullock tied a school record by playing in his 125 career game... And Jackson tied the single season school record with his 177th assist.
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