San Francisco vs. Cleveland State Preview
By Mary Harvill
USF Dons (6-5) vs. Cleveland State (5-6)
Date and Time: Sunday, December 21, 2014 at 10:00 AM PST
Location: Wolstein Arena, Cleveland, OH
Video: http://espn.go.com/watchespn/index/_/id/2188048/Mens-College-Basketball-San-Francisco-vs-Cleveland-State
Audio: http://new.livestream.com/thewtv/USFmbbaudioonly
Meet the Teams
San Francisco
Meeting their second set of Vikings in two weeks, (after the Portland State Viking’s visit Thursday, December 18, 2014 in San Francisco), USF will travel to Cleveland, Ohio to meet the “other” Vikings. So far this season, USF has not played particularly well on the road. Hopefully this game will be a different story with the momentum from the win over Portland State and the return to a point guard led team.
Look for Mark Tollefson, Tim Derksen and Kruize Pinkins to set the pace. Though Corey Hilliard started at point guard for the Portland State game, don’t rule out Devin Watson as a starter at point guard. Matt Glover will likely round out the starting 5 for the Dons.
USF played Cleveland State in 2013 in San Francisco and won that game. It would be nice for the Dons to add a second win against this team and to get a win on the road before WCC conference play begins after Christmas.
Cleveland State
The Vikings of Cleveland State have won 4 of their 11 home games so far this season. Their win/loss record betrays the incredible talent embedded in this squad. The three point shot is a key element of Cleveland State’s game. Ohio native and junior guard Trey Lewis, who transferred to the program from Penn State is a complete player- points, rebounds, assists and steals on the stat line when he steps onto the floor. He has not lost a step after sitting out last year due to the NCAA transfer rules. Charlie Lee, a regular starting guard for the team and prolific scorer, ranked 6th in the Horizon league in assists last season. He was also the first player in school history with a 90% shooting average from the free throw line in 2013. The third guard, Andre Yates may not be a prolific scorer but he keeps things moving with Cleveland State’s 3 guard, 2 forward lineup. 6’6” forward Marlin Mason is another points, rebounds, assists and steals type of player. Forward Anton Grady has been a consistent double double performer for the Vikings and creates lots of excitement within the media corps. Illinois State transfer and Canadian native Kaza Keane off the bench round out the Vikings top performers.