GAME 15
Cleveland State (7-7 / 2-1 #HLMBB) vs. RMU (7-7 / 2-1 #HLMBB)
Saturday, December 31, 2022 • 3:00 p.m.
UPMC Events Center (4,000) • Moon Township, Pa.

TV: ESPN+ • Audio: RMU Athletics Gameday App
Talent: Chris Shovlin (pxp) & Jim Elias (color)
Twitter: @RMUMBasketball • Instagram: RMUMBasketball
 
Opening Tip
 
- The RMU men's basketball team wraps up a three-game homestand as well as the 2022 calendar year Saturday in search of its fourth straight victory. The Colonials welcome Cleveland State for a 3:00 p.m. tip at the UPMC Events Center.
 
- RMU returned to Horizon League action and posted its third consecutive win with a 75-70 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne (12/29/22). Junior guard Enoch Cheeks set career highs in points (24) and assists (6) and also added five rebounds and four steals to lead the way.
 
- Fifth-year forward Kahliel Spear contributed 10 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals and three blocks in the win over the Mastodons. His free throw at the 4:11 mark of the first half gave him exactly 1,000 points on his NCAA Division I career, which began at Bucknell. Spear owns 1,009 career points, including 837 in three seasons with the Colonials.
 
- RMU enters Saturday's game ranked third in the Horizon League in scoring defense, allowing an average of 65.4 points per game. Purdue Fort Wayne (64.2 ppg) tops the circuit, followed by Northern Kentucky (65.0 ppg). Cleveland State, allowing an average of 65.8 points per contest, ranks fourth.
 
- During the month of December, a stretch in which RMU has posted a 5-2 (.714) record, the Colonials are allowing 64.1 points per game. Opponents have shot just 40.4 percent (162-for-401) from the field, including 33.3 percent (44-for-132) from beyond the arc, over the last seven games, while junior guard Enoch Cheeks has paced the offense, averaging 17.9 points per game while also notching averages of 5.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.1 steals per contest.
 
- In the opener of its three-game homestand, RMU concluded non-conference play with a 77-66 victory over in-state rival Saint Francis U (12/21/22). Junior guard Enoch Cheeks led five Colonials in double figures with 23 points and also added five rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block.
 
- Junior guard Josh Corbin added 15 points, two assists and three steals in the win over the Red Flash, while fifth-year forward Kahliel Spear contributed 14 points and five rebounds. Sophomore guard Jackson Last chipped in a career-high 11 points, while off the bench junior forward Matt Mayers posted 10 points and a season-high nine rebounds.
 
- RMU opens 2023 after hosting Cleveland State Saturday with its shortest road trip of the year. The Colonials head to Youngstown, Ohio, Thursday, Jan. 5, for a 7:00 p.m. tip against Youngstown State at the Beeghly Center. RMU opens the new year with five of its first six games on the road, with the only home game during that stretch Monday, Jan. 9, when IUPUI visits the UPMC Events Center for a 7:00 p.m. tip.

CLEVELAND STATE LINKS
- Game Notes (PDF)
- Audio
- Video
- Live Stats
- RMU Athletics Gameday App
- Tickets
 
The All-Time Series (Cleveland State) – RMU and Cleveland State tip for the 19th time Saturday, with the Vikings owning an 11-7 (.611) advantage in the all-time series. CSU has won seven of the last eight meetings between the two programs, including a 3-0 mark during the 2021-22 season. Included in that was an 83-67 win over the Colonials in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Horizon League Tournament at the Wolstein Center (3/3/22). In that game guard Enoch Cheeks finished with 21 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three blocks. The last victory for RMU over Cleveland State came at the Charles L. Sewall Center (11/20/12), a 71-62 victory that was part of the 2012 NIT Season Tip-Off. The Colonials were led by forward Mike McFadden and guard Velton Jones with 15 points each.
 
Purdue Fort Wayne Notes – RMU snapped a three-game losing streak against the Mastodons, with Purdue Fort Wayne owning a 3-2 (.600) edge in the all-time series ... RMU won its first game (1-5) of the 2022-23 season when allowing 70 or more points ... PFW owned a 42-32 edge on the glass, including a 15-8 advantage in offensive caroms, but RMU outscored the Mastodons, 32-22, in points in the paint ... The Colonials also owned a 20-9 cushion in points off turnovers and outscored Purdue Fort Wayne, 15-8, on the break ... RMU's 20 assists against Purdue Fort Wayne marked a season high against an NCAA Division I opponent.
 
Winter Solstice – RMU has received a balanced offense in posting a record of 5-2 (.714) during the final month of the year, but the most consistent member of the Colonials has been Enoch Cheeks. The junior guard enters the 2022 finale Saturday having produced averages of 17.9 points and 5.1 rebounds over the last seven games while shooting 47 percent (47-for-100) from the field. Cheeks has eclipsed the 20-point plateau in each of the last two games and four times overall this season, with the Colonials a perfect 4-0 in those contests.
 
Downtown – RMU connected for 10 three-pointers in a 75-70 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne (12/29/22) its Horizon League home opener, the third time during the 2022-23 campaign the Colonials have reached double digits in triples. RMU is 3-0 this season when hitting at least 10 three-pointers in a game, have won four straight dating back to last season when turning the trick and in 13 seasons under Pat Gallagher Head Coach Andrew Toole are 59-22 (.729) when accomplishing the feat.
 
Three's Company – Josh Corbin could very well be on his way to completing the triumvirate of the greatest three-point shooters in program history. The junior guard has hit at least six triples in a game four times so far during the 2022-23 campaign and sits sixth in NCAA Division I in three-point field goals made (50) while leading the Horizon League in three-point field goal percentage (.446). Corbin is the second fastest to 50 three-pointers in a season, as his pair of triples in a 75-70 win over Purdue Fort Wayne (12/29/22) trails only Josh Williams (2018-20), who hit 53 three-pointers in his first 13 games of the 2018-19 season. At his current pace, Corbin is on pace to conclude the 2022-23 regular season with 110 three-pointers and would join Williams and former guard Karvel Anderson (2012-14) as the only student-athletes to connect for at least 100 three-pointers in a season.
 
Consistency Is Key – Each student-athlete has its own line of development, and usually the final piece to fall into place is consistency. For junior guard Enoch Cheeks, he has blossomed into a key contributor and budding star due in large part to his ability to be consistent. Despite missing a pair of games this year, Cheeks has reached double figures in scoring in each of his 12 games this season as well as 14 consecutive contests dating back to last year. During that span Cheeks has stuffed the stat sheet, producing averages of 17.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.5 blocks per contest while shooting 48.6 percent (88-for-181) from the field. In a 68-59 win @ Mount St. Mary's (12/18/22), Cheeks notched his first double-double of the 2022-23 campaign and fourth of his career thanks to 19 points and 10 rebounds.
 
At The Rim – Fifth-year forward Kahliel Spear is as active as any member of the Colonials in recent years at the rim, and you just have to look at the numbers. In 64 career contests at RMU, Spear owns 77 dunks (1.20 per game), including 13 so far during the 2022-23 campaign. On the defensive end, Spear has rejected 76 shots (1.19 per contest) in his RMU career, matching a career high with four in a 68-59 win @ Mount St. Mary's (12/18/22), and has compiled 106 career blocks in five seasons at the NCAA Division I level. Spear has cracked the top 10 for career blocks at RMU with his 76, ranking seventh. He is just four rejections shy of becoming just the fifth student-athlete in program history to eclipse 80 career blocks.

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