Marist to battle with Cleveland State

After playing Siena in its last match-up, the task does not get any easier for Marist. The Red Foxes will play the Cleveland State University Vikings (5-4) on Saturday night at the McCann Center. The last meeting between the two teams had Cleveland State thoroughly outplaying Marist in the ESPN BracketBusters. Cleveland State controlled the game en route to a 59-44 win. The Vikings return seven players from last year's team, including J'Nathan Bullock (right), one of the best players in the Horizon League. Bullock earned first-team all Horizon League honors along with teammate Cedric Jackson. Bullock, the 6-foot-5, 240-pound forward averages 13.8 ppg and 6.8 rpg. Bullock will likely create a ton of match-up problems for the Red Foxes. The bigger Vikings could yield space and speed to David Devezin's lane-penetration though. Starter Chris Moore and sixth man George Tandy both list at 6-foot-9 and 6-foot-8, respectively. While Cleveland State also employs a three guard set, Bullock remains the centerpiece of the Vikings' offense. Bullock has led the team in scoring for three straight seasons, and the senior has started 78 consecutive games. Cleveland State ranks 15th in the nation among mid-major schools. Gonzaga (No. 4) heads the list and Davidson (No. 22) remains second.
One hump the Red Foxes will have to climb is the offensive one. Marist has averaged 57.3 points in its last three games. Marist went 1-2 over that stretch. This task won't get any easier against Cleveland State though. The Vikings have held their last five opponents under 60 ppg. The Cleveland State opponents averaged 51.8 ppg and 18.2 turnovers per game. Marist turned the ball over a remarkable 27 times in its last contest against Siena. While the Red Foxes struggled offensively last week, the Vikings excelled defensively. Although Cleveland State went 1-2, losing to Butler and west Virginia, the Vikings held their opponents to 32.5 percent from the field. Cleveland State held Horizon League opponent and perennial NCAA Tournament entrant Butler to 31.5 percent from the field. Butler state only drained 17 buckets in the 50-48 win over Cleveland State.
Marist will rely heavily on the usual suspects: David Devezin, Ryan Schneider, and Dejuan Goodwin. Schneider leads the team in scoring and rebounding with 12.9 ppg and 9 rpg. While Schneider had a limited role last season, the senior forward has emerged as the most consistent Red Fox in Chuck Martin's dribble-dive offense. Devezin, the floor general, averages 12.3 ppg and 3.8 apg while Goodwin continues to lead the MAAC in three-point percentage.