Trevon Harmon Leads Cleveland State Past John Carroll

Cleveland State hosted crosstown rival John Carroll for an exhibition game basketball this evening and while the contest was sloppy at times it gave fans a glimpse from what we can expect from the 2009-2010 Vikings and Blue Streaks. The Blue Streaks would hang with the Vikings for much of the first half but CSU would pull away for a 92-75 victory when it was all said and done. What was more important we saw from a number of individual players, especially on the Vikings side.

Here are some notes from the game from the two area colleges:

• CSU looks to have two gems in their hands Californian prep products Nigel Ajere and Tre Harmon. Harmon led the Vikings with 22 points on 7-10 shooting with 6 of the shots coming from beyond the 3 point arc. Ajere chipped in 15 on 7 of 8 shooting and showed immense athletic prowess in the process.
• JUCO transfer Jared Cunnigham had a nice game with 9 points and 8 boards. Gary Waters calls Cunnigham "an energy guy".
• Much heralded center Aaron Pogue struggled a little bit on the offensive end in his debut with the Vikings. Despite that, he still managed to grab 10 boards in 15 minutes against the undersized Blue Streaks.
• You can see why JCU is ranked the number 2 team in Division III this season. They have great depth and a great coach in Mike Moran. Matt Crozier, who once was a standout quarterback for St Ignatius, stood toe-to-toe with the bigger Vikings scoring 22 points on 8 of 9 shooting on the night. It should be a great season to a be a Blue Streak supporter.
• Despite a monster dunk we don't know how much Kevin Anderson will produce this year. Most of the times he looks lost on the court but with his physical tools its too late to give up on the center.
• Where were the fans? Only 1200 souls attended the game and that is worrisome. JCU fans tend to head to the Wolstien Center but weren't as many for this years contest. Even sadder is the fact that Cleveland still doesn't seem to realize that the Vikings are a team on the rise and should know after their upsets of the likes of Syracuse and Wake Forest just a year ago. Get to a game!

Here are some highlights from the contest along with postgame views from both Coach Waters and Coach Moran.