Archive for the ‘YSU Basketball’ Category

Hot is a weak adjective to describe the way YSU played on both sides of the court in a 71-50 win over UIC.  The Penguins (9-6, 4-1) ran out to a 15-2 lead and never trailed in a game that they played like they should win.  With a stretch next week on the road at Valpo and Butler, the Penguins seem to be hitting stride at jut the right time.

Ashen Ward led a barrage of offense filled with threes and second chances.  Ward finished the game with 22 points, his third in a row with twenty plus, all wins.  It also marked a season-high for Ward.

“We started well and made shots”, said Ward.  “Our defense actually created chances for the offense.  Blake [Allen] did a great job pushing the ball tonight, Damian [Eargle] was setting good screens, and everyone was rebounding.”

At the half, the Penguins held a commanding 36-22 lead.  Kendrick Perry, steady as they come this season, had nine points to go along with four rebounds and four assists. Ward, DuShawn Brooks, and Damian Eargle all had seven apiece at intermission. Eargle also compiled three first half blocks.  For a team with no ‘big guy’, Eargle sure does play big.  The Guins managed a good 55% from the floor in the first half.

In the second half, Ward (above) heated up.  The Cleveland, Ohio native scored seven consecutive points on two threes and a free throw to give the Penguins a 46-24 lead with 16:26 left in the game.  Perry and Blake Allen ran a beautiful two-on-one fast break that saw constant ball movement ending with a nice alley-oop pass that Perry laid in.  That made the lead 55-28 with 13:14 to go.

“This is probably the best we have guarded since I have been here”, said Slocum.  “When the shots go in at a 57 % clip, it’s really pretty easy.”

With just over ten minutes to go in the contest and the result pretty well determined, Coach Slocum started to unload the bench.

The Penguins played balanced and unselfishly.  Ward finished with the most points, with 22.  Look for him to be named Horizon League Player of The Week by Tuesday.  Eargle was solid as he racked up 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 blocks.  Perry had 13 points, Allen contributed 10 more.

“Ash is our leader”, said Slocum.  “He’s the voice in the locker room, the voice on the floor, he pushes guys to practice harder, and he is probably the best leader I have had since I got here.”

UIC (5-11, 1-5) got 11 points out of Hayden Humes.  To their credit, UIC never quit playing and cut the lead to 64-47 with 3:33 to go, but the Penguins stockpiled enough wood in the shed to easily outlast them.

Kenya Middlebrooks scored 13 second-half points, and the Youngstown State women’s basketball team battled for a 55-48 victory at Valparaiso on Saturday afternoon at the Athletics-Recreation Center.

The Penguins led just 47-45 and had four seconds on the shot clock with 1:40 remaining when Brandi Brown hit a bucket in traffic on an inbounds pass. Valpo hit a free throw on its possession, and YSU went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final 1:09 to pull away.

Youngstown State improves to 8-6 overall, which is its best start since the 1999-200 season, and 2-1 in Horizon League play. Valpo, which dressed seven players and played just six, dropped to 4-11 and 0-4.

Youngstown State returns home to host Loyola on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN.

* Courtesy of YSU Sports, John Vogel

The Youngstown State men’s basketball team (8-6, 3-1 Horizon League) seeks to match its win total from a season ago when it hosts UIC (5-10, 1-4 Horizon League), Saturday, Jan. 7, at 7:05 p.m. at the Beeghly Center.

This is the 28th meeting between Youngstown State and UIC in an all-time series that dates back to 1993. The Flames own a 21-6 advantage in the series. The Guins have won five of the last six contests played in Youngstown, including the last two games. Last season, YSU defeated UIC, 71-69, at the Beeghly Center.

UIC is currently 5-10 overall and 1-4 in the Horizon League. The Flames are coming off a 73-56 loss to Cleveland State on Thursday evening, but also have two overtime losses to league members Milwaukee and Wright State. Daniel Barnes leads the Flames with 11.3 points per game while Gary Talton and Darrin Williams are also averaging in double figures with 10.7 and 10.5 points per game, respectively.

If YSU can pull out they win, they would improve to 4-1 in Horizon League play and would also match the fastest group of Penguins cagers to get to nine wins since the 2000-20001 season.

This team is good, they didn’t play their best in an overtime win against Loyola on Thursday but still managed to come away with a win due to defensive stops and somebody different stepping up on offense the last few trips down the floor.

Earlier in the season, DuShawn Brooks and Damian Eargle played hot shooter roles for Jerry Slocum‘s team.  Ashen Ward has recently stepped up.  The senior captain from Cleveland is averaging 18 points and shooting 57.9 percent from the field and 60 percent from 3-point range during that span. In four Horizon League games, Ward is averaging 12.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game while shooting 51.5 percent from the floor and 52.9 percent behind the arc.

Butler used a 19-5 run in the second half and got 14 second-half points from Devin Brierly in a 73-64 win over the Youngstown State women’s basketball team on Thursday evening at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

YSU grabbed its first lead of the second half at 49-48 with 10:08 remaining, but the Penguins did not make another field goal for almost four minutes. By that time, Butler had gone on a 12-2 spurt to take a 60-51 lead. The Bulldogs had one 3-pointer in the first 30 minutes and five in their final stretch, four of which came from Brierly.

Brandi Brown had 23 points and 12 rebounds, both of which were game highs. Heidi Schlegel and Monica Touvelle both finished with 11 points. Brierly had 19 points to lead four Bulldogs in double figures.

Butler led by as many as seven early in the second half and held a 48-43 advantage with 12 minutes left. YSU scored the next six points and took a 49-48 lead on Melissa Thompson’s bucket in transition. Butler called a time out, and Mandy McDivitt hit a trey to start the decisive run.

Butler shot a season-high 50 percent and was one point shy of its highest scoring total of the campaign. YSU shot 35.8 percent and was outscored 32-18 in the paint and 19-8 in second-chance points.

Youngstown State will play at Valparaiso on Saturday at 2:35 p.m. Eastern. The game will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN.

Almost 84 years ago to the day, the Youngstown State men’s basketball team won their first game.  The win was on January 14, 1928 against Clarion in a season that consisted of just three games.  Fast forward through a Great Depression and a couple of wars and the Penguins, still progressing forward, nabbed their 1,000th win against Loyola, 68-64, in an overtime thriller.

“I’m proud to be part of this program’s 1,000th win”, said coach Jerry Slocum.  “You have to recognize Coach Roselli and what he has meant to Youngstown and to basketball.  It is important that he is mentioned on a landmark night like tonight.”

In the first half, the Penguins did a good job defensively and scored enough to hold the lead for most of the half. Ashen Ward had the hot hand the first twenty minutes for YSU, hitting on 4-6 from the field including a couple of threes.  Ward led all scorers at the break with ten points.

“We believed we were supposed to win this game”, said Ward.  “We have to keep our confidence and stay with our routine and we should be alright for Saturday’s game.”

The Penguins shot a dismal 43.5 % from the line on 10-23 shooting.  Ward made light of the percentage.  “Coach will have us shooting a lot at practice tomorrow.”

The Penguins had the lead up to eight with just over two minutes to go.  Damian Eargle had three blocks in the first half, a half that the Penguins did not give up a single point off of a turnover.  The result of the solid defensive effort was a 29-22 lead at intermission.

In the second half, Loyola came out strong.  Ben Averkamp hit his fourth three-pointer with 14:02 to go, giving the Ramblers a 40-39 lead.  The Ramblers increased their lead to four points at 49-45, but the Penguins roared back on a pair of Eargle free throws and a Ward three to reclaim the lead with 8:50 left in the game.

Trailing 53-52, Blake Allen nailed a three to give the Guins a two-point edge with 4:58 left to play.  YSU got the ball down two with 44 seconds remaining.  Perry was fouled with 22.6 seconds left in regulation and knocked down one of two free throws to tie the game for the Penguins.  Loyola played for the last shot, which went to Averkamp, but he could not get a quality look at the hoop and the game went into overtime.

In the extra session, YSU trailed by two when Eargle was fouled while scoring but couldn’t hit the free throw to give the Penguins the lead.  Gibler took a nice feed for an easy two to give the Ramblers a 62-60 lead with 2:42 remaining.  Ward was fouled and hit one of two charity tosses to cut Loyola’s lead to one.  Perry made a nice drive with about two minutes to go to give the Penguins their first lead of the overtime.

Eargle hit a fifteen footer on the right baseline to give YSU a 65-64 lead with 48.3 seconds remaining.  On their next possession, Ward stole the ball and was pushed to get sent back to the line where the senior from Cleveland drilled both to put YSU ahead 67-64.  With Averkamp fouled out, Loyola was looking to Gibler for offense.  The Penguins figured that out and DuShawn Brooks hit one of two free throws to make it a two possession game.

Ward led the Penguins offensive effort with 21 points.  Allen tossed in 11, and Eargle contributed 14 points to go along with his 6 blocks and 9 rebounds. Kendrick Perry had a balanced effort with 4 assists, 13 points, and 9 rebounds.

Averkamp was a nightmare to defend causing problems by hitting from everywhere on the floor.  It’s tough to compensate on defense when the other team’s big guy is knocking down threes.  Averkamp finished with 23 points , Walt Gibler was Averkamp’s Robin, knocking down 26 sneaky points of his own.

“Those two big guys took us to school in the post tonight”, said Slocum.  “The kids played hard and it was an ugly game but it was not because of a lack of effort, they battled.  We held Averkamp in check from about the nine minute mark and the defense had some big stops down the stretch.”

YSU (8-6, 3-1) faces UIC on Saturday night at the Beeghly Center.  The Penguins then head to the road next week for games against Butler and Valpo.

Youngstown State men’s basketball fans can now vote to see the Guins take on Milwaukee, Friday, Jan. 20, on ESPNU at the Beeghly Center.

Simply click on the supplied link :  Click Here

Retweet the link too!  The more votes the better, let’s show the country that we believe in the Penguins!

Posting his second double-double of the year, Youngstown State junior forward Damian Eargle (Youngstown, Ohio/Warren Harding) has been named the Horizon League Men’s Basketball Player of the Week, for the week of Dec. 26-Jan. 1. The accolade is the first of Eargle’s career.

Eargle helped Youngstown State (7-6, 2-1 Horizon) snap a four-game losing skid as the Penguins traveled to Cleveland State and knocked off the Vikings, 73-67. The 6-foot-7 junior dominated the post, recording 20 points and 10 rebounds in the win. Eargle went 8-for-11 from the field and hit 4-of-5 free throws, scoring 14 of his points in the second half to help the Penguins overcome a two-point halftime deficit.

Eargle is the second YSU player to garner the award this season after senior DuShawn Brooks was named player of the week on Dec. 5. It is also the first time since 2009-10 that multiple YSU players earned the accolade.

On the year, Eargle is averaging 10.5 points per game and chipping in 7.3 rebounds. The junior ranks among the top shot blockers in the country, swatting 4.1 shots per contest, good for third in the nation. After going two years without a road win in Horizon League play, Youngstown State has collected two in its first three games in the conference.

The Youngstown State men’s basketball team (7-6, 2-1 Horizon League) searches for the program’s 1000th win when it hosts Loyola(5-9, 0-4 Horizon League), Thursday Jan. 5, at 7:05 p.m. at the Beeghly Center.

Decades of student athletes have contributed to this figure.  It is a nice accomplishment for a school, and it would be even nicer to see some support in the stands for the game.

This is the 26th meeting between Youngstown State and Loyola in a series that dates back to 1956. Loyola leads the all-time series, 14-11, and has won the three contests. Last season, Loyola swept the season series, including an 83-53 victory at the Beeghly Center. The last time YSU defeated Loyola was a 71-67 win on Jan. 9, 2010, at the Beeghly Center.

In the latest NCAA stats released on Jan. 1, YSU can be found throughout several categories. The Penguins rank fifth nationally wiht 9.6 3-pointers made per game, 20th with 6.8 blocks per game and 33rd with a .388 3-point field-goal percentage. Individually, besides Damian Eargle, Blake Allen is ninth with a with 3.2 3-pointers made per game 36th with a .438 3-point percentage.

Damian Eargle had 20 points and ten rebounds to lead Youngstown State past Cleveland State, 73-67, on the road.  The Vikings were ranked in the AP Men’s Top-25 last week, so the magnitude of the win for YSU is huge, especially on the road. With the win, the Penguins improved to 7-6 and more importantly, 2-1 in Horizon League play while handing Cleveland State their first Horizon loss.  Cleveland native Ashen Ward scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half.

Senior DuShawn Brooks also reached double figures with 17 points, including 11 in the first half, and as a team, the Guins shot 58.1 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range.

After a 3-pointer by CSU’s Jeremy Montgomery tied the game at 40-40 at the 13:46 mark, the Penguins, who shot 65 percent (13-for-20) in the second half, used a 15-6 run over the next five minutes to take a 55-46 lead with 8:34 to go and never trailed again.

Ward started a run with a 3-pointer and after a 3-pointer by Blake Allen and jumper by Josh Chojnacki the Guins ahead by eight, 52-44, at 10:47. Allen also made a layup at the 8:34 mark put YSU up by nine.

The Vikings cut the deficit down to one on two occasions – 57-56 at the 5:18 mark and 59-58 with 4:31 to go.

Ward hit his second 3-pointer of the half and then drove the lane for a layup to extend the Guins’ edge to seven, 66-59, with 1:52 remaining.  Ward also made four straight free throws with under a minute to left, including the final two charity tosses with five seconds left to give the Penguins a 73-64 lead.

The Penguins return home to face Loyola, Thursday, Jan. 5, at 7:05 p.m. at the Beeghly Center.

The last time Youngstown State University beat Cleveland State was January 27, 2007.  On the last day of 2011, the Lady Penguins put together a good team effort, defeating the Vikings, 70-48, and headed into 2012 tied for first in the conference at 1-0.  It also marked the first time YSU has won a conference opener since 2008.  It’s a shame that 2011 is almost over, a year that will surely be earmarked as a giant step forward for the Lady Penguins basketball program.

In the first half, the Penguins opened up with a 14-2 run with 11:27 left in the half. Monica Touvelle (below) went 4-4 from three-point range and led all scorers with YSU heading to their locker room ahead comfortably, 35-22.  Brandi Brown had seven rebounds and six points in a half that saw all active members of the Lady Penguins see some minutes.

“It’s nice to get everyone involved”, remarked Coach Bob Boldon after the game. “They have all done the work in practice all week and deserve to be on the floor.”

In the second half, the Penguins started strong and held a 48-34 lead with 10:54 remaining in the contest.  Boldon’s offense looked lethal at times with just a couple of lapses in the second half.  Cleveland State cut the YSU lead to eleven at 50-39 with 9:23 left on a Shalonda Winton drive to the hoop.

An earthquake shuttered the Beeghly Center during the second half but play continued. “Was that an earthquake?” said Brown.  ” I am used to those being from California, I just thought someone fell.”

With the score 51-40, Brown drilled a three from the corner that got nothing but net. The Penguins held a 54-42 lead with five minutes to go.  Brown would extend the lead to 63-42 with just under three minutes left draining a pair of free throws after being fouled driving the length of the court with a steal.  The Vikings nevr got closer than 15 after the six minute mark of the game.

Brown finished the game with 23 points and 12 boards to notch her fifth double-double of the season and the 32nd of her career.  YSU also got an array of statistics from everyone including Touvelle’s four three-pointers, 16 points and five rebounds from Heidi Schlegel, and six assists from Macey Nortey.  The Penguins shot 42.6 from the floor and cashed in 28 more points off of Vikings turnovers.

“It feels good to go into a New Year with a win”, said Brown.  “We really executed well as a team and it was a good win for us.”

Cleveland State got 17 points from Winton and eleven more from Imani Gordon.  The Vikings slipped to 5-7 and 0-1 with the loss.

The Lady Penguins (7-5, 1-0) head West to face Butler on Thursday and Valparaiso on Saturday afternoon.