Posts Tagged ‘DuShawn Brooks’

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.

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.

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.

Youngstown State University finally got to come home and play a game Thursday night.  The suitcase-carrying YSU team last played home games on November 18 and December 6.  Robert Morris had not lost a game to Youngstown State since 2001 coming in.  The Penguins were unable to reverse their recent misfortune against the Colonials and fell 59-56 to fall to 6-6 on the season.

With seven seconds separating the game clock and the shot clock and the game tied at 56, Youngstown State turned the ball over giving Robert Morris possession with 8.2 seconds remaining.  Coron Williams fired a three right at the buzzer to seemingly give the Colonials the 59-56 win.  Coach Jerry Slocum argued that time had elapsed before the shot was taken, and after the refs reviewed the video, the shot was ruled as good.

In the first half, the Penguins looked to be in control.  In fact, at times they looked like they would pull away.  The Colonials trailed the Penguins by seven at the 13:43 mark of the first half, but to their credit, kept clawing back to keep YSU within reach.  The Penguins held a 32-31 lead at the half behind solid shooting from guards Kendrick Perry (above) and Blake Allen.  Perry scored ten first half points with a couple of threes and 4-5 shooting.  The consistent Allen poured in nine, hitting three triples.

In the second half, Perry continued to show his arsenal hitting a dunk and a three to put YSU ahead 43-39 with 11:43 left in the game.  A half-court pass caught by a cutting Mike McFadden, who easily laid the ball in, tied the game.  DuShawn Brooks then hit a couple of threes to put YSU ahead 49-45 with just under ten minutes remaining.

The second half of the game seemed much more physical than most for both teams.  It seemed every trip in either direction left a member of either team lying under the hoop and grabbing a body part while wincing in pain.

“I am very disappointed with the outcome”, said Coach Slocum.  “I am very respectful of our kids to come back and play as hard as they did against a good team like they did tonight.”

With 6:03 left in the game, and the Penguins ahead 49-48, Brooks hit a nice runner in the paint to stretch the margin to three.  After a stop, Fletcher Larson hit a pair of free throws to widen the lead to 53-48.  Brooks then was fouled grabbing an offensive rebound and he promptly hit a pair of free throws to make it 55-48 with 3:47 left in the game.  The Colonials fought back to make it a two-point game, 55-53, with 3:14 left in regulation.  That score would not change over a two minute span as YSU had a couple of empty possessions.  Anthony Myers hit a three with about 50 seconds left to tie the game at 56.

Perry finished the game with 18 points, Brooks knocked in 16 more and Allen finished with 12.  The Colonials are another quality opponent that the Penguins had on the ropes but could not put away.  Coach Slocum and this dedicated team will continue to work hard and get better for league play.

Velton Jones finished with 15 to lead the Colonials who improved to 10-3 on the year.

Nobody knew how much of a contributor DuShawn Brooks could be this season.  Last year, Brooks played sparingly as a sixth man and showed flashes of the potential he has stabilized as a senior starter for the 2011-12 Youngstown State Penguins team. Brooks, or DB as he is called by friends, has already been named a Horizon League Conference Player of The Week this season and has really worked hard to get better. The most impressive part about Brooks’ role as a senior is that he puts the team first. The Chicago-area native had plenty to say in our recent interview.

Paneech: You have been called DuShawn, Terrell, and DB.  What should I refer to you as?

Brooks: My name on my birth certificate is DuShawn Terrell Brooks, my sister gave me my name.  On Facebook, I am listed as Terrell, it is what I go by.  Most people call me Shawn or DB.

Paneech: Being raised in a big city presents problems such as pressure to do drugs and join a gang.  Were you able to steer clear of that activity?

Brooks: Growing up, I lived with my grandmother until seventh grade, then I moved back with my mom in the suburbs.  As soon as I got back, she got me involved with a mentor and I started playing basketball around that time.  I really didn’t even have the time to get involved with anything that was bad.  I was either at basketball, in church, or in school.  I never got involved with any of those bad things, I was a pretty good kid.

Paneech: What was it like growing up in Chicago with Michael Jordan images and mentions everywhere?

Brooks: I never wanted to ‘be like Mike‘, I always wanted to play like him though.  You get sucked into it and you want to wear his shoes, you want to dunk over somebody like he used to.  You want to do the stuff he did to accomplish what he has — six rings, MVP awards, scoring titles.  It was fun watching him play.  Michael Jordan was like Batman, and Scottie Pippen was his Robin. It wasn’t always Michael.  If Jordan was having a bad night, Pippen stepped up many times to provide the win.

Paneech: Is the basketball at the high school level in Chicago better than the product the Youngstown area schools put on the courts?

Brooks: I notice a difference when I come up to watch some of the high school games here.  I think to myself ‘this kid wouldn’t get any playing time on my old team’ when I watch.  That isn’t an insult to the area, but Chicago is a much bigger area with many more athletes that are bigger, faster, and stronger.  Everybody plays basketball in Chicago.  Here it is much smoother and a second sport to a lot of the student athletes. In high school, I was the last guy on the bench, never got any praise, and was relied upon to do all of the dirty work.

Paneech: How did you end up at Youngstown State?

Brooks: I started out at a prep school in Cincinnati.  After that, I went to a junior college in Kansas for two years.  We won our conference and regional championships there.  Coach Wernicki showed up down there and told me that Youngstown was interested in me and invited me on a visit.  I liked it here because it was not too big.  A big part of me signing on was that I get to go home and play two games in Chicago.  I never really got to play ball in front of my family until last year, and I really enjoyed it.

Paneech: When you get to Youngstown State, you meet Jerry Slocum.  How is your relationship with him?

Brooks: I came in with an open mind.  I won’t lie, it was very hard sometimes.  Last year, I understood that I had to learn things before I could be given a lot of playing time.  Coach Slocum was very supportive and would tell me not to get frustrated and that my time will come.  He always let me know what I needed to do to get better, and I learned to just go out there and listen to him.  Coming into this season, it has been better in the sense that I knew what to expect from him.  I think he is a great coach and openly lets you know where you are excelling or falling short.

Paneech: What kind of a role do you think you play on this team?

Brooks: Probably doing whatever I have to do to help the team get a win.  I have been scoring a lot lately, but that doesn’t mean it is going to continue.  Sometimes I have to concentrate harder on grabbing rebounds, sometimes I have to dive after a loose ball.  I have to worry about blocking a shot, going for a steal, — really, anything I can do to contribute to the success of this team.  As a senior, I have to step up and do some of the things others may not want to do.  Ash [Ashen Ward] is the leader, and I am going to do whatever I can to help him be a good leader.

Paneech: Coach Slocum has had bad luck taking junior college guys who sometimes put their personal statistics in front of the team.  For him to be as positive as he is this season, he obviously believes in this team.  What is different?

Slocum: None of us like to lose.  Earlier this season, we lost to Wright State by one, and in the locker room after the game, everyone was really mad.  We think we have the best team in the league and want to win the Horizon League.  Everyone has been working hard and when we practice sluggish, coach [Slocum] lets us know we are practicing badly.

Paneech: You are dating a YSU women’s basketball player, Melissa Thompson.  How in the world – between school, travel, and practice schedules do you two ever see each other?

Brooks: (laughs)  She lives in the same building as me, so as soon as I get done or she gets done, we text each other.  Then we can meet up and hang out.  I have been with her for a year now, it has been really fun.

One Word Answers

Favorite Fast Food Order: 10 Honey Barbecue Wings at Sharks in Chicago.

Favorite Drink: Kool-Aid, Any Flavor.

Favorite TV Show: Pawn Stars, Storage Wars, And ESPN.

Closest Thing To Jordan In The NBA: Lebron James.

Best Friend On The Team: Everybody.

Who Would Win On Jeopardy Out of Damian Eargle, Coach Slocum, and Ron Strollo? Probably Damian Eargle because he is very smart.

How Far Can This Team Go? As far as we want to.

One Word Describing Coach Slocum: Tough.

Worst Class You Have Taken At YSU: Child Development.

Best Class Taken At YSU: Deviant Behavior.

Stores You Have To Go To: Foot Locker and Macy’s.

Breakfast Food: I love to cook.  Probably Bacon, Sausage, and Eggs.

Youngstown State University handed Fredonia State a 69-35 defeat at home Tuesday night.  This game was not much of a contest, but Coach Jerry Slocum found solace in getting his bench a good chunk of playing time in a game situation.  The Penguins took a 31-12 lead into half and never looked back.

“We have been in so many close games lately that it makes it hard to develop guys who don’t get a lot of playing time”, noted Slocum.  “I was really happy with Fletcher Larson‘s play in the post and DJ [Cole] did a good job at the point for us.”

With the victory, YSU improves to 6-2 while the Blue Devils drop to 6-2. The 35 points allowed on Tuesday by the Penguins were the fewest in a contest since Hiram had just 35 on Dec. 22, 1970.

Leading the way offensively was Blake Allen who scored 14 points, DuShawn Brooks (above) finished with 13 points, 11 of which came in the first half and Kendrick Perry had 12. For FSU, Julius Bryant had a team-high 13 points and six rebounds.

The Penguins used the night to get some reserves involved. For the game, 12 players saw at least eight minutes of action while none played more than 25.  Nine players saw double figures in minutes on the evening for YSU.

On the defensive end, YSU held the Blue Devils to just 31.9 percent shooting from the field (15-of-47). The Penguins shot 50.9 percent (29-of-57) and were 9-of-24 from behind the 3-point arc. The team’s combined to attempt just 14 free throws.

YSU never trailed after scoring the first five points of the game. Fredonia cut the deficit to 5-2 then the Penguins went on a 10-0 run and never looked back. Capping the run were the first collegiate points for redshirt freshman Fletcher Larson (above). Larson’s tip in of a miss by Shawn Amiker gave the Guins a 15-2 lead at the 12:48 mark of the first half.

Slocum talked about Brooks elevating his game over the pat couple of weeks.

“We sat him down a couple of weeks ago and told him he was only going to take what he puts in.  He was probably the best player on the floor these last three games and he has played really well for us.

Blake Allen talked about the team effort.  “Coach wanted us to hold them under 40 points.  We also wanted to have more assists than turnovers.  There is a lot of room for improvement, but we were overall pretty happy with the effort.”

The Penguins return to action on Saturday when they play at Buffalo. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. The game will be carried live on 570 WKBN.

Shooting 64 percent from three-point range, Youngstown State senior forward DuShawn Brooks (Chicago, Ill./Thornton) has been named the Horizon League Men’s Basketball Player of the Week, for the week of Nov. 29-Dec. 4.  The accolade is the first of Brooks’ career, while the senior is the first player from Youngstown State to collect the honors since Jan. 11, 2010.

Helping Youngstown State (5-2 1-1 Horizon) open with a road split in the first weekend of Horizon League play, Brooks averaged 20.5 points per game, knocking down 9-of-14 three-point attempts as the Penguins knocked off Detroit, 64-61, before suffering a 63-62 defeat at Wright State on Saturday.

In the conference-opening victory at Detroit, Brooks carried Youngstown State down the stretch, scoring 11 straight points to turn a five-point deficit into a late lead. In the spurt, Brooks knocked down three attempts from long distance, finishing the game 6-of-9 from three-point range. Brooks’ 24 points in the win were a career high.  The senior followed up the effort by going 3-for-5 from three-point range en route to 17 points on Saturday. On the week, Brooks went 16-for-26 from the field.

Through the first month of the season, Brooks is part of a YSU offense that is leading the Horizon League in three-point shooting, attempting 23.6 threes per game. The Penguins are knocking down a League-best 39.4 percent of those attempts.

Returning to non-conference play, the Penguins welcome Fredonia State to the Beeghly Center on Tuesday, Dec. 6 for a 7:45 p.m. ET tip. The game will be carried live on the Horizon League Network. On Saturday, the Penguins travel to Buffalo, N.Y., for a 7 p.m. ET game against the MAC’s Buffalo.

Wright State’s Armond Battle made a free throw with 1.4 seconds remaining to lift the Raiders past the Youngstown State men’s basketball team, 63-62, on Saturday afternoon at the Nutter Center.  The Penguins fell to 5-2 overall and 1-1 in the Horizon League while the Raiders improve to 3-5 overall and 1-1 in the league.

Senior DuShawn Brooks led the Guins with 17 points while Blake Allen scored 15 and junior Damian Eargle had 10 points, seven rebounds and five blocks.

Once trailing by five, 62-57, with 2:45 to go, Allen knotted the game at 62-62 with 1:32 left, and after an offensive foul by WSU’s AJ Pacher, Allen’s shot to give Youngstown State the lead was off the mark, which set up Battle’s heroics.

The Penguins, who led by as many as 17 points in the first half, 30-13, shot just 28 percent in the second half and made just two 3-pointers after shooting 52 percent in the first, including going 9-of-15 from 3-point range.

Leading by three, 16-13, with 10:57 left before halftime, YSU scored 14 straight over the next 3:43 to take a 30-13 lead at the 7:14 mark. A 3-pointer by Allen, a jumper by Eargle and 3-pointers by Allen, Brooks and  AshenWard highlighted the Penguins run.  The Raiders got back into the game using a 19-8 run to close out the half trailing YSU, 38-32.

The Penguins extended their halftime lead to seven, 41-34, when Kendrick Perry scored his first field goal of the game at the 17:39 mark.  WSU scored the next eight points over the next three to take their first lead of the game, 42-41, since leading 7-6 at the 15:42 mark of the first half.  The lead changed four more times when a 3-pointer by Allen and jumper by Perry gave the Penguins a 56-52 lead with 6:31 to go.

The Penguins return home to face Fredonia State, Tuesday, Dec. 6. Tipoff is slated for 7:05 p.m. at the Beeghly Center, or 30 minutes after the Lady Penguins game concludes against Bowling Green.

Youngstown State opened their Horizon League schedule on the road and collected a 64-61 victory at Detroit.  The Penguins got a big night out of senior DuShawn Brooks who scored a career-high 24 points.  The Penguins improve to 5-1 for the first time since 2000 and are 1-0 in the Horizon League. Detroit falls to 3-5 overall and 0-1 in the league.

Brooks, who made a career-best six 3-pointers, nailed his final two in the final 1:55 to erase a four-point defict, 59-55, and to give the Penguins a 61-59 lead with 1:05 to go.

Sophomore Kendrick Perry, who had 13 points, extended the Guins lead to 62-59 after making one-of-two free throws with 17 seconds left.  Perry (above) would later ice the game with .5 seconds remaining hitting two clutch free throws.  Detroit’s Chase Simon made a layup with 1.1 seconds left to bring the Titans within one, 62-61,  before Perry was fouled at half court.

Detroit scored the first four points of the second half to take a 38-35 lead, but a 3-pointer by senior Ashen Ward capped an 8-2 run to give Youngstown State a 43-40 lead at the 14:21 mark.  The Penguins extended their lead to five twice, 47-42, and 49-44, with 11:10 to go.

The Titans used an 11-1 run to take a point lead, 55-50, at the 5:40 mark. Brooks hit his fourth 3-pointer of the game to bring the Guins within two, 55-53, with 5:22 left.  After a free throw by Simon, Brooks (below) hit a jumper at the 3:10 mark to get within one, 56-55.

Detroit’s Donovan Foster put the Titans up four, 59-55, at the 2:11 mark before Brooks’ 3-pointer to bring the Guins with one, 59-58, with 1:55 to go.

In the first half, the Guins jumped out to a 12-4 lead just four minutes into the game, sparked by a high-light reel alley-oop dunk from Ward to Perry.  Detroit outscored YSU 12-2 over the next four minutes to take its first lead of the game, 16-14, on a three-point play by McCallum at the 11:42 mark.

Blake Allen finally got in the scoring column nailing a jumper and a 3-pointer to give the Guins a 19-18 lead.  Later, Brooks hit two more 3-pointers to push the Guins advantage to six, 27-21, at the 6:15 mark.

The Guins lead by as many as seven points, 35-28, after two layups by freshman Shawn Amiker. However, Detroit scored the final six points of the half, including four in the final three seconds. McCallum hit two free throws and Chase Simon stole the in-bound pass and fed McCallum for a layup to cut the Guins lead to 35-34 at the intermission.

The Penguins visit Wright State, Saturday, Dec. 3, at 3 p.m. at the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio.

Senior DuShawn Brooks hit the game-deciding 3-pointer and blocked two Red Flash shots, including an attempt at the buzzer, as the Youngstown State men’s basketball team squeaked past Saint Francis (Pa.), 60-59, on Saturday afternoon at the DeGol Center.  The Penguins improve to 4-1 for the second straight season while the Red Flash fall to 0-5 overall.

Sophomore Kendrick Perry was the lone Penguin scoring in double figures with 12 points while Brooks, junior Blake Allen, senior  Ashen Ward and freshman Cale Zuiker each had nine points.

Brooks nailed his first 3-pointer of the season with 2:15 left in the game to give Youngstown State a four-point edge, 60-56. However, Saint Francis’ Stephon Whyatt answered with a 3-pointer of his own to cut the deficit to one, 60-59, with 1:59 to go.

Tied 33-33 at the half, the Guins used a 12-2 run to start the second half to take a 45-35 lead with 17:13 left in the game. Ward scored five of his nine points during the run and Damian Eargle‘s layup put the Guins up by 10.

The Red Flash rallied to cut the Penguins lead down to one, 53-52, on a Scott Eatherton layup with 4:22 to go.

Allen hit a jumper at the 3:16 mark to give the Penguins a 57-54 edge and SFU’s John Taylor hit a jumper to slice the lead back down to one, 57-56, before Brooks’ game-deciding 3-pointer.

YSU trailed by as many as 11 points, 17-6, in the first half, but quickly found their rhythm offensively.  Allen hit a 3-pointer and jumpers by Kendrick Perry, Shawn Amiker and another by Perry brought the within three, 19-16, at the 10:10 mark.

The Guins tied the game at 25-25 on a 3-pointer by Zuiker with 4:42 to go and two more 3-pointers by Zuiker gave the Guins a 33-30 lead before SFU’s Scott Eatherton made a free throw to knot the game at 33-33 at the half.

Youngstown State shot 45.8 percent in the first half, including 40 percent from 3-point range.  The Penguins open Horizon League play against Detroit, Thursday, Dec. 1, at 7 p.m. at Calihan Hall.