Posts Tagged ‘Youngstown State University’

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.

Donald Jones missed four weeks earlier this season with an ankle injury.  being a proud player and hard worker, he beat the projected deadline to return a couple of weeks ago.  However, Jones has again hurt the same ankle and this time there is damage to new ligaments.

“I was placed on injured reserve last week and that means I am done for the year”, said Jones Thursday night.  “It was the same ankle and i injured everything that was healing plus one more ligament.  It would be another three to four games before I could realistically get back, so I am done for the season.”

The Buffalo Bills lost, 28-24, to the Jets last weekend.  The loss drops the Bills to 5-6 for the season and put a serious gash in their playoff chances.  Being 1-5 on the road is something this young team can concentrate on getting better at next season.

“The mindset of the team right now is just focusing on trying to get a win.  Everybody is banged up.  We signed talented guys to replace injured players, but when you bring in guys from somewhere else, it effects the whole system, it’s real hard to get used to a new system for them.”

Jones said that he still goes to practice and is doing all he can to get better, but that he will not approach it [injury] the way he did the first time.

“I want to get back to 100%”, said Jones.  “Last time, I came back not at 100%, so right now, I am focused on letting the ankle heal the right way.”

The Bills face the Titans this Sunday at 1.  The good news is that it is a home game, and the Bills do well at home [5-1].  The bad news that if the Bills lose, the playoffs will be almost impossible to get to.  Fear not Bills fans, when healthy, this team can play with anyone.  Once Chan Gailey piles up some depth and these young Bills age a year, they could mover forward, real fast.

” I do not travel with the team to road games, but I went to the Jets game because I went home for Thanksgiving.”

Coming off of a Thanksgiving weekend road trip, Youngstown State returned to the Beeghly Center and showed no sign of any road fatigue.  The Penguins seized an early lead and coasted to a 80-55 victory over MAC-opponent, Western Michigan to go to 4-3 on the season.  Last season, the Penguins put up a total of six wins.  To have four in seven games says a lot about just how far the program has moved forward in such a short time.

The win was the first for YSU at home this season.  It was also the first time a Lady Penguins team has won by more than 20 points since 2006, when they defeated Buffalo by 34.

Youngstown State never trailed in the game.  In the first half, they had a lead as big as 13 points with 7:52 until the break.  The most impressive part about the first half was that the Penguins scored 30 points and Brandi Brown only had two of them.  The knock against the Penguins going into this season (picked to finish 10th out of 10 teams), was that there was no balance around Brown.  Those same voters then turned around and elected Brown as the Horizon League Preseason Player of The Year.  The fact that the Lady Penguins could account for 28 points in a half without Brown disqualifies all of the preseason inaccuracies and negative speculation of the league voters.

In the first half, Monica Touvelle and Liz Hornberger had six points each. Tieara Jones and Devan Matkin had four each, and Macey Nortey and Heidi Schlegel had three each – pretty balanced scoring.  Brown did make her presence known with eight rebounds.

Brown (above), who played most of the game with her left nostril stuffed full of gauze, was used sparingly in the second half.  She scored six points in the first five minutes of the second half and finished the game with 12 points and 14 rebounds in just 30 minutes.  It didn’t seem like a double-double, but the numbers don’t lie.

“Last year, it was pretty much as Brandi goes, this team goes”, remarked Coach Bob Boldon.  “We play better when we play more balanced.  With all of the attention on Brandi, it is nice to see the other players step up.  We have played good offensive games, and we have played good defensive games.  This was the first time this year we had both.”

With 9:10 left in the game, Youngstown State increased their lead to 61-34 on a couple of threes by Schlegel.  The Penguins finished with 80 balanced points.

“I was really happy that we played so well as a team”, said Schlegel.  “We had four players in double figures and we are playing as a team rather than individuals.  Off the floor, we are really gelling as a team and that is helping us on the court.”

The Penguins got 15 points out of Schlegel.  It is nice to see her playing instead of sitting, she adds another dimension and plays bigger than her size.  Nortey had a very solid night finishing the game with 11 points and 6 assists, was 7-9 from the free throw line, 2-3 from the floor, had three steals, and even gathered a rebound.

Brown and Nortey, native Californians, recently traveled home to play a couple of games over the holiday weekend.  Sports information director for basketball, John Vogel, talked about the trip and spending time with both families.

“It was a very rewarding Thanksgiving weekend on the road”, commented Vogel.  We spent tome with both Macey and Brandi’s families and some of the other parents made the trip.  It was nice to see that kind of support that far away from home and the players enjoyed it as much as the parents who made the trip.”

The Penguins welcome Bowling Green as part of a doubleheader on December 6 at Beeghly Center.  Tipoff for that game is at 5:15.

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.

Christian Bryan finished 2012, not only establishing himself as the future of Youngstown State football, but also by rewriting anything in the record books that had the word freshman next to it.  Bryan, an undersized receiver, was passed over by larger schools.  The records he broke in 2012 include most yards by a freshman in a game and in a season, most receptions by a freshman in a game and in a season, and the most impressive part about all of these broken records is that his totals are nearly double of what the old marks were.  He seems like a possession-type receiver with good hands, runs good routes, and isn’t afraid to go across the middle.

Paneech: How did you get to Youngstown State?

Bryan: During the recruiting process, I picked out a few schools and Youngstown State was one of them I liked.  Really, they [YSU] were the only ones who made an impression with me and they punched that ticket for me.  Some schools wrote me off because of my size and measurements, but Youngstown State extended themselves, so I committed early.  I had a good host on my recruiting visit, Kurt Hess.

Paneech: Tell me how Kurt [Hess] has helped you this season.

Bryan: I was one of the people that voted for Kurt to be a captain.  When I came in for my visit, I could just tell what kind of a person he was and what kind of teammate he would be.  When I got onto a field with him, his leadership and ability really stood out.  He deserves everything he gets and is on track to lead this program to great things.

Paneech: Are you surprised that you were able to make a quick impact as a freshman?

Bryan: Actually, I was very surprised.  I came in and wanted to prove that I had the right mindset and the right attitude.  Coach Coleman and the other coaches all seem to believe in me.  I feel like I fell into a good role as a possession receiver.  People will look at me and maybe think that I am just small and quick, but I like the role that I have now, I think I fit it perfectly.

Paneech: There were no seniors starting on offense a majority of the year.  What does that say about the great finish you guys put together and the future?  Do the seniors hold their lack of playing time against you?

Bryan: I think it is a sign of great things to come.  We had a great team this year and had a shot to get into the playoffs.  The seniors have been cool about the situation. Ely [Ducatel] was one of the guys when I got here this Summer that pulled me aside and helped me out with the playbook and in the weight room.  He has a great attitude and doesn’t  dislike any of the freshmen.  All of the older guys have been supportive, there is no hatred amongst any of us.

Paneech: How different is the speed of the game at this level compared to high school?

Bryan: There is a big difference, I was really shocked at how much the difference is.  When we lost my final high school game last season, I really started to doubt myself.  I regrouped and pulled everything together, worked really hard to get better, and so far it has been amazing – a dream come true for me.  I was a military kid, so I got used to moving.  Being this far away from Irwin, PA isn’t getting me homesick.  I miss my girlfriend, but I am only an hour and twenty minutes away.

Paneech: How has it been working for receivers coach, Andre Coleman?

Bryan: Awesome, but not easy.  He is very critical sometimes.  When I got here, I thought I ran good routes.  I thought I was pretty good when I got here, but I was nothing compared to where he has got me now.  Little things like rounding out of our breaks, if it is off a hair, he lets you know.  Little things like pressing up and exploding out of your breaks, he sees it all.

Paneech: What is the thing you like most about Youngstown so far?

Bryan: I feel real comfortable here in this environment.  I am around the right people, from my friends, to my teachers, to my coaches.  My coaches are good people in the sense that they really want to make me a better person for my future.  They are always tough on me whether I am doing good or bad.  I try to stay at the same level knowing they are going to push me to do more, to be more.

Paneech: What do you do with your free time?

Bryan: I am around my friends as much as possible, or I am just relaxing in my room.  We have study tables figured into our schedules, so I go there and do my homework.

Paneech: Who was your biggest influence to get into football?

Bryan: My father.  Aside from myself, he is my number one critic.  When I was in first grade, I wanted to be like a GI Joe type of kid.  He threw me into football and has pushed me to be the best that I can ever since.  He was my coach for a couple of years, and we would go at it.  I respect him so much though, and if it wasn’t for him, there is no doubt I would not be here today.

Paneech: If there were three people on the game show Jeopardy – Marc Kanetsky, Coach Wolford, and Coach Montgomery, who would win and why?

Bryan: (laughs) Coach Montgomery would win.  He is a genius.  That guy’s brain is always working on something.  He sees everything all of the time and his mind just never stops working.

One Word Answers

Typical Fast Food Order: Three Junior Bacon Cheeseburgers and Fries from Wendy’s.

Favorite TV Show: Sponge Bob.

Favorite NFL Team: Philadelphia Eagles.

Favorite Player: Desean Jackson.

Dream Place To Play: Penn State.

Favorite Fruit: Pineapple.

Song No One Would Expect On Your ipod? Bagpipe Music.

Biggest Phobia: Spiders.

Worst Habit: Always Playing with My Fingers.

High School Employment: Landscaping and Washing Cars.

In Eric Wolford‘s second season as football coach at Youngstown State, he gave some great quotes, things that will be repeated and remembered throughout his tenure as the head Penguin.  Respectfully, this guy is a quote machine when asked a question that triggers a unique response more times than not.  These were the three best from this season.  Enjoy!

When Wolford was asked if the season was over following a loss to South Dakota State to put the Penguins at 2-3:

“The season is not over.  I’ll tell you when it’s over.  If we can get on a roll, we can get right back into the playoff picture and I am not ruling any of that out yet.”

The week spent preparing for Valparaiso, a mismatch on paper, I asked Wolford if he was planning to do anything special or experiment with personnel:

“Well, our plan is to shine the car up, make it shine real nice, and then Saturday take it for a ride and see how it runs.”

At the Northern Iowa week press conference, Wolford was reminded that his team had not kicked a field goal yet and if he would try one if the opportunity presented itself:

“Our red zone offense has been outstanding and we have been getting in for seven.  Here is a math lesson for you guys, I learned in kindergarten that seven is greater than three.”

Wolford is a sharp-minded and glib quote machine.  His most repeated quote this season is one that I hope we continue to hear for a very long time:

“Our guys know that there is a standard around here, to win championships and get to the playoffs.  Anything less than that is unacceptable.”

Thanks for the accessibility Coach Wolford, I look forward to next season and a whole new batch of cleverly-worded poetry.

The time has again come to say goodbye to a number of Youngstown State University football players, a couple of cheerleaders, and a few band members.  Marc Kanetsky (above) was part of a class that got caught in a transition from the Jon Heacock Era to the present day Eric Wolford regime.  These guys were recruited by Heacock, learned a new system under Wolford, and despite not racking up a whole bunch of playing time as a collective unit, stayed true to a program on the rise.

Joining Kanetsky on the field for one last game were Ely Ducatel, Pat White, Andre Barboza, David Rogers, Obinna Ekweremuba, Daniel Stewart, Andrew Johnson, Josh Lee, John Sasson, and Nate Schkurko.  Sasson and Johnson were captains, joining underclassmen Kurt Hess and Jamaine Cook.

Each of these players left a legacy of some kind with their teammates to remember them by.  Some were defensive leaders this season, some could not overcome injury to get untracked, and some did little things on special teams that will be hard to replace.  Nonetheless, they are done eating and lifting weights and striving to become bigger, faster, and stronger.

Kanetsky is an interesting loss.  His primary role on the team was to signal in plays using a variety of different arm motions and hand signals to Hess on the field.  Coach Shane Montgomery would relay a play call from the coaches box through headphones to the backup quarterback.  He was also a holder for the field goal unit. The other loss on a guy like Kanetsky would be the team GPA taking a hit, as a 3.9 student goes to the real world.

Turnover on the sidelines is also a part of a process that is often overlooked. Cheerleaders and band members work very hard all Summer to make sure their act is tight.  This year’s band was incredible, they always sounded good and they can march with any band in the nation.  The cheerleaders are a happy bunch as a whole group. To see some of their gymnastic ability, pyramid building skills, and overall spirit, is a credit to the university.

Good luck to all seniors in the future!

Youngstown State junior forward Brandi Brown cemented herself among the best players to ever wear YSU red and white and led the Penguins to a 64-50 win over LMU in front of an enthusiastic group of supporters on Friday.  Brown’s 1,000th career point gave the Penguins a 7-6 lead, and they never trailed again. Brown, who grew up about an hour from Los Angeles, finished with a game-high 19 points and 14 rebounds.

YSU sophomore Heidi Schlegel joined Brown in a double-double, posting 17 points and a career-high 10 rebounds.

The Penguins will play the winner between Northern Iowa and Wyoming on Saturday at approximately 6:15 p.m. Eastern.

YSU led by double digits for most of the second half, but LMU cut the deficit to 43-36 with 12:23 left. Brown’s layup on a pass from Los Angeles native Macey Nortey put YSU up nine on the next possession, and the Penguins went on to score seven straight points.

YSU’s biggest lead came on Brown’s final bucket of the game. Her layup at the 3:44 mark on a pass from Schlegel capped another seven-point run that put the Penguins up 62-44.  Schlegel had 13 points and five rebounds in the second half, and Brown matched her with 13 points in the final 20 minutes. Schlegel also had a game-high five assists.  Kenya Middlebrooks had 14 points and hit four of YSU”s eight 3-pointers.

YSU outshot LMU 40.4 percent to 31.7 percent and outscored the Lions 20-8 off turnovers.

Brown’s 1,000th point came from the free-throw line with 15:06 left in the first half, and it gave the Penguins their first lead at 7-6. YSU didn’t trail again, and a Kelsea Fickieson lay-up gave the Penguins a 16-10 advantage with 12:33 remaining.

A Middlebrooks triple gave the Penguins their first double-digit lead with 7:06 left, and her third 3-pointer of the period put YSU up 33-20 at the 3:41 mark. That completed a 12-4 run for the Penguins during which they held LMU without a field goal for five minutes. Middlebrooks led all scorers with 11 points in the first half, and the senior had three of the Penguins’ five 3-pointers in the period. Brown had six points and nine rebounds. YSU shot 37 percent as a team to offset 11 turnovers.

For the second time this season, the Youngstown State men’s basketball team tied the school single-game record with 14 3-pointers made but could not overcome a slow start and a hot-shooting Penn State team in an 82-71 loss to the Nittany Lions on Wednesday evening at the Bryce Jordan Center.  The Guins fall to 3-1 while Penn State improves to 5-1 overall.

The Guins connected on 14-of-27 from 3-point range, including going 10-of-15 from behind the arc in the second half.  Junior guard Blake Allen led the Guins with 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field and made a career-best seven 3-pointers. Sophomore Kendrick Perry scored 23 points, including 18 points in the second half, and made five 3-pointers. The last time two players scored at least 20 points in the same game was when Vytas Sulskis and Damian Eargle scored 25 and 24 points, respectively, against Malone on Dec. 13, 2010.

Youngstown State, who shot just 31.3 percent in the first half, trailed by 18, 44-26, at the half, but came out firing making six of their first nine shots of the half to cut the deficit down to 12, 53-41, after Allen drilled a 3-pointer with 14:35 to go.  Three-pointers by Allen, who scored 17 in the second half, and two free throws by Perry brought the Guins within nine, 58-49, with 11:31 to go.

Penn State quickly boosted its lead back to 14 after a 3-pointer by Jermaine Marshall and a tip-in by Ross Travis at the 9:36 mark.  Sophomore Nate Perry converted a four-point play – nailing a 3-pointer and subsequent free throw – to bring the Guins within ten, 68-58.  The Penguins would get within nine points two more times on 3-pointers by Allen with 50 seconds left and 18 seconds to go.

Youngstown State will visit Saint Francis (Pa.), Saturday, Nov. 26, at 2 p.m. in Loretto, Pa.