The casual college basketball fan would see that North Carolina Central had four wins and 17 losses coming into Youngstown State. What the casual basketball fan does not know is that this NCC team has lost to North Carolina, Iowa, Indiana, Miami (Fl), SMU, Ball State, Air Force, and Virginia Tech.

The Penguins had a balanced scoring attack and took good shots in getting by UNCC, 70-57.  The win snaps a four-game losing streak, but according to Sirlester Martin, the victory goes further than that.  “It felt good to get the win but it really helps us get ready for a league game this weekend.”

Youngstown State (8-12) did the right things according to their Coach, Jerry Slocum.  “We did the things you have to do to win basketball games.  When they cut it to seven, I thought we were patient and kept our composure.  We made free throws at important times in the game, and those are things you have to do to win.”

Dan Boudler tied things up at 15 with 11:51 left to go in the first half when he tipped in a partially tipped Vytas Sulskis shot. On the next possession, Sulskis hit a three that wasn’t tipped as the Penguins took an 18-15 lead with 9:41 remaining in the half, triggering an 11-0 Penguins run that would span over the next three plus minutes.

At the half, Youngstown State held a 32-21 lead.  Sulskis finished the first half leading the Penguins in scoring with eight points. Nick Chasten finished the first half leading all scorers with 11 of his teams 21 points.

With 11:28 remaining in the contest, YSU maintained their double-digit lead at 46-36.  Sulskis buried a three with the shot clock near zero giving the hometown the feeling that things were clicking.  Coach Slocum picked up a technical foul when he argued that an Eagles defender hit the rim.  Moments later, CJ Wilkerson hit a jumper to cut the Penguins lead to 49-42.

DeAndre Mays connected for three after the lead had been cut to four points to put the Penguins in front, 52-45.  Kelvin Bright was intentionally fouled meaning he got to shoot a pair of free throws and the Penguins retained possession.  Dallas Blocker got in on the action as he hit a pair of free throws to push the YSU lead back to double digits at 55-45 with 7:58 left in regulation.

With 3:44 left in the game, YSU pushed their lead to 64-47 when Sirlester Martin hit a 15-foot jumper.  CJ Wilkerson connected for his eighteenth points of the second half and had 26 in the game, leading all scorers, to keep his Eagles within striking distnace.  YSU thwarted any comeback when Bright hit a nice floating sweep through the paint.

Youngstown State showed good balance and poise in holding on for a 70-57 victory.  Balanced scoring for the Penguins translates to four players with at least 11 points and DeAndre Mays leading the way with 17.  For UNCC, CJ Wilkerson finished the game with 26 points.

Next up for YSU is Cleveland State on Saturday as the Penguins start to see Horizon League opponents for the second time.  Tip-off is set for 4:00 and the game can be heard on AM-570 with Robb Schmidt calling the action.