Archive for the ‘YSU Basketball’ Category

• Youngstown State junior Damian Eargle has been named to the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major All-Defensive Team, the website recently announced.  Eargle set the Horizon League single-season blocks records for all games and league-games only. Eargle finished with 116 blocks, including 65 in Horizon League play. He also owns the Horizon League career record for blocks in conference play at 122.

•  The 6-foot-7 forward led the Horizon League and ranked third in the country with 3.7 blocks per game.  Eargle recorded a block in 30 of 31 games last season, had 26 multi-block games and posted at least five blocks on 12 different occasions, including an eight-block performance against UC-Riverside on Nov. 18, 2011.  A 2012 Horizon League All-Defensive Team, selection, Eargle averaged 11.1 points per game and grabbed 7.5 rebounds per game.

• Youngstown State men’s basketball Head Coach Jerry Slocum has announced that Kamren Belin (Atlanta, Ga./Walton), 6-foot-7, 225-pound forward, has signed a National Letter-of-Intent to continue his basketball and academic career at Youngstown State University.  “When I visited Youngstown State it just felt right and I really clicked with the players on the court,” Belin said. “It’s a good league and I think we have a chance to do something big.”

• Besides being an outstanding basketball player, coach Jerry Slocum was impressed by Belin as a person.  “We are very excited to have Kamren join our program,” Slocum said. “He is a quality person and a very gifted all-around basketball player.”

Several players were handed some well-deserved postseason accolades.  Among the recipients were:

• Sophomore Kendrick Perry, a All-Horizon League First-Team selection, won the Dom Rosselli Coaches Awardfor the team’s most valuable player and also earned the Assists Award. Perry led the team with 121 assists.  Perry, who was just the fifth player in league history to lead the league in scoring and steals, led the Guins with 16.8 points per game.

• Senior Ashen Ward, now a wideout for Eric Wolford, who averaged 10.0 points per game, was awarded the Tony Vivo Hustle Award and the Bill Dailey Leadership Award.

• Junior guard Blake Allen, who averaged 12.8 points per game and led the Horizon League with 91 3-pointers made, won the Free-Throw Award with a free-throw percentage of .732.

• Eargle was awarded the Leo Mogus Rebouding Award for leading the team in rebounding with 7.5 rebounds per game. Eargle also led the Horizon League with 121 blocks and was named to the league’s All Defensive Team.

• Sophomore Mike Podolsky, who owns a cumulative grade-point average of 4.0, was the recipient of the Four-Square Club Scholar-Athlete Award.

Congratulations to Coach Slocum and staff and players on a fantastic season!

The Youngstown State University basketball team is looking for a couple of bodies to fill the void left by the sudden departures of Cale Zuiker and Nate Perry.

The Penguins are heavily recruiting and Coach Jerry Slocum should announce one of those he is pursuing as a new Penguin as early as tomorrow.  Kamren Belin is reportedly very close to committing to Slocum’s program.  Belin will come as a junior college transfer who stands at 6′ 7″, averages around twelve points per game, and has a reputation as a shot-blocker.

Can you imagine Damian Eargle having a pal to swat shots with?

Jonathan Octeus is another name that has been heard swirling around campus.  No word on his commitment yet, but the Penguins are trying to land him and it is very possible that he may commit within the week.

Neither signing is official, but when they are and if they happen, you will get the details here.

Over the past few years, the facilities have improved, some coaching changes have been made, and school spirit is as high as it has been in about twenty years.  Ron Strollo (above) is finally getting to see the benefits of his hard work.  The athletic director at Youngstown State had come under fire three years ago.  When Jon Heacock was failing, both basketball programs were declining, and all the other sports we had to have for scholarship and conference alignment purposes, no one was sure if Strollo could survive.

Not only has he survived, he has prospered.  The whole athletic community has prospered.

Ask Eric Wolford.  Wolford was appointed to be the savior of a football program that seemed to cater to individuals instead of team.  All Wolford has done in two years is put a program in place, recruited like it is his last day on Earth, surrounded himself with good coaches, and worked on good character and life skills tirelessly for his players.  The expectation on Wolford’s 2012 Penguins is to win.  With a victory over FCS Champion North Dakota State last season, expectations on the coming season are very high.

Perhaps no coach is more misunderstood than Jerry Slocum.  Recently completing his seventh season at the helm, the reserved, but opinionated, coach proved he can win. Strollo rewarded Slocum with a contract extension, and Slocum paid back when he put the best product of his tenure on the court last season.  Slocum is in the Top-10 list for wins of active coaches and knows the game of basketball.  People are sometimes critical of his personality, but no one should ever question his ability to coach.  Strollo made the right decision in rewarding Slocum a few more years as the program continues to move forward.

Bob Boldon probably couldn’t get the pen out of his pocket soon enough to sign a contract to coach women’s basketball at YSU.  It is a nice place to start, following a departed coach who went 0-30 the year before.  Boldon has had good success in installing a three-point shooting offense and is always preaching defense, he is a good choice, another feather in Strollo’s cap.

Rich Pasquale will endure some growing pains with his 2012 YSU baseball squad. Pasquale has a very young team with only two seniors and is another tireless recruiter.  Don’t be surprised to see this team in the hunt next season as they get their bearings and learn to play together.  Coach Campbell is at that point now with the Lady Penguins softball team.  These girls can flat out play.  He has pitching, he has hitting, and he is proving very proficient at managing both.

Recently, the Penguins hosted the Horizon League Indoor Track Meet.  The WATTS proved to be a terrific venue for the event and Strollo reflected on the feedback.

“The feedback has been positive.  Obviously there are a few things, as we will go through growing pains, that need fixed.  We will address those minor issues. Fortunately, we ran college and high school meets a month and a half prior to tune up for that event.”

The weekend of the Horizon Meet, there were also basketball home games and the swimming home finale.

“There is no question we don’t mind being busy if that is what it takes.”

Strollo has surrounded himself with outstanding personnel.  This department has evolved into a prototype of how a collegiate athletic department should be run.  The marketing and sports information departments have exemplified consistency, which can be tough with subpar products.  Fortunately, the products are ‘new and improved’ and will continue to draw bigger crowds.  Keep up the good work Ron Strollo, and thanks for what you have done so far.

Youngstown State sophomore Kendrick Perry (Ocoee, Fla.) was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District 12 Second-Team, the association announced on Wednesday.

Perry was named a First-Team All-Horizon League selection in 2011-12 and led the league in overall (16.8 ppg) and league-only (16.8 ppg) scoring. He also became just the fifth player in league history to lead the circuit in scoring and steals (2.4 spg) in conference play.

Perry also became the first Youngstown State player to earn first-team all-conference laurels since Quin Humphrey in 2006-07 and 2005-06.

The first sophomore in school history to earn first-team all-conference honors, Perry scored a team-best 521 points and became the first player to score 500 points in a season since Humphrey in 2006-07. He is also the first sophomore to score at least 500 points since Reggie Kemp in 1989-90.

Perry, who set the YSU single-season steals record with 24, led the league with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.0, ranked second in steals (2.4) in all games, ranked tied for third in assists per game (3.9) and ranked tied for 10th with 1.8 3-pointers made per game.

Youngstown State women’s basketball player Brandi Brown has been named Second-Team All-Horizon League for the second straight season, the league office announced on Monday.

Brown, a junior forward from Pomona, Calif., averaged 16.3 points and 9.1 rebounds this season as the Penguins’ leader in both categories. She earned the sixth-most votes in the field, making her the first member of the second team. The Horizon League’s coaches, women’s basketball sports information directors and a member of each of the conference’s media markets voted on the postseason awards.

Brown ranked sixth in the Horizon League in both scoring and rebounding, and she also ranked sixth in defensive rebounding, eighth in offensive rebounding, 10th in free-throw percentage and 15th in 3-point percentage.

Brown averaged 17 points and 8.4 rebounds, and she shot 38.7 percent from 3-point range in conference games. In league games, she ranked seventh in the conference in scoring, eighth in rebounding, second in 3-point percentage, seventh in offensive rebounding, eighth in defensive rebounding, 12th in free-throw percentage and 13th in 3-pointers per game.

Brown scored at least 20 points on 12 occasions, and she registered nine double-doubles. She reached double figures in scoring 25 times in 29 games. She scored a season-high 26 points against Loyola on Jan. 12, and she matched her career high with 19 rebounds against Green Bay on Feb. 18.

Green Bay senior Julie Wojta was named the Horizon League’s Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. Detroit’s Shareta Brown and Wright State’s Kim Demmings were named Co-Newcomers of the Year, and Detroit’s Yar Shayok was voted the Sixth Player of the Year. Green Bay’s Matt Bollant was voted the Horizon League Coach of the Year.

The Youngstown State women’s basketball had three tries to force overtime in the final seconds, but could not connect on any dropping a hard-fought 59-56 decision to Cleveland State in the first round of the Horizon League Tournament on Monday night at the Wolstein Center.

With 8.9 seconds left, the Penguins setup Monica Touvelle for the first try from straight on, but her shot glanced off the left side of the rim. Brandi Brown grabbed the board, but her off-balance 3-pointer from the wing bounced out. Heidi Schlegel grabbed the second rebound and alertly dribbled out to the 3-point line, but her shot at the buzzer didn’t fall as the Vikings advanced to play at Detroit on Wednesday night in the quarterfinals.  The Penguins finish the season 10-20 while Cleveland State improves to 12-18.

YSU turned up the defensive pressure to have a chance to force overtime. The Penguins tied the game early in the second half on two occasions, before the Vikings went on top 27-25 with 17:55 remaining.  At the 8:42 mark, the Vikings went ahead 52-45 on a 3-pointer by Shalonda Winton. YSU pulled within 52-47 on a couple of free throws by Kelsea Fickiesen. However, the Vikes pushed their advantage back to seven at the 7:08 mark on two free throws by Honesty King.

From that point, the team’s struggled offensively down the stretch. Touvelle broke the scoring drought for both teams with a base-line jumper at the 3:03 mark. Brown answered over a minute later driving to the bucket and converted a layup with 1:49 remaining cutting the deficit to 54-51.

Kenya Middlebrooks split a pair of free throws with 1:07 left and with 26.5 seconds left, Melissa Thompson‘s putback of a Middlebrooks missed triple got the Penguins within 56-54.  With 24.4 ticks left, Janelle Adams sank a pair of free throws to push the CSU lead up to 58-54.

Fickiesen quickly drove to the hoop scoring with exactly 18 seconds left.  With 16.6 seconds left, Thompson fouled Honesty King who made the first, but missed the second free throw.  The Penguins quickly moved the ball up the court, but Fickiesen was whistled for a charging foul with 9.8 seconds remaining. The YSU pressure then forced Adams to travel setting up the final 8.9 seconds.

For the game, YSU shot 30.4 percent making 21-of-69 shots, but went just 3-of-22 (13.6 percent) from behind the 3-point arc. All three 3-pointers came in a five-minute span of the second half. CSU shot 36.5 percent from the field converting 23-of-63 attempts.

Fickiesen led the Penguins with 11 points while Middlebrooks and Touvelle each finished with 10. Coleman had game-high honors with 17 points while Shalonda Winton had 15 and King added 13.

Both teams struggled offensively in the first half, shooting a combined 27 percent and committing 26 turnovers, and Cleveland State held a 23-21 lead at halftime. YSU’s defense forced 10 steals as a catalyst to Cleveland State’s 15 first-half turnovers, but the Penguins were 7-for-34 overall from the floor and 0-for-9 from 3-point range offensively.

YSU scored the first four points of the game, but Cleveland State scored six straight points for the first of three lead changes in the opening period. Middlebrooks put the Guins back up 9-8, and her steal and lay-up gave them a 16-12 lead with 6:10 left.

Schlegel’s bucket put YSU up 18-14 with 5:22 remaining, but YSU did not score for nearly five minutes as Cleveland State scored the next nine points to go ahead 23-18. Schlegel made a free-throw with 30.9 seconds left to end the drought, and Fickiesen made a lay-up with less than three seconds left to make the score 23-21 at halftime.

The Youngstown State Lady Penguins fought back after putting themselves in an early hole, but ultimately came up short, falling to Cleveland State.  Over the final seven-and-a-half minutes, the Vikings outscored the Penguins 20-9 and walked away with a 79-69 victory.  YSU committed 28 turnovers, matching a season high, and attempted a season-low 14 3-pointers in the loss.

The loss shook things up for the Horizon League Women’s Tournament.  Had the Penguins (10-19, 4-14) been able to nab the road win, they would have hosted a game Monday night in the first round.  Because of the way it ended, the Lady Penguins will head straight back to the Wolstein Center for a do-over with their local rivals.

The Penguins trailed by as many as 14 in the first half, but were was able to chip away and pulled themselves into the lead midway through the second half.  The Penguins outscored the Vikings 15-7 in the first five minutes of the second half to cut the margin to three, and they took their first lead of the contest when two Macey Nortey free throws at the 9:47 mark made the score 58-57. Cleveland State made two free throws to re-claim the lead, and a Kenya Middlebrooks bucket put YSU up 60-59 with 7:34 left. The Vikings made six of their next seven shots, and YSU missed six free throws in the final 6:37.

Cleveland State shot 63.3 percent in the first half and 50 percent for the game. The Vikings scored 22 of their 33 points in the second half in the final 8:30. YSU shot 40.7 percent and posted a season-high 16 steals.  Cleveland State made 10 of its first 13 shots and ended the first half on a 9-3 run to take a 46-35 lead at halftime. The Vikings led by as many as 14 in the period, and their 9-3 run to end the period came immediately after YSU had cut the deficit to five.

Heidi Schlegel registered her second career double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Kelsea Fickiesen added a career-best 14 points.  For Cleveland State, Shalonda Winton finished with 25 points, and Takima Keane and Cori Coleman both had 14 points.

The Penguins will enter tournament play as the #10 seed, while Cleveland State will host as the #7 seed.

Youngstown State University did all they could after they sunk into a 24-point first half hole.  They cut the lead to ten early in the second half, but could get no closer, ultimately falling, 93-76 to Detroit.  Damian Eargle had 25 points to lead all scorers but the defense was not able to contain the Titans arsenal of weaponry.

“There are a lot of tears flowing in that locker room”, said YSU Coach Jerry Slocum.  “This was a very close-knit group of guys who really clicked.  I am proud of what they accomplished this season, they worked very hard.”

Detroit came out smoking hot in the first half.  That first half saw a 50-point outburst by the Titans.  Oddly enough, the Penguins shut down Detroit’s standout guard, Ray McCallum, as he scored only two of the Titans first 25 points.  McCallum would get untracked and finished the game with 22.

The Titans held the Penguins long-bombers (Blake Allen and Ashen Ward) in check for most of the 40 minutes.  The tandem both averaged double-digits in scoring and were viable three-point options.  Detroit held the pair to a combined eight points on 3-11 shooting.  The Penguins would bring the ball across mid-court and Detroit would double the point forcing turnovers (YSU committed 15 turnovers in the game).

Detroit shot 60% with McCallum leading the way with 22.  Eli Holman had a double-double with 11 points to go with his ten boards.  Chase Simon finished with 14, and LaMarcus Lowe chipped in with 13 more.  Detroit will face Cleveland State Saturday to see who will advance to the Horizon League Championship game.

For the Penguins, Eargle’s 25 points and seven boards were team-highs.  Senior DuShawn Brooks finished with 19 and Kendrick Perry tacked on 18 points.

Congratulations to the Penguins for having a special season and getting the program headed in a positive direction.  Coach Slocum and staff have a lot to be proud of for not only the product that they put on the floor, but the quality of people they are recruiting.  This was a special bunch of guys who have bright futures.  There were some great individual performances, but team was inscribed in all of their hearts more so than any year in Slocum’s tenure.

Finishing 16-15 is a tremendous fete in a very tough Horizon League.

The Youngstown State men’s basketball team will be in action on Friday in the second round of the Horizon League Championships against Detroit at the Athletics-Recreation Center in Valparaiso, Ind. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. Eastern Time/5 p.m. Central Time.

The contest will be available in Youngstown on 570 WKBN beginning with the pregame show at 5:40 p.m. MyYTV will also carry the Horizon League Network’s broadcast live at 6 p.m. The game can be found on TimeWarner Channel 997, Armstrong Channel 13 and 108, Comcast on Channel 3, Direct TV Channel 15 and Over-the-Air Channel 33.2. It is also available on the iHeart Radio App and the HLN Live App as well as being streamed live on the Horizon League’s website.

YSU is advancing to the second round for just the third time in school history. The Penguins reached the second round in 2003 at Milwaukee, Wis., and 2007 at Dayton, Ohio. The winner of the Penguins-Titans game on Friday advances to play No. 2 Cleveland State on the semifinals on Saturday.  The Titans and Penguins split the regular season tilts with the visiting team winning at the opposing team’s venue in each game.  This tiebreaker, on a neutral site, is worth a lot to a hungry Penguins team that still feels as though it has unfinished business this season.

For the second-round games on Friday, March 2, general admission tickets are $10, while groups of 10-or-more are priced at $7. Horizon League students get seats in their school’s student section free with a valid ID.

Tickets for Friday night’s contests are available by calling the YSU Athletic Ticket Office at (330) 941-1978. The other game on Friday evening features fourth-seed Milwaukee against fifth-seeded Butler.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this.  If the critics had their way, the Youngstown State University men’s basketball program would still be that thing after football season, Jerry Slocum would be collecting unemployment, and nobody should care.  Five Horizon League Players of The Week later, the best conference finish since joining the Horizon, and a two-year contract extension for Slocum, YSU got to host a playoff game, and they played like they belonged.  The Penguins got balance on offense in eliminating Green Bay and advancing to Valparaiso for the next round of this second season.

“We had a very good practice on Sunday after a very tough loss Saturday”, said Slocum.  “I never saw them so locked in and told them after practice that I was very, very proud of them.  You could feel it.”

The Penguins came out smoking hot, shooting 50% in the first half.  Kendrick Perry and DuShawn Brooks had twelve points apiece in a very balanced scoring attack.  Blake Allen contributed eight more points and picked up six assists as the home team marched out to a 45-34 halftime lead.  Green Bay got 11 points from their 7’1″ center, Alec Brown.  The Penguins lead was as big as 18 with 8:35 to go in the half, but Green Bay closed the margin when the Penguins finally cooled off a bit.

In the second half, the Penguins kept the big lead and were ahead 60-46 with 11:29 left in the game.  Greg Mays hit a layup off of a rebound to keep the Phoenix afloat.  Damian Eargle (above), who always plays like a true five in the body of a four, gathered an offensive board and tipped it in to give YSU a 62-49 lead with 9:46 remaining.  With 7:36 left in the game, the Penguins were in control of the game with a 66-54 lead.

“I was definitely feeling it in the second half”, remarked Eargle.  “We were definitely pumped up for this game and think we can go deep into this tournament.”

Eargle would score six points in a row for the ‘Guins, four off of offensive rebounds.  he then tipped an inbounds pass and had Green Bay reeling, almost singlehandedly, over a five minute stretch of the second half.  It then turned into KP Time, as Perry glided to the hoop, hung in the air to draw contact and then casually flipped the ball in for two.  Perry hit the free throw to complete the conventional three-point play that gave the Penguins a 71-54 lead with 4:54 remaining in the contest.

From the 4:24 mark on, YSU could concentrate on some clock-killing skills, holding a luxurious 17 point lead, which also ended up being the winning margin.

The Penguins (16-14, 1-0 HL Tourney) got a mammoth effort from Eargle.  The sophomore from Waren finished the game with 17 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, and an assist for good measure.  Brooks played well and tacked on 16 points.  Allen finished the game with 15 points and 7 assists.  Perry had 15 more points for the Penguins.

Green Bay finishes their season with a 15-15 record.  Brown had 20 points to lead the Phoneix.

Next up for YSU is a rematch with Detroit.  The Penguins will face the Titans in the early game of a doubleheader at Valparaiso Friday evening.  The two teams split wins in a couple of tightly contested games during the regular season.