Posts Tagged ‘Kendrick Perry’

Riding the wave of a 2-0 road start, Youngstown State got to play a home game.  The Penguins responded in an adequate way – with a win.  YSU scored 42 points in the first fifteen minutes of the second half to pull away from Saint Francis and coast to a 75-60 win to push their record to 3-0 for the second season in a row.

“The key to the game was the first seven to eight minutes of the second half”, said Jerry Slocum.  “We preached on the way home from Georgia that we have to keep our identity and know how to handle winning.  We need to stay grounded in our fundamentals and our team play.”

The Penguins and the Red Flash played a pretty even 18 minutes to start the game.  YSU trailed by four points with 7:52 left in the opening session, but were able to close the half strong enough to carry a 29-24 lead into the locker room.  Kendrick Perry paced Youngstown State with 11 points.

The Red Flash got nine points from Stephon Whyatt and another eight from Stephon Mosley, but no more than three points from any other player.  The Red Flash started the game doing a very good job on defense, but the Penguins adjusted to assert their skills.

Senior guard Blake Allen (above) heated up in the second half.  Allen connected on a three with 15:01 to play that gave YSU a 42-30 advantage.  The next Saint Francis possession, Kamren Belin stole the ball and went coast-to-coast for the easy layup to push the Penguin lead to 14.  After a defensive stop, Allen connected for another three to give YSU their biggest lead of 17 points.

Allen talked about his regimen between practices.

“I get in the gym every chance I get”, said Allen.  “I shot anywhere from 800-900 free throws in the last two days.”

The Penguins were the beneficiary of good half-court defense forcing the Red Flash into ten second half turnovers.  In fact, YSU scored 22 points off of Red Flash turnovers in the game.

Meanwhile, Perry kept consistently knocking down buckets for the Penguins.  KP had the whole array going as he was hitting twos, threes, free throws, and layups.  He would finish the game with 19 points, seven rebounds, and three assists.

Perry and Allen spearheaded an outburst that made it 67-46 with 7:09 left to play in the contest.  Allen’s sixth three in eight tries and a pair of Perry charity tosses boosted the Guins to their largest lead.

Allen knocked down six threes on his way to 18 points and Damian Eargle played a good all-around game as he knocked in 12 points, blocked two shots and garnered five rebounds.

The Red Flash were lead by Whyatt who would finish the game with 18 points.

The Penguins head back to the road for three games in three days starting Monday at North Dakota State, then head back East to face James Madison on Tuesday, and conclude the swing Wednesday night at Duquesne.

“Our schedule is simply a gauntlet.  All three of those teams we play in three days are very good teams with high basketball IQ’s”, said Slocum.

Expectations were higher than usual heading into the 2012-13 basketball season for Jerry Slocum‘s Youngstown State Penguins.  Reality drawn from those expectations has been over the top.  Just two nights after defeating George Washington, the Penguins went into Georgia and bit the Bulldogs, 68-56.

Kendrick Perry (above) had 23 points (17 in the second half) to lead the Penguins.  Newcomer Kamren Belin posted 17 points and Damian Eargle rattled off a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The Penguins defensive effort was tremendous as YSU forced Georgia into 15 turnovers.  The YSU defense also held the Bulldogs to 17 total field goals and a 32.1 shooting percentage for the game.

After trailing by eleven at the half, Georgia was able to cut the YSU lead down to three, 32-29, but a jumper by Eargle, a free-throw by Perry and a 3-pointer by DJ Cole, the first of his career, put the Guins back up 38-29, with 11:43 left.

YSU then used a 13-4 run and led by as many as 18 after a four-point play by Perry made it 51-33 with 7:48 to go.  Georgia never got within 10 the rest of the way.

The Guins shot 38.5 percent from the field and held the Bulldogs to a 12.5 field-goal percentage in the first half.

Shawn Amiker scored the first four points for the Penguins as they jumped out to an 8-0 start.

After the Bulldogs cut the deficit to 12-6 at the 9:16 mark, the Penguins defense allowed just one more field goal the rest of the half. Georgia scored its final six points at the free-throw line.

Belin gave the Penguins a jump start hitting a jumper and a 3-pointer to push the YSU lead to 10 points,  19-6, with 4:40 to go.

Youngstown State started the 2012-13 season on the right foot with a big 80-73 road win at George Washington of the Atlantic-10.  Blake Allen paced the Penguins with 19 points, including four three-pointers, but the bench and free throw shooting to close the game out made the difference.

Damian Eargle was fouled with 40 seconds left in the game as he sank a shot to break a 71-71 tie.  Eargle hit the free throw to complete the three-point play and put YSU ahead.

Allen’s 3-pointer with 2:40 left put Youngstown State ahead 71-65, but the Colonials charged back with six straight points, the last of which was an  Isaiah Armwood dunk following a Penguins’ turnover. Armwood led George Washington with 18 points.

Youngstown State made six free throws in the final 25 seconds, and the Penguins escaped victorious after nearly blowing a late lead.  The bench played a big role in the season opening win.

Newcomer Bobby Hain played 27 minutes off of the bench and contributed 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Penguins.  DJ Cole picked up the slack off of the bench for Kendrick Perry who did not make a basket in nine shot attempts.  Cole played 28 minutes and scored twelve points and had a pair of big steals.

With the win, his 75th at YSU, Jerry Slocum tied Mike Rice for third on the school’s all-time wins list.

Not much time to celebrate this one as the Penguins head South for a game with the Georgia Bulldogs on Monday.

The 2011-12 Youngstown State Penguins basketball team exceeded expectations to some degree.  Coming off of a winning season with a 16-15 record, the nucleus remains.  Head Coach Jerry Slocum has survived some tough times and is now able to reap the benefits of his hard work.

Kendrick Perry, Damian Eargle, and Blake Allen all return for Slocum this season. Ashen Ward and DuShawn Brooks have finished their careers.  Perhaps the biggest role to fill this year will be the leader role vacated by Ward.

“Kendrick, Blake, and Damian have all stepped up into leadership roles”, said Slocum.  “They have really raised the bar as to where they want this team to be.”

Slocum often complimented the way Ward was a leader both on and off of the court.

Unfortunately for the Penguins, like last year, the schedule is a mess.  Last season YSU only hosted 13 of their 30 games and got to host a playoff game.  The fact that they had a winning season, going 10-4 at home, shows how good that team really was.

This year, the schedule was finalized in September.  September, 2012.  Some of the scheduling problems had a lot to do with Butler leaving the Horizon League.

“We start with five of six on the road this year”, said Slocum.  “I have continually been upset that our kids are put into that situation, and it is going to be an equally tough task this year.”

The season starts on November 10th at George Washington and two nights later in Georgia to face the SEC Bulldogs.  After a home game, the Penguins play three games in three days (November 19-21) against North Dakota State, James Madison, and Duquesne.  Three of those five teams have been in the NCAA Tournament in the past three years.

In January, the Penguins get to repeat the touring as four of their first five conference games are on the road.

Coach Eric Wolford and some of his football players have been quoted as saying that they have to do things one week at a time, one game at a time.  Don’t dwell, don’t gaze forward, just focus on the task at hand.

When asked, Slocum agreed with the theory, and then some.

“We don’t look past our next practice”, said Slocum.  “Whether it is conditioning, shooting, or understanding things, we cannot look a day past or forward.  When we work hard, everything takes care of itself, but it is a daily thing for us.”

Kamren Belin, Larry Johnson Jr., Bobby Hain, Ryan Weber, and Ronnye Beamon are all new players in the system.  Allen, Perry, and Eargle are joined by Shawn Amiker, DJ Cole, Josh Chojnacki, Danny Reese, Fletcher Larson, and Mike Podolsky to round out the roster.

“We went from 6’6″ and 6’6″ to 6’7″ and 6’10” at the four sport”, exclaimed Slocum.  “By adding some length, I think we are taking care of rebounding, which was a concern.  We are just bigger.”

Bigger expectations too.  I will predict the Penguins win 20 games this season.  For an exact call, let’s say 20-13, meaning they would play into the third round of their playoffs.

“I don’t sit around wondering which games we will win”, said Slocum.  “Our goal is to be playing the last week of our conference tournament this season.  If we play the way I know we can – unselfishly, and do the right things, there is no reason why we can’t be playing that far into the tournament.”

• 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!

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 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.

Youngstown State sophomore Kendrick Perry (Ocoee, Fla) was named to the All-Horizon League First Team in a vote by the league’s head coaches, sports information directors and selected media, the league announced on Monday.

Sophomore Damian Eargle (Youngstown, Ohio) was voted to the Horizon League All-Defensive Team by the head coaches.

Perry (above) is just the second player from Youngstown State to earn first-team accolades and the first since Quin Humphrey in 2006-07 and 2005-06. He is also the first sophomore in school history to be named first-team all-league.

The Horizon League Player of the Week for Feb. 6, Perry is just the fifth player in Horizon League history to lead the league in scoring (16.8 ppg) and steals (2.4 spg) during conference play and he led the league in all-games scoring with 16.8 points per game. He also led the league with a 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio and ranked second in steals (2.4), tied for third in assists (3.9) and tied for 10th with 1.8 3-pointers made per game.

Over the last nine games of the season, Perry averaged 22.8 points 2.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 2.9 steals per game while shooting at a 57.6 percent clip from the field. He also connected on 44.9 percent of his 3-point attempts and shot 79.7 percent from the free-throw line. Also during that span, Perry scored at least 20 points seven times, including a career-high 30 points against Milwaukee on Jan. 31.

Eargle, who was named the Horizon League Player of the Week on Jan. 2, set the Horizon League all games and conference-games only single-season blocks record with 113 and 65, respectively. He also set the Horizon League career blocks record in conference play with 122.

This season, Eargle, who ranks third nationally with 3.9 blocks per game, collected at least one block in the first 28 games, posted multiple blocks in 24 of 29 games and swatted at least three blocks in 23 games.

Eargle, a 2010-11 Horizon League All-Newcomer Team selection, also averaged 10.4 points per game and ranked third in the league with 7.4 rebounds per game.