Posts Tagged ‘Shawn Amiker’

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.

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.”

When Youngstown State played Wright State the first time this season, the Raiders came away with a 63-62 thriller that the Penguins were ahead by 15 in and thought they should have won.  Furthermore, the Penguins had lost their last nine to Wright State.  The Penguins got a great game out of Kendrick Perry who collected 23 points in a 61-54 win.  The Penguins solidified their chances of a home game in the first round of the Horizon League playoffs with the triumph.

“We knew Wright State was capable”, said Perry.  “We were up 15 at their place and lost.  This time we kept our foot on the gas and stayed hungry.”

Things are very different this season.  After Damian Eargle missed the front end of a one-and-one at a crucial time late in the second half, Penguin Coach, Jerry Slocum, clapped and encouraged Eargle to put it behind him and keep battling.  The Penguins made a defensive stop and scored the next time up the court.

In the first half, the Penguins and Raiders both looked a little sluggish on offense or decent on defense, just depends on how you want to perceive it.  Neither team shot better than 40% from the floor and nobody had a lead larger than four points.  Kendrick Perry had nine points to lead the Penguins in scoring.  Damian Eargle had three blocks to build on his league-lead to go with six first-half points.  Wright State was paced by Kendall Griffin who had nine and Vance Hall contributed eight more as the Raiders took a 29-27 lead at the break.

“In the first half, quite frankly, we made some coaching errors”, said Slocum.  “We doubled the post and shouldn’t of.  Our guys were able to battle back and made some really big stops in the second half.  Our defense created offensive chances for us.”

KP (above) took over early in the second half with a couple of threes, a fast-break layup-and-one, and a steal to punctuate YSU opening the second half with a 16-5 run to open a 45-34 lead with 15:01 remaining.  A DuShawn Brooks baseline drive and a nice feed from Ashen Ward to Blake Allen pushed the lead to ten points at 49-39 with 12:18 left to play.

Wright State cut the lead to 49-42 on a tip-in with 8:03 remaining forcing Coach Slocum to burn a quick timeout to regroup.  Reggie Arceneaux hit a three to pull Wright State within four at 51-47, but Eargle hit a dunk and then a pair of free throws to give YSU a 55-47 lead with 5:41 to play.  Allen got a nice feed on a Perry steal and layed it in to put the ‘Guins back up by 10 with 5:07 left in the game.

Wright State wouldn’t go away as Arceneaux hit a pair of charity tosses with 3:37 left to cut the YSU lead to 57-53.  Perry stayed hot nailing a pair of free throws to keep YSU ahead comfortably at 61-54 with 30 seconds to play.

The Penguins improved to 15-13 and 10-7 in the Horizon League.  With that tenth league win, YSU has their highest Horizon League win total ever.  Perry looked like a player-of-the-year candidate from wire to wire in this one.  The sophomore finished the game with 23 points, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 2 rebounds.  Eargle big again finishing with 8 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 blocks.

The five blocked shots by Eargle set a couple of records.  His 113 on the season are a single-season record.  His 65 in Horizon League play mark a new conference record.

Coach Slocum commented on Eargle’s fete.  “Damian has had a tremendous year for us on the defensive end.  It is not something that we can coach.  It is just natural God-given ability and his timing is unreal.  Every time a game is tight, he has an ability to come up with a big block for us.”

Wright State got 13 points from Hall and another 9 from Griffin.  Probable Horizon League Newcomer-of-The -Year Julius Mays finished the contest with 7.  The Raiders dropped to 13-17 and 7-10 in the Horizon.

He can jump, he can shoot, he can dunk, and he can ball.  He’s Kendrick Perry, one of the reasons that Youngstown State’s basketball team has turned a corner this season. Perry has another gear, the ability to change his motion in mid-air, and is a very exciting and talented commodity.  The strangest thing about the sophomore guard from Florida is the fact that he remains humble.  He plays on a team with guys he considers his family.  He is the best guard in the Horizon League and is inching closer to Player of The Year possibilities with each game on a team that remains hungry.

Paneech: What steps were taken to get you here from Florida?

Perry: In high school, my coach at that time, mentioned Youngstown State.  At the time, I had my mind set on Florida or Florida State, some of the bigger schools. Throughout high school, YSU stayed with me and kept me on their radar.  Before my senior year of high school started, I went on my visit and committed before the season started.  Coach Wernicki and Coach Slocum were the two main guys that were instrumental in recruiting me.

Paneech: You are losing a couple of guys when this season is over in Ashen Ward and DuShawn Brooks.  What have you learned from them?

Perry: I have learned a lot from them.  Ash has shown great leadership both on and off the court.  First one in the gym and the last one to leave.  He does all of the talking and the little things that make us a better team.  I can take that from him.  DB gives us a good spark when we need it.  Whether it is offensive rebounds, making the right pass, or just making shots, he has been a spark in big games when we need it.  Ash is my best friend on the team.  He took me under his wing when I was recruited and made me his little brother.

Paneech: You had some losses you maybe should have won this season.  Which of those would you take back and do over if you could?

Perry: That’s a tough one.  I really can’t just pick one because there are more than one of those games where we beat ourselves.  If I had to pick one though, I would say the UIC game or the Butler game.  Every game counts as much as the next and they are losses.  The important thing is that we have grown from those games.

Paneech: Coach Slocum and the staff have my respect because of the way they work you guys.  When you are around him so much, do you get used to his style?

Perry: I don’t think it is really that hard.  It takes some time to adjust.  Nobody wants to make a mistake, but we are all human and we all make mistakes.  Coach Slocum will let you know two different ways – and if you make the same mistake again, be ready for it because he will get on you for it.  As a person, he does his best to make sure that everyone is in tune.  Some guys he talks lightly to, others he can be more aggressive with.  He knows when he does that, he is sending the message to get in tune, to be more focused and play better as a team.

Paneech: You are losing a couple of good players, and this season is not over yet, by any means.  Take a gander forward and tell me what to expect next season.

Perry: I see a lot of guys coming back and trying to get better. Shawn [Amiker] has really improved, Josh [Chojnacki] and Fletch [Fletcher Larson] have gotten better, and Mike Podolsky has probably shown the most improvement along with DJ [Cole]. Ash and DB give us a lot and we are going to need guys to step up and fill those roles. I think we have a good recruiting class coming in too.  It’s a bunch of hungry guys who want to get better.

Paneech: I will always remember last year at Akron.  You drove a crowded lane and dunked over a much bigger player.  Do you envision your finish when driving or do you create once you leave the ground?

Perry: I think it is just natural God-given ability.  I try to have the mindset to play aggressively each game.  What goes through my mind trickles its way through my whole body, so it is a mental thing.  My athleticism catches people off-guard.  If I am getting chased on a fast break, the person chasing me is thinking about getting an easy block.  Most of the time it isn’t.  I like that underdog feeling, where I can rise up and use an extra spurt of confidence to get it done.

Paneech: Big difference between Youngstown and Florida.  Besides the weather, what is different here?

Perry: The biggest thing would probably be a car, honestly.  In Florida, I have a car, whereas here, I have to rely on guys who have cars to get me places.  It seems like I am eating Taco Bell or McDonalds every day when I can’t get a ride out.  It is a different culture but it is diverse like Florida, young and old, different races.

Paneech: So you get in the car with a friend and head toward Boardman.  Where are you going to eat?

Perry: (laughs) That would depend on how much money I have in my pockets.  I have $50, we are going to the Springfield Grill or Red Lobster.  If I have $5, we are going to Burger King or McDonalds, I’m not that picky of an eater.  That $5 will get me a 20 piece chicken nuggets and extra barbecue sauce.  It’s a sacrifice (laughs), a sacrifice I gotta make.  When I came on my visit though, I had Niccolini’s, and that was really good and when I helped recruit DJ, I had Springfield Grill, so its about 50/50 on those two places.

Paneech: If not basketball, what sport would Kendrick Perry be playing?

Perry: Soccer.  Definitely.  My brother plays professionally for the Columbus Crew. Growing up, it was soccer or basketball for both of us.  He stuck with soccer, and it got him somewhere he wanted to be.  I stuck with basketball and so far, I am where I want to be.

Paneech: Does your family get to some of the games?

Perry: Yeah, they try.  They came to Samford for the opener last year.  My mother does a good job of following our games and always is able to find a feed online whether it be the Horizon League Network or the opposing teams site, she will find it. She always tells me about what she saw me do after the games, and they really do a good job staying on top of it.

Paneech:  Is this home now or are you on the first bus back to Florida when you graduate?

Perry: I have definitely made a lot of friends and connections here.  That snow though?  I can’t take that… I would rather deal with the 55 degrees in Florida over the 25 degrees here.  I could see myself being here because of all of the relationships I have made while I was here.  It’s all different though when you look at college.  You have to learn better time management.  A teacher can tell you that you have a 20 page paper due at the beginning of the semester, and you have to be on top of what you are trying to do within your classes.

Paneech: NBA.  Florida. Heat fan?

Perry: I do like the Heat.  I grew up in Orlando, so I have this love-hate thing for the Magic.  My go-to team is the Oklahoma City Thunder and Durant and Westbrook.  I like their athleticism, they are young, and they bring the energy.  They are a very dangerous team and I like watching them.  Lebron is probably the next Jordan, but I don’t think he will ever come back to Cleveland.  He can win multiple championships with his best friend Wade and the talent they have.

Paneech: If there are no sports on television, what are you watching?

Perry: I watch cartoons, I’m not gonna lie.  Not Sponge Bob and all that.  I watch the Simpsons, Family Guy, and American Dad.  My favorite cartoon though, is called Archer.  It’s a spy cartoon, me and my brother call each other and talk about it and joke about the lines.

Paneech: Who is a bigger team jokester, Eargle or Burkey?

Perry: (laughs) Ohhh, that’s a tough one.  I would say Damian, because it is non-stop with him.  Burkey knows how to turn it on and turn it off.  With Damian though, it’s just non-stop, 24/7, first thing in the morning until the end of the day.

One Word Answers

Favorite Color: Red.

Favorite Breakfast Cereal: Lucky Charms.

Favorite Drink After The Game: Red Gatorade.

Favorite Movie: He’s Got Game.

Song On Your ipod That Nobody Would Expect: Jill Scott, some of that soulful stuff from my mother.

Sport To Watch: Football.

Favorite Snack Food: I could go on for days…  picking one – Fruit Roll-Ups, any flavor.

Biggest Phobia: Lizards.

Worst Habit: Cracking My Knuckles.

“I will stay with the sport of basketball and I am going to keep going until I can’t play anymore.  Hopefully, the good college education I am receiving will line up the next part of my life and new career.”

Youngstown State University is turning into a home game winning juggernaut.  After years of struggling to compete in the Horizon League at home, on the road, in the Giant Eagle parking lot on 224, or at a neutral site, the Penguins have finally hit stride in the comfort of the Beeghly Center.  Sunday afternoon, the train kept rolling as the Penguins disposed of Green Bay, 77-47, with little resistance.  The win was the largest ever conference margin of victory (30 points), previously 25, for the Penguins.

“We were up by 13 at the half”, said Jerry Slocum.  “The maturation of this team has to be to put the hammer down when they get the chance to.  Coming out to start the second half, we were up 14, and it went from 14 to 20.  Our guys seized the moment with their defensive play.”

In the first half, the Phoenix held a two point lead a minute into the contest, it would be their largest and final lead of the day.  Youngstown State used an array of weapons to compile a lead as big as 18 points in the half, and eventually settled on a 38-25 margin at the break.  Blake Allen continued to produce for YSU, knocking down ten points to lead all scorers.  Kendrick Perry contributed eight and DuShawn Brooks six more to punctuate a strong half on both ends of the court for the Guins.  Coach Jerry Slocum had the luxury of using his bench frequently as eight different Penguins scored in the opening half.

“It’s a growing point and we talked at halftime about finishing”, said Perry.  “We preach about taking care of home court and I feel we are doing a good job of that this year.”

In the second half, the Penguins did something they have had trouble with in the recent past, holding a large lead.  Through the first five minutes of the second half, YSU outscored the Phoenix, 11-7, to maintain the double-digit margin.    At the 13:55 mark of the half, the Penguins held a 51-35 advantage.  Slocum was very careful not to mass-substitute at any point always having three starters on the court while getting Shawn Amiker (above), Josh Chojnacki, Nate Perry, D J Cole, and Fletcher Larson, were able to log some valuable game minutes with various combinations of the starting five.

In between the substitutions, the glue (starting five) of the Penguins kept everything tight.  Brooks was hitting threes, Ashen Ward was hustling and getting the dirty work done, and Allen and Perry did a good job working both the shot clock, and the Green Bay defense.  With 8:43 left in the game, the Penguins held a 67-43 lead.  The other Perry, Nate, hit a couple of threes to stockpile the lead to 70-45 with 7:38 remaining.

“I wanted to bring guys in to get them time with the ones”, said Slocum.  “Someone looked over at me and said we were up by 25.  I didn’t really care about the score as much as I did getting the bench some time to battle.  The bench players did a good job defensively for us.”

With the loss, Green Bay dipped to 3-6 in Horizon League play.  The Phoenix got XX points from Alec Brown and X rebounds from Kam Cerroni.

Youngstown State (11-8, 6-3) got 16 from Allen, 15 from Kendrick Perry, 12 from Ward, 12 from Brooks, and six from Eargle.  Eargle also had 8 rebounds and continued his streak of recording a block in every game this season early on, adding a few more to his record-nearing total.  Noteworthy in the victory was the good play Slocum got out of his bench, Nate Perry and Amiker are starting to look more confident each time they enter a game regardless of the situation or score.

The Penguins welcome Cleveland State Saturday as part of a doubleheader, which will start a half hour after the YSU women’s game that tips at 4:30 p.m.

Junior Blake Allen scored a game-high 22 points and sophomore Kendrick Perry added 19 but the Youngstown State men’s basketball team could not overcome a slow start and dropped an 86-77 loss to Toledo on Saturday evening at Savage Arena. YSU shot just 26.5 percent in the first half, fall to 6-4 overall while Toledo improves to 7-3.

Junior Damian Eargle just missed a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds. He also had five blocks and sophomore Nate Perry scored a career-high 10 points off the bench.

YSU, which shot 56.3 percent and outscored Toledo, 49-47, in the second half, trailed by as many as 17 in the first half, 11 at halftime and 13 with 18 minutes left in the game, but used an 18-6 run over a four-minute span to get within one, 49-48, with 13:50 left.  Two layups by Allen and one by freshman Shawn Amiker brought the Guins within seven, 43-36, with 16:14 to go.

The Rockets built the lead back to nine, 49-40, but a jumper by Eargle, an old-fashioned three-point play by Perry and a 3-pointer by Perry brought the Penguins within one.  YSU made 12 of their first 17 shots in the second half, were within one on two more occasions, 54-53, with 11:16 left and 56-55 at the 10:26 mark.  Toledo, though, capitalized on a technical foul called on YSU and scored 12 straight points to boost its lead back to 13, 68-55, with 7:46 remaining.  Perry’s second 3-pointer with 3:47 to go cut the deficit to nine, 76-67, but the Penguins would not get any closer.

Allen, who scored 16 of his points in the first half, scored YSU’s first eight points of the game that gave the Guins an 8-5 lead with 16:28 left before halftime.  Allen connected on 5-of-8 shooting from the field, including four 3-pointers, while the rest of the team made just 4-of-26 (15.3 percent) field-goal attempts.

The Penguins visit Akron, Monday, Dec. 19, at 7 p.m. at the James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron, Ohio.

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.

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.