The Town Crier

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins Take Flight on the Phoenix
By Steve Porter

The Penguins and Elon Phoenix had 21 lead changes and 16 ties in the first half, but Youngstown State’s hot shooting (61%) allowed the Penguins to take a 49-43 lead to the locker room. PG Tim Lostetter popped in 14 points in the half.

Neither team could take control in the 2nd half either. With 2 minutes to go, the Penguins took a 5 point lead. The Phoenix cut the lead to 2 with a little over a minute to play. Youngstown State then pulled away to an 86-80 lead with 47 seconds to go. The Penguins kept the Phoenix from scoring and came away with an 88-80 road win. 

The loss by Elon kept them winless at 0-9. The game was highlighted by 30 lead changes and 21 ties. Youngstown State’s 61% shooting for the entire game was the difference. The win was Youngstown State’s 4th in a row and improved their season record to 5-3.

PG Tim Lostetter scorched the nets for 23 points. C Kent Jones scored 12, SF Chad Delzell and SG Lonnie Holt both hit for 11, and PF Rich Braswell added 10.

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins Post 5th Straight Win
By Steve Porter

Youngstown State ran off to a 12-2 lead in the first 4 minutes of their game against the Stony Brook Seawolves. But 6 minutes later the Seawolves had taken a 20-18 lead. After falling behind by 8 points, the Penguins roared back by hitting 58% of their FG attempts to pull ahead by a 44-35 score at the end of the half. C Jamal Grady and SG Lonnie Holt shared scoring honors in the half with 10 points apiece.

The Penguins held a lead throughout the 2nd half. Each time the Seawolves got close, Youngstown State was able to reassert its dominance. By hitting 57% of their shots and making just 13 turnovers, the Penguins came away with an 88-82 victory. The win gave the team a 6-3 pre-conference record. The Penguins will enter conference play riding a 5-game win streak during which they have averaged 87.4 ppg.

C Jamal Grady led the Penguins scoring with 18 points. Others scoring in double figures were SG Lonnie Holt with 16, PF Aaron Tice 14, PF Rich Braswell 11, and SF Chad Delzell 10.

[PointGuard 70]

Youngstown State Ready for Horizon League Play
By Steve Porter

Tuesday night the Youngstown State Penguins (6-3) open their Horizon League season by hosting the Milwaukee Panthers (4-5). The Penguins have won their past 5 games. Coach K. D. Durst answered some questions as the Panthers prepared to take on Milwaukee:

Has your team out-performed your expectations thus far?

I’m pleased with how the team has come together and played. Seven of our nine games have been close and we’ve won five of those games so that shows the guys can play well under pressure. Also since six of our nine games were on the road, a 6-3 record is impressive, even though our schedule wasn’t over-challenging.

What have been your team’s strengths and weaknesses up to this point in the season?

Offensively we’ve done well, scoring 76.3 ppg which is 22nd best in the nation and we’re hitting nearly 46% of our shots and 79% of our free throws. Conversely, we still are not a good scoring team from 3-point distance where we’ve dropped in just 30% of our attempts. Defensively we’ve been inconsistent, playing well in some games and poorly in others. So we need to work harder on that aspect of our game. We’ve rebounded pretty well. We’re +3 per game in rebounds. And we’re +2 in turnovers, so I’m particularly pleased with how we’ve controlled the ball. 

How have your players performed individually?

I think we have a very balanced team. We are getting decent output at each position and many different players have stepped up to lead us on any given night. Our two guard positions are collectively averaging nearly 30 ppg even though Lonnie Holt is the only one who has been shooting at a high percentage. Chad Delzell and Rick Martin have combined to score over 11 ppg at SF and Chad is our leading rebounder with 6.1 rpg. At PF, Rich Braswell and Aaron Tice have spelled each other. Both are hitting over 50% of their shots and together they are averaging 14 ppg and 7 rpg. Jamal Grady is carrying the load at the C position and is our leading scorer with 12.8 ppg. Freshman Kent Jones is developing and beginning to produce better when he fills in for Jamal. So all-in-all, I think the guys are doing well. The two areas where they can improve the most would be in hitting for a higher percentage in the perimeter and making better passes to set up our scoring. Overall our assist rate has been rather low thus far.

How do you think you’ll fare in the Horizon League?

I think we’ll be competitive. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see a replay of last season where there is no dominant team in the league and any team can win on any given night. So I think we, along with all others in the league will take their lumps as well as having some impressive wins.

You’re now midway through your second season at Youngstown State. Have you met your own expectations?

There’s always things you wish you’d done better and accomplished more. But overall, the guys have really worked hard and developed as well as I could have possibly hoped for. I think we still are a couple years away from becoming a team that can dominate, but we’re going to keep working hard to improve. We remain a very young team with just 1 senior and 4 juniors on this year’s squad.

Are there any specific areas that have been tougher than you expected?

That’s easy. Recruiting has been a bigger challenge than I anticipated. We still don’t have enough of a reputation to sway a lot of recruits to seriously consider accepting scholarships. But Steve Simmons has done well as my chief recruiter. We’re still not able to recruit successfully out of the state of Ohio and regionally. And I think we are still quite a ways from being able to recruit on a national level. We continue to set high goals and go after high quality recruits but for the most part we’ve been unsuccessful at that level. It’s been frustrating but we need to just be persistent.

What’s your assessment of your recruiting this season?

We were able to get a talented transfer player this summer. Linehan Murphy of course is ineligible this season, but next year he will be a sophomore eligibility-wise. He played well for Boston University as a freshman, and I expect him to be a big asset for us next season at PG. We only had one scholarship to offer to recruits this fall. William Swan, a talented scoring guard from Huron High School, will be filling that scholarship next year. While it may take him a year or two to develop in Division I ball, he’s got a sweet outside shot so I expect him to become a big scorer for us.

How’s your team’s fan base?

I’m very impressed by how impassioned our fans are. We just need more of them. But that also will come as our team becomes more successful and more consistent. We’re seeing more students come to our games and that’s very important to our players. The athletic department and student newspaper have been very helpful in encouraging students to support our team. As we get more people attending our games and loudly encouraging our play, our home court advantage will become more pronounced.

What’s your team’s goal for this season?

The guys have set their sights on topping the Horizon League and getting to the NCAA Tournament. That’s a very challenging goal, but I’m confident in our ability to achieve it.

[PointGuard 70]

League Play Begins For Penguins
By Steve Porter

The Youngstown State basketballers came out with guns blazing as they opened league play last night. Midway through the first half they led the visiting Milwaukee Panthers 29-14 by hitting 67% of their FG attempts. At the half, Youngstown State led 46-22. SG Josh Jones led their scoring with 14 points in the half.

While the Penguins attack slowed in the 2nd half, they kept the Panthers from mounting a serious run and came away with a commanding 76-57 victory to open league play. Penguins knocked down 49% of their FG’s including 54% of their 3’s. They also out-rebounded Milwaukee 37-28.

SG Josh Jones finished with 23 points. PF Rich Braswell scored 12 and SF Chad Delzell had 11. C Jamal Grady had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The win pushed Youngstown State’s win streak to 6 games. Coach K.D. Durst said, “While we played with a lot of confidence tonight, our fans really got into the game from the get-go and that was really a big plus. We played particularly well on both ends of the court in the first half.”

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins Tail-Feathers Singed By Fire
By Steve Porter

The Youngstown State basketball team journeyed to Chicago last night to take on the University of Illinois-Chicago. The Fire burned the nets early to pull away to a 19-10 lead in the first 7 minutes of the game. Led by C Jamal Grady, the Penguins gamely fought back and finally took a 34-33 lead with 3 minutes remaining in the half. The half ended with UIC on top 43-42. C Jamal Grady accounted for 16 points for Youngstown State in the first half.

The refs called 6 fouls on the Penguins in the first 3 minutes of play in the 2nd half as UIC streaked out to a 51-42 lead. Youngstown State was ice cold and failed to knock down a field goal for the first 10 minutes of the 2nd half. By then they trailed 60-46. The Penguins tried to come back but were unable to sustain a run and fell to the Flames 79-67. Youngstown State hit just 36% of their shots and a dismal 13% of their 3’s.

C Jamal Grady finished with 21 points. PF Aaron Tice scored 14 and SF Chad Delzell added 12. PF Rich Braswell scored 8 and pulled down 11 rebounds. 

“We were sure we could take this one after coming back in the first half. Maybe we were a little bit too high and over-confident in the locker room at the half. But then ten minutes without any of us hitting a shot from the field. And we had some good looks at the basket. I hope never to have that happen again. It was so frustrating and ultimately sealed our fate,” said Chad Delzell.

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins Home Court Raided
By Steve Porter

Wright State came into town sporting the same 1-1 league record as YSU. Before the game, PG Tim Lostetter said, “This is a game we have to win. We match up well with the Raiders and need to control teams when they’re playing in our gym.”

But the Penguins shot poorly throughout the entire first half, hitting just 33% of their field goal attempts. They were also out-rebounded by the Raiders 20-12. Youngstown State only turned the ball over 4 times though while Wright State had 11 turnovers. After 14 lead changes and 10 ties, the half ended in a 34-34 tie. C Jamal Grady led the Penguins scoring with 9 points. 

The 2nd half was as close as the first half had been. Both teams opened small leads but were reeled in. With a minute to go, Wright State led 73-70. YSU played for the steal but was unable to accomplish that and ended up fouling the Raiders on a shot with 23 seconds remaining. Wright State made just one of two free throws but that put the Penguins in a 4 point deficit. After a time out, the Penguins freed Rick Martin up for a 3 that swished through the net to cut the Raiders’ lead to 74-73 with 7 seconds to go. Wright State made quick passes and the Raiders lobbed up a long shot to avoid a foul. The shot went off the backboard and through the hoop, saddling the Penguins with a disappointing 77-73 home-court loss. The difference in the game was that Wright State hit eight 3-pointers while Youngstown State managed to make just 4 of 15 from beyond the arc.

C Jamal Grady scored 16 while his replacement Kent Jones had 11. SG Josh Jones also scored 11. Substitute PG Levall Hart sprained his finger and is expected to miss a couple games.

[PointGuard 70]

Youngstown State Disintegrates
By Steve Porter

YSU’s defense allowed the Penguins to take a 10-2 lead in the first 4 minutes of the game. Cleveland State made a few runs that kept the game close, but Youngstown State finished the half on top 46-39. PF Andrew Tice was the Penguins top scorer in the half with 9 points.

The Penguins maintained a double digit lead through much of the 2nd half, but the Vikings made a run and with 4:53, the Vikings took their first lead of the game at 67-66. After Cleveland State quickly built a 6 point lead, the Penguins struck back to cut the Vikings lead to 78-76 with 47 seconds on the clock. Cleveland State then took control to defeat the Penguins 81-76. The loss dropped Youngstown State’s record to 7-6. More troubling, though, they are now 1-3 in the Horizon League which ties them for last place.

Leading the scoring for the Penguins was C Jamal Grady with 17 points but SG Josh Jones and PF Andrew Tice both tossed in 15 while SF Chad Delzell added 10. The Vikings’ SG Lloyd Sanders topped all scorers with 21 points.

Coach Durst said, “We simply let this ball game get away from us tonight. At the end, the Vikings just wanted it more. We have to refocus and get back on track.”

[PointGuard 70]

Noises From The Colony
By Steve Porter

The Penguins Fan Club, better known as the Colony, has become a little restive. The Colony was riding high as the YSU basketball team built a 6-game winning streak. But unrest within the club has developed about the Penguins performance following the team’s team’s 3-game losing streak in Horizon League play.

“I thought this would be the year we rocked the Horizon League”, said Ron Braxson. “Instead we’re now down at the bottom of the League standings again and the chance of becoming conference champs seems like a pipe dream.”

His buddy and fellow Colony member Carl Fredrickson added, “They brought in this new coach last season and hyped him as the second coming of Jesus. He’s not been a complete bust, but the team sort of fizzled the end of last season and now after a good start, they stumble coming out of the blocks in league play.”

But Paul Sorenson, the president of the Colony, was quick to rebut their remarks, “Coach Durst came in here with a tough challenge. Our basketball program had been withering for years and you just can’t expect that it will turn into a champion in a short period of time. Let’s see how Coach Durst does after the entire team is made of his own recruits and he’s had a chance to develop players fully with his approach to the game.”

Jill Haverworth, a long-time booster, echoed Sorenson’s comments saying, “The team has given us something to really root for and I’m excited by how they’ve played overall. Jamal Grady is getting stronger and more accomplished and he’s just a sophomore. And even though Chad Delzell isn’t scoring as well as I think he will soon, he’s a beast on the boards. By the end of this season, the Penguins will surprise a lot of people.”

Don Aldine commented, “I just became a Colony member this season, but it seems like most of the members just are starved for success after years of seeing their team be the doormats of the Horizon League. I’d like to see Durst spend a little more time with the Colony, because I think he then could get more of us on his side. I know he’s focused on his team, but the Colony is the base of the teams’ fans support and we’re important too.”

Reached for comment after the meeting, Vic Morrissey, YSU’s Athletic Director, said, “We value The Colony and the support and contributions they bring to the program and the university. There’s always going to be a variety of opinions within any group. But membership is growing within The Colony, and I’ve seen a growth in their optimism about how the team is progressing and I meet with them regularly.”

 

[NOTE: This dynasty started in DDSCB2017 has been transferred into the new DDSCB2018.  The transfer was easy and seamless and the new and improved game components of DDSCB2018 have taken effect.  This will allow the dynasty to be continued.  Check wolverinestudios.com for information about DDSCB2018.]

[PointGuard 70]

Youngstown State Crashes Boards
By Steve Porter



This was a game of first versus last. Wisconsin-Green Bay came into the game tied for first in the Horizon League while Youngstown State was tied for last place. The Penguins had the task of trying to contain high-scoring SG Ross Lang who was scoring 17.9 ppg and upon whom the Phoenix’ offense was centered.

YSU’s offense sparkled as the Penguins streaked out to a 17-8 lead in the first 5-1/2 minutes. The Penguins held onto a solid lead until the latter stages of the first half. Wisconsin-Green Bay’s offense caught fire and by the end of the half, the Penguins trailed 49-45. C Jamal Grady led YSU with 9 points. Even though he was double-teamed the entire half, the Phoenix’ Ross Lang still was able to garner 15 points.

The Phoenix continued to control the game and led by 8 at the midpoint of the 2nd half. But with Ross Lang resting on the bench, the Penguins made a run that regained the lead for them at 66-65 with 7:30 to play. But with 5:40 to play with YSU on top 71-67, C Jamal Grady fouled out. Grady had led the Penguin attack with 20 points. Wisconsin-Green Bay regained the lead at 76-75 with 3 minutes to go. Coach Durst’s cobbled together lineup led 79-76 with 1:30 remaining. The Phoenix stole a pass and drove for a dunk to cut the lead to a single point at the 1:11 mark. Rick Martin worked a pass into Andrew Tice who went directly to the basket and scored putting the Penguins on top 81-78 with 57 seconds to go. After a time out, Ross Lang missed a 3 and the Penguins rebounded. Working the ball in and out freed up Chad Delzell for a 3 that found the mark to give YSU a 6 point lead with 33 seconds on the clock. YSU kept the Phoenix from scoring and notched an 85-78 victory.

Beyond C Jamal Grady’s 20 points, 5 blocks and a steal, the Penguins’ PF Andrew Tice hit for 16 plus pulled down 12 boards, PG Tim Lostetter scored 14 and fed out 7 assists, SG Josh Jones put in 13 points, and SF Chad Delzell scored 9 and grabbed 10 rebounds. For the Phoenix, SG Ross Lang dropped in 23 points but only hit 9 of 28 shots and 3 of 16 from 3 point range.

Coach KD Durst was buoyant in the post-game interview, saying “We played a tough team tonight and our guys fought hard the entire 40 minutes. Our positioning and work on the boards made it possible for us to win (YSU held a 43-23 rebounding advantage). We had to play people out of position a lot tonight, but all the guys came through. We couldn’t keep Ross Lang from scoring, but we definitely made him work for it by not letting him get free for easy shots. On the other hand, our guys worked the ball around and screened effectively to allow us to get good shots so that every one of our starters plus Andrew Tice hit at least 50% of their FG attempts. I know that we’re all happy to finally get back into the win column.”

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins Cold As Weather At End Of Game
By Steve Porter

With the temperature dipping below 0 degrees outside the Athletic Center Arena in Richmond Hills, Michigan, the Youngstown State Penguins took on the Oakland Golden Grizzlies. Both teams entered the game with identical 2-3 league records.

Oakland’s SG Josh Angner scored 8 points in the first 4 minutes of the game as the Golden Grizzlies stormed out to an 11-2 lead. The Penguins never could catch up in the first half and trailed 41-36 at the break. C Jamal Grady scored 12 for YSU. Josh Angner had 13 for Oakland.

After getting with a single point twice early in the 2nd half, Chad Delzell sunk 2 free throws to allow the Penguins to finally tie the game at 54-54 with 9:50 remaining. With 5 minutes to play, Jamal Grady hit a 10 foot jumper to give YSU its first lead at 65-63. But Oakland then went on a 13-0 run that put the game out of reach with 2 minutes to play. The game ended with a disappointing 83-70 loss by the Penguins. The difference in the game was that YSU hit just 0 of 6 from beyond the arc while the Golden Grizzlies hit 13 of 34 threes. The loss dropped the Penguins back into a tie for last place in the Horizon League.

C Jamal Grady again led the scoring for the Penguins with 23. PF Aaron Tice dropped in 17 points while pulling down 9 rebounds, and PF Rich Braswell scored 8 and had 11 boards. The Penguins perimeter starters (Lostetter, Jones, and Delzell) hit just 3 of 18 FG attempts. 

Coach KD Durst said, “We struggled for 35 minutes to hang in the game, only to totally fall apart in the final 5 minutes. Our inside game was solid tonight but we just couldn’t get the job done from outside.”

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins Cruise
By Steve Porter

Last night the Youngstown State Penguins stomped the Northern Kentucky Norse 87-64 at Beeghly Center to the delight of the hometown faithful.

The two teams stayed within 2 points of each other until midway through the first half when Youngstown State scored 10 unanswered points. From there the Penguins went on to take a commanding 54-35 halftime lead. YSU hit 54% of their shots in the half. PF Aaron Tice topped all scorers with 14 points.

The Penguins continued their dominance in the 2nd half and finished the game by hitting 55% of their shots. C Jamal Grady tossed in 18 points, PF Aaron Tice finished with 16 points and 8 rebounds, SF Rick Martin had 12, and PF Rich Braswell added 10. For Northern Kentuckiy, C Troy Fingelton led all scorers with 25 points.

Interviewed after the game, Aaron Tice said, “We were cookin’ tonight. We just got tired of getting our butts kicked lately. I hope we can use this game to get back on track and put together a great last half of league play and use that momentum to win the league tournament.”

The Horizon League now has extremely unusual standings with UIC on top with a 6-1 record, Milwaukee and Valparaiso tied for second place with 4-3 records, and the remaining 7 teams all tied for 4th place with 3-4 records.

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins Vanquished by Crusade(rs)
By Steve Porter

Rather than taking control, the Penguins and their opponent, the visiting Valparaiso Crusaders, both seemed more intent upon trying to give control of the game to the other throughout the entire first half of their game last night. Their offenses sputtered with the Crusaders hitting just 36% of their shots while Youngstown State hit an abysmal 32% of theirs. But Valparaiso’s 13 turnovers allowed the Penguins to take a 29-25 lead to the locker room. SG Josh Jones led all scorers with 10 points.

The two teams continued to struggle in the 2nd half. With 2-1/2 minutes remaining and Youngstown State trailing by 3, PF Aaron Tice hit a turn around jumper to cut the Crusaders’ lead to 57-56. The Penguins’ full court press resulted in a turnover by Valparaiso. Following a timeout, the Penguins worked the ball around until Tice muscled up a contested 14 footer that fell through the silks to put YSU on top 58-57 with 1:55 to go. Valparaiso brought it up court and quickly hit a 3 to go ahead by 2. The Penguins’ Tim Lostetter cut around his defender and drove down the lane. His shot was off the front of the rim but rebounded right back to him, and he put it back up and in to tie the game at 60-60. On the succeeding possession by the Crusaders, Lostetter tried to steal, but hooked the arm of Valparaiso’s PG John Clark. Clark hit the first of a one-and one but missed the 2nd shot to put Valparaiso back on top by a single point. Another time out by the Penguins gave Coach Durst a chance to set up a pick and roll that freed up Lostetter to again drive inside and score on a 6 foot jumper putting YSU on top 62-61 with 59 seconds left. Valparaiso hit yet another 3 to give them a 64-62 lead. With 37 seconds remaining, Josh Jones was fouled. He sank both free throws to tie the game. Ian Boyce missed a shot, but the refs called Jamal Grady for a foul on the shot. Boyce hit both foul shots to put the Crusaders back on top by 2 with just 15 seconds on the clock. With time running out Josh Jones’ shot rimmed around but failed to drop and the Penguins lost a heart-breaker at home, 66-64.

Even though 4 of the Penguins scored in double figures (SG Josh Jones with 16, PF Aaron Tice with 13, PG Tim Lostetter with 11, and PF Rich Braswell with 10), poor shooting (38% of all FG attempts and just 0 of 6 from 3 point territory) doomed Youngstown State to defeat. The loss dropped their Horizon League record to 3-5 and a 3-way tie for last place. 4 of the the Penguins 5 league losses have been by 2-5 points and 6 of their 8 losses this season have been by 5 or fewer points. 7 of their 9 victories have been double-digit wins.

“This was a game we should have won,” said Coach KD Durst. “We had every opportunity but couldn’t get the job done. But ultimately it was my fault for using all our timeouts so we couldn’t set up a play for our final possession.”

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins Unleash Dynamic Offense
By Steve Porter

Before last night’s game in Detroit, when asked about the Detroit Titans freshman center William Rogers, who has been the Horizon League Player of the Week the past 5 weeks and 7 of the past 8 weeks and who’s has averaged 21 ppg and over 10 rpg during the Titans 3-game win steak they own coming into this game, Jamal Grady stated, “He’s a talented guy and has made quite a statement in his first season. I’m just going to do my best to try to contain him. I’ll probably need a little help inside from my teammates, so he can expect some double-teaming. But if he does break out with another big game, we’re just going to have to put together enough offense to counter it.”

Rogers scored the first 4 points of the game. But the Penguins pounded the ball inside, causing Rogers to pick up 2 personal fouls in the first 4-1/2 minutes of the game. To protect him, Detroit benched him with YSU on top 16-10. Midway through the first half, the Penguins’ lead had ballooned to 28-12. The Titans caught fire late in the half though, and when time expired Youngstown State led by a narrow 36-34 margin. C Jamal Grady and PF Aaron Tice both scored 9 points to lead the Penguins, while Detroit’s SF Garvin Moore led all scorers with 11 points.

Detroit scored the first 13 points of the 2nd half. Youngstown State answered by rolling off a 17-0 run to retake the lead 53-47 with 12-1/2 minutes left to play. The Penguins held onto a small lead but then expanded it to 10 with 4 minutes remaining. From there YSU stormed to a 90-73 thrashing of the Titans.

The Penguins’ attack was led by SG Josh Jones 21 points and 6 assists, PF Aaron Tice’s 19 points, C Jamal Grady’s 13 points and 7 boards, PG Tim Lostetter’s 10 points and 8 assists, and SF Chad Delzell’s 12 rebounds. 

After the game, Coach KD Durst said, “Typically I’d be raking my guys over the coals when they make 21 turnovers, but that was because they were really pushing the ball on offense. Hell, they hit 57% of their FG attempts, 50% of their 3’s, and knocked down 22 of 24 foul shots. And we were simply terrors on the boards (a 36-22 advantage).” When asked about William Rogers, Durst replied, “He may have scored just 8 points, but because of foul problems he only played 13 minutes. What I saw in that limited amount of time proved to me that he’s going to be a real force in this league for the next 4 years.”

[PointGuard 70]

Panthers Rip Penguins
By Steve Porter

A second straight game on the road had the YSU Penguins taking on the Milwaukee Panthers last night. Unfortunately the Penguins’ defense failed to make the trip in the first half. This allowed the Panthers to his 53% of their shots and pull away to a 44-30 halftime advantage. PF Aaron Tice and SF Rick Martin both scored 7 points in the first half.

The second half was a near replay of the first with Youngstown State stumbling to a lopsided 89-62 loss. Milwaukee outshot the Penguins 56% to 36%.

PF Aaron Tice scored 15 and C Jamal Grady had 9 points and 9 rebounds for YSU. Milwaukee’s PF Chris Grant had a double-double (12 points and 11 rebounds).

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins and Flames Go to Overtime
By Steve Porter

Trying to avenge a drubbing earlier this season by UIC, the Penguins took on the first-place Flames last night at Beeghly Center. YSU jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the first 3 minutes of play. But the Flames showed why they’re on top of the Horizon League by capturing the lead 6 minutes later. Later in the half the Flames caught fire, scorching the nets by hitting 54% of their FG attempts to pull away to a 39-33 halftime lead. The two opposing centers carried their respective offenses. Jamal Grady scored 14 for the Penguins while Dan Davis dropped in 16 for the Flames.

In the second half, YSU scrappily fought back to take a 50-49 lead, but then the Flames went on an 11-0 run. But rather than folding the Penguins came back with their own 12-1 run to retake the lead. UIC then carved out 7-point lead but the Penguins got within 3 with 41 seconds to play. The Flames turned the ball over with 16 seconds to go. Tim Lostetter put up a quick 3 that missed the mark but YSU maintained control. After a time out with 9 seconds remaining, Lostetter lofted another 3 that swished through the nets to send the game into overtime tied 80-80.

The Flames scored the first 3 points in OT but then Aaron Tice hit 2 free throws to cut the lead to 83-82. Then Jamal Grady blocked a shot by Dan Davis. On the succeeding possession, Aaron Tice drove to the hoop and laid it in to put YSU on top 84-83. Lonnie Holt was called for a foul and UIC hit both shots to give them a single point lead. Aaron Tice hit another a jumper from 10 feet to make it 85-84 in favor of the Penguins. Lonnie Holt was called for another foul with 2:19 to play. Again the Flames converted both foul shots. Trailing 87-86, YSU called a time out 26 seconds to go. The give and go worked perfectly with Josh Jones dropping in a 12 footer to put the Penguins ahead 88-87 with 21 seconds left. The Flames couldn’t get off their designed play following a time out and were forced to work the ball around outside. But J.R. Sides threw up a desperation shot from far beyond the 3 point line that went off the backboard and into the basket as the buzzer was sounding. Final score: UIC-90, YSU-88.

C Jamal Grady scored 24 and yanked down 8 boards, PF Aaron Tice had a double-double (17 points and 12 rebounds), PG Tim Lostetter scored 13 and had 6 assists, and SF Chad Delzell added 12 points. For UIC, Dan Davis scored 26 points.

When asked about his team’s 4-7 league record, Coach Durst responded, “We’ve lost some tough games, so with a little luck it could be reversed. Tonight’s a case-in-point. We played the top team in the league even and had them on the ropes with about 20 seconds to go in the OT. Then we play some tight defense without fouling to keep them from working the ball inside or getting a clear outside shot. That 3 at the end was a prayer that UIC got answered. We’re sick about the loss but will recover. We may not end up in the upper echelons of the league standings but might surprise in the league tourney. And a positive out of tonight’s game was the exceptionally strong performance of our two inside starters. Grady and Tice both played a helluva game.”

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins Lose Again
By Steve Porter

The first half was an offensive show with Penguins hitting 62% and Wright State hitting 56% of their shots. The Raiders led 49-47 at the break. The refs put 3 of YSU’s starters on the bench in foul trouble for most of the half. Substitutes Rick Martin and Kent Jones led the Penguins’ scoring with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

The game was tightly contested during the first 10 minutes of the 2nd half. But Youngstown State then had a flurry of turnovers that the Raiders turned into easy scoring opportunities and quickly pulled away to a 15 point lead. The Penguins tried to recover but were unable to substantially cut into the Raiders’ lead and fell 95-83. The loss dropped YSU into next to last place in the Horizon League.

SF Rick Martin led the Penguins’ scoring with 16 while PG Tim Lostetter hit for 12, and centers Jamal Grady and Kent Jones both added 10.

 

Coach Durst was unavailable for comment following the game. Players and staff went directly from the locker room to the team bus.

[PointGuard 70]

[Comment from Wayne23 in the Wolverine Studios forums]:

 

People around town have been wearing penguin costumes and carrying signs that say. "Dump Durst."

[PointGuard 70]

What’s wrong with the Youngstown State Penguins? A team that was expected to compete for the Horizon League title has instead sunk into the depths of the league. The team’s defense has crumbled during their present 3-game losing streak during which their opponents have averaged over 91 points per game. 

While it’s unconfirmed, I’ve heard from reliable sources that there are a couple players on the team who are feuding. Is Coach Durst having chemistry problems that are impacting the team? The coaches and players are mum about this.

Meanwhile fans are not very happy that the team is not performing to their expectations. Attendance at home games is down.

Vic Morrissey, YSU’s AD, remains very supportive of Coach Durst, at least publicly. Until Durst has a chance to have the team composed mostly of his own recruits, I don’t feel anyone can be overly critical. 

Durst does still have a thin skin, though. So he becomes distant after I’ve written a column that he views as negative about the team. But screw that, I’m not going to be anyone’s stooge. Unfortunately, there's this old guy, Wayne (the pain) Moses, whose been around the paper for ages. I think he's afraid the paper is going to let him go in one of its many budget-cutting moves. So he's been sucking up to guys around the university and athletic staff. I think he wants to make a move on taking my job as sports reporter as a way of hanging on here. The guy knows nothing about sports though...and absolutely nothing about basketball. What's more he thinks we should still be using typewriters rather than keyboards. The paper let him write up a puff piece about YSU's athletic department..pure suck up material making Morrissey seem so nice to his staff and highlighting his charitable work, like he's the second-coming of Mother Teresa. I know some things about Morrissey that would make Mother Teresa blush.

[PointGuard 70]

Youngstown State Offense Comes Alive
By Steve Porter

PF Aaron Tice scored the Penguins firsts 9 points against the Cleveland State Vikings. YSU’s offense sizzled throughout the entire half as they hit 67% of their FG attempts. The team also held a 15-8 rebounding advantage and a 10-4 turnover advantage. The Penguins went to the locker room with a commanding 56-31 lead. C Kent Jones hit for 14 points, PF Aaron Tice scored 11, and SG Josh Jones tossed in 10. 

YSU held the Vikings at bay in the 2nd half and won with ease 90-67. The win broke the Penguins 3-game losing streak and moved them into a tie for 7th place in the Horizon League.

SG Josh Jones and PF Aaron Tice dropped in 17 points and C Kent Jones added 16.

Coach KD Durst praised the effort of Kent Jones, “Kent has come off the bench in the past two games after Jamal Grady has gotten into foul trouble and scored 26 points in those games. He’s really amped up his game lately. It’s a pleasure to watch him develop and mature. I really appreciate how Jamal has worked with both him and Aaron Tice to help those two freshmen become key players on our team.”

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins Fall to The Phoenix
By Steve Porter

The Wisconsin-Green Bay Phoenix came into the game against Youngstown State with a 6-game win streak that had propelled them into 2nd place in the Horizon League. SG Ross Lang led the Phoenix with his 18.2 ppg scoring.

Ross Lang scored 16 and the Phoenix hit 71% of their shots in the first half enroute to a 45-37 halftime advantage. PG Tim Lostetter hit for 12 points to lead the Penguins’ scoring.

The Penguins cut the lead to just 2 points early in the 2nd half, but were unable to catch up. They then folded late in the half and were crushed 87-69. 

PG Tim Lostetter scored 18 and C Jamal Grady hit for 17. The Phoenix’ Ross Lang dropped in 25 points.

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins Top Golden Grizzlies
By Steve Porter

Youngstown State put together a solid first half and led the visiting Oakland Golden Grizzlies 38-26 at the break in front of a sparse hometown crowd. The Penguins continued to dominate the Golden Grizzlies in the 2nd half and came away with an 83-65 thumping of Oakland.

PF Aaron Tice led the Penguins offense with 22 points while PF Rich Bramwell scored 12, SG Josh Jones tossed in 11, and SF Chad Delzell added 10. PG Dante Lay popped in 20 points for Oakland.

Aaron Tice said, “We worked in practice on getting the ball down deep inside to try to take advantage of what we thought was an interior advantage for us. It worked as my teammates kept feeding me and Rich (Bramwell) inside. It was then just a matter of us putting the ball in the hoop. We’re fighting for some respect in the Horizon League at this point.”

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins Long Season Continues
By Steve Porter

As the YSU Penguins continued to try to climb up into the middle of the Horizon League, they travelled to take on the Northern Kentucky Norse. Reserve SG Lonnie Holt stayed back nursing a strained hamstring.

The Penguins led through the initial stages of the first half but midway through, the Norse took control and hit 58% of their shots to streak away to a 49-33 halftime advantage. C Jamal Grady was YSU’s top scorer in the half with 7 points.

In the 2nd half, the Penguins had trouble hitting their shots as their shooting for the entire game tumbled to just 35%. That prevented YSU from seriously threatening. They fell and fell hard to the tune of 79-59.

PG Tim Lostetter and PF Aaron Tice led the Penguin scoring with 13 points apiece while C Jamal Grady added 10. SF Chad Delzell pulled down 10 rebounds but failed to score. For Northern Kentucky, C Troy Fingelton scored 16 while grabbing 10 boards.

The Penguins are now tied for 7th place with a 6-10 league record.

[PointGuard 70]

Another one from Wayne23 over on the WolverineStudios.com forums:

 

"People in Penguin suits marching out side of the A. D>'s office carrying signs saying, "Durst is curst!""

 

 

And my response on those same forums:

 

"LOL...good one! I'm beginning to feel that really is the case.

 

Now that they've got those signs, I'm worried they soon will cross out the "c" and over-write it with a "w".  

Of course, if things go right in a few years the "c" and "w" can both be crossed out and over-written with a "f".  "

 

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins Come Up Short
By Steve Porter

Youngstown State travelled to Louisiana to take on the University of Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns. While this game was advertised as a bracket buster, the two teams brackets have already been busted with YSU sporting a 12-13 record and UL-Lafayette an 11-14 record.

Both teams shot well, both hitting over 50% of their shots. UL-Lafayette took a slim 46-43 lead to the locker room. C Jamal Grady carried the YSU offense with 17 points in the first half.

The score stayed close throughout the entire 2nd half but the Penguins came up on the short end of a final 79-77 score. The refs gave the win to UL-Lafayette as the Ragin’ Cajuns scored 11 more points from the foul line that did YSU.

C Jamal Grady score 27 points and SG Josh Jones had 14 for the Penguins. SF Brian Adams popped in 21 points for UL-Lafayette.

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins Turn Over Game 
By Steve Porter

The first half between Youngstown State and Valparaiso was sloppily played. The Crusaders had 9 turnovers and the Penguins topped that with 12 turnovers. YSU held a small lead early in the half and then dropped behind by 8 points before rallying in the latter stages to take a 36-34 lead to the locker room. SF Rick Martin came off the bench to score 9 points in 9 minutes of play. 

The Penguins controlled the game throughout the first part of the 2nd half, but then a series of turnovers let the Crusaders pull away and open a 14-point lead. YSU fought to get back into the game, but couldn’t put together a sustained run. The Penguins dropped the game by a score of 82-72 after turning the ball over 22 times. The loss dropped the Penguins into a tie for 8th place in the Horizon League with a 6-11 league record.

SG Josh Jones’ 18 points topped the scoring for Youngstown State with PF Aaron Tice tossing in 16 and SF Rick Martin finishing with 13.