The Town Crier

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins Efforts Scuttled by Officials
By Steve Porter

Youngstown State travelled to Bethlehem, PA to take on the 5-1 Lehigh Mountain Hawks. Lehigh’s SF Brandon Wilson entered last night’s game averaging 17.8 ppg.

The first half was a parade to the foul line for Lehigh as the refs repeatedly whistled the Penguins for fouls, sending the Mountain Hawks to the line 24 times in the half. That together with many travelling calls against YSU incensed Coach KD Durst who picked up a technical. The refs assistance to Lehigh resulted in a 47-29 halftime deficit for the Penguins. C Jamal Grady led the offense for YSU with 8 points.

Fouls and travelling calls continued to pile up against the Penguins in the 2nd half, stopping each run that YSU made. Youngstown State dropped the game 97-75.

For YSU, C Jamal Grady scored 19 and SG B.J. Dennis chipped in 12.

When asked about the officiating, Coach Durst’s terse reply was, “No comment.”

[PointGuard 70]

Youngstown State Pounced Upon by Panthers
By Steve Porter

The 6-3 Northern Iowa Panthers shot well in the first half and built a 44-34 halftime lead. C Jamal Grady was limited to just 8 minutes of play due to foul problems but scored 9 points in the half. But the Panthers’ SG Andre Brown hit 5 of 5 from 3-point distance to score 15 points.

Youngstown State gamely fought throughout the 2nd half and reduced the lead to as little as 5 points but could never get closer. The final score was 76-68 in favor of Northern Iowa, dropping the Penguins’ pre-conference record to 5-4. 

The difference in the game was the Panthers shooting from beyond the arc where they hit 14 of 25 shots. SF Robert Jordan and SG Andre Brown hit 11 of 18 threes and combined to score 43 points.

For YSU, C Jamal Grady poured in 18 points with SG B.J. Dennis adding 11 points.

Coach KD Durst said, “The Panthers put on a 3-point shooting clinic. We tried double teaming and even that didn’t work.”

[PointGuard 70]

Horizon League Contenders
By Steve Porter

Horizon League teams completed their pre-conference schedules this week. What teams and players stand out thus far?

Starting with our hometown Youngstown State Penguins, it’s a tale of good and bad and boom and bust. After losing their opening game, the team went on a robust 5-game win streak. But what appeared rose buds instead turned out to be rose thorns as they then went into a 3-game tail spin to close out their pre-league schedule. Their 5-4 record is the result of a good offense and a bad defense. They’re averaging 77.7 ppg (67th best in the nation) but they’re giving up 76.0 ppg (284 teams are letting teams score fewer points than are the Penguins). In all of their wins the Penguins have scored 78 or more points. In all their losses their opponents have scored 75 points or more. Additionally while the team’s rebounding has been strong overall, it’s apparent they need to be aggressive on the boards. When they’ve won, they are a cumulative +37 in rebounding, but when they’ve lost their rebounding has been a cumulative -21. Jamal Grady, the team’s junior center, leads the team in both scoring (17.7 ppg) and rebounding (6.3 rpg), but 7 other players have shown the ability to step up strongly offensively, albeit it sporadically. Of their primary players, only SF Chad Delzell has been weak offensively. Delzell’s lackluster play has been perplexing and his shooting slump needs to be remedied if the Penguins are to be a force in the Horizon League. Additionally, even though four players have had some excellent games at guard, none have stepped up to play consistently well at either of the guard positions. Coach Durst is still experimenting with different combinations at PG and SG to try to find players who can step up and take the reins. Prognosis: middle of the pack.

The team with the undeniable best results in pre-conference play has been the Detroit Titans. They’ve won 8 of their 9 games and are riding a 7 game win streak. They’ve done well both offensively (78.0 ppg) and defensively (67.9 ppg). C William Rogers tops their scoring averaging 15.1 ppg. He’s also averaging 9.1 rpg. PF Brian Bryant and SG Rufus Benton are both averaging 11.3 ppg and their other two starters, SF Garvin Moore and PG Chris Williams are averaging 9.4 and 8.3 ppg respectively. With their starting lineup locked in place and playing well together, the team enters Horizon League play as one of the favorites. Don’t forget that this is the team that had a so-so season last year, but came on strong to win the Horizon League conference tournament and gain experience in the NCAA Tournament. The Titans own the best RPI (49th best in the country) of any Horizon League team.

Wisconsin-Green Bay was the pre-season favorite and continues to be seen as a contender for the league championship. The Phoenix’ 5-4 record may look to be unimpressive, but their four losses have all come while playing on the road and have been against much stronger competition: Southern Illinois, #9 North Carolina, Kansas State, and Pittsburgh. So they look to be game-ready for any and all foes in the Horizon League. SG Ross Lang carries this team. After averaging 15.8 ppg and 19.5 ppg in the two previous seasons, he is now averaging 20.2 ppg. SF Randy Kurtz is averaging 12.3 ppg while PG Andre Swan is the floor general, dishing out 5.8 apg while scoring 8.3 ppg and hitting well over 50% not only of his FG attempts but also his 3-point attempts. Their interior starters, Jamar Hayes and Olaf Plomin, are not prodigious scorers but both are strong rebounders.

The biggest surprise during pre-conference play has been the Northern Kentucky Norse. The team owns a 5-4 record, but that includes losses to Missouri and Vanderbilt, and a solid win over Wichita State. The Norse have good inside-outside scoring. C Troy Fingelton is averaging 18.7 ppg and the team gets good production from outside by SG Kevin Young (10.2 ppg) and PG Jon Robinson (10.1 ppg). Chris Correa is playing solidly at PF (6.2 ppg and 5.2 rpg) and Antoine Green (7.2 ppg) is adequate at SF. The question remains whether the Norse are going to be able to sustain their good play throughout the long league season, but their RPI is 69th best in the nation.

Wright State has a 5-5 pre-conference record. One of the Raiders’ wins was on the road over Miami (FL). Included in their losses were games against North Carolina State, Massachusetts, and Boston University. Their top scorer is SG John Blanchard who after two very good seasons, is continuing to produce with 16.6 ppg. C Ivoree Cameron is averaging 10.5 ppg. PG Arthur Dawson is averaging 9.5 ppg and 4.3 apg. Their other starters are Jonathon Bakken (7.2 ppg) and PF Mills Willis (5.1 ppg and 5.8 rpg). Brian Buller fills in at both C and PF and is averaging 9.6 ppg. While likely to be in the middle of the pack in the Horizon League, the preponderance of seniors and juniors on their roster gives them the experience and maturity to make a run.

Last season’s overall best Horizon League teams was the UIC Flames. The Flames have an unimpressive 4-6 record, but have played 7 of their 10 games on the road and have losses against Nebraska, VMI, #17 Iowa, and UCONN. Like the Penguins, thus far the Flames have had a potent offense (77.1 ppg) but an anemic defense (79.2 ppg). UIC has three players averaging in double figures: SG Tim Patterson (17.8 ppg), C Dan Davis (12.7 ppg) and PG Dan Rucker (11.2 ppg and 4.9 apg). SF DeWy Nielsen is averaging 9.3 ppg. PF B.J. Kemmpe is averaging only 4.8 ppg but is rebounding well (5.5 rpg). UIC showed they know how to win last season, so don’t count out the Flames.

Outside the Horizon League, Florida has a spotless 11-0 record and is ranked #1 in the polls followed by Syracuse, Louisville, Arizona, and Duke. Other teams without a loss include Temple (#10), Michigan State (#15), and Colorado (#23).

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins Review
By Steve Porter

Youngstown State begins Horizon League play tomorrow night with a very tough challenge. They travel to Chicago to take on the UIC Flames. The Flames came out on top of last season’s Horizon League standings.

The Penguins come into League Play with a strong interior but question marks elsewhere. 

The team is anchored by junior center Jamal Grady with his 17.7 ppg and 6.3 rpg team leading statistics. When Grady has to go to the bench to rest, he is ably backed up by sophomore Kent Jones who is averaging 5.8 ppg but isn’t a strong rebounder.

At PF, the team has two very strong players, sophomore Tim Tice and senior Rich Braswell. Tice is normally the starter and is averaging 8.9 ppg and 4.8 rpg, but Braswell is having a strong senior year, averagg 7.0 ppg (while hitting 57% of this shots) and 4.2 rpg in his 15.7 mpg on the court.

Chad Delzell is continuing to start at SF but the senior has been shooting poorly this season and is averaging just 3.9 ppg. He continues to be a strong rebounder though (4.6 rpg). He is backed up by senior Rick Martin who is shooting well (hitting 44% of his FG attempts including 47% of this 3’s) and averaging 8.1 ppg. Martin has been doing double duty recently, starting at SG but also backing up Delzell. 

The SG position has been a morass. Junior Levall Hart began the season as the starter but while shooting well overall (55%), only hit 14% of his 3’s and has seen his on court minutes decrease precipitously and is averaging just 3.1 ppg. Rick Martin has been starting in recent games but has been inconsistent and thus has not been able to solidify his hold on the position. Redshirt freshman B.J. Dennis, while not yet starting, has been playing more minutes at SG than anyone else recently and has had some good scoring performances. Dennis is now averaging 7.8 ppg. Freshman William Swan and senior Lonnie Holt also have had limited exposure at SG

Confusion extends to the PG position where junior Tim Lostetter and sophomore Linehan Murphy have been sharing starts and minutes. Lostetter is the more aggressive shooter and scorer (8.1 ppg), but Murphy (6.2 ppg) tends to be the passer and has shown a keen shooting eye. Levall Hart could also play some at PG.

When asked about the team, Coach Durst replied, “I had certainly hoped to see the starting positions nailed down by now. But we have a bunch of very good players who compete hard both in games and in practice. There are a number of players who have very good performances on any given day. Those who gain a bit more consistency will ultimately become regular starters for us. It’s nice to have the depth we have this season. I’d like to see a couple of them begin having strong games so that teams will have to spread their defensive intensity around and take some pressure off Jamal.”

Regarding his team’s chances in league play, Durst responded, “I think it’s going to be a tough battle. There are so many teams that have the players to make a run. I think we’ll be in the mix. We’ve shown we have an offense that can compete, now we just have to amp up our defense some. With our inside game pretty much in place, if we can now get our outside game complimenting that, I think we could be a big factor in the Horizon League. To be league champs, though, a team has to play well on the road and carve out some away victories. We had a couple early this season but then lost our last two road games.”

When asked about the team’s recruiting efforts, Durst said, “We’ve got letters of intent from very good high school seniors for 2 of the 4 scholarships that will be available after this season. We’re continuing to actively work to build interest and hope to nail down some players who can step in and fill the big shoes of those who are graduating at the end of this season. There are a couple recruits we are pursuing who need to do well on their SAT’s to qualify to play for us, so January 28 when the SAT scores are announced is a big date for them and us.”

The Penguins take on UIC in Chicago in their Horizon League opener, and in response to what the team would do to win the game, Durst replied, “Tim Patterson is a big time scorer. He’s scored over 20 point in 6 of their 10 games this season. So we need to try to keep him from busting out. UIC had a great team last season and I expect them to be tough to handle this year as well. Going on the road to take them on in our first league contest is a huge challenge. We need to be clicking on all cylinders if we expect to have a chance.”

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins Blown Away in Windy City
By Steve Porter

Coach KD Durst started his top defenders, but the refs negated that strategy by calling 2 fouls in the first minute against B. J. Dennis who was covering high-scoring Tim Patterson. Trekking frequently to the line, the Flames scored the first 6 points of the game and it became a game of “catch up” for the Penguins. With both teams shooting poorly, YSU finally tied the game at 11-11 with 10:38 remaining in the first half. But stone-cold shooting by the Penguins allowed the Flames to pull ahead 20-13 with 6 minutes left in the half. Rick Martin came in at SG and scored 6 quick points cutting the UIC lead to 23-19. The half ended with the Penguins trailing by a slim 31-29 margin even though they hit just 37% of their shots. Rick Martin and Jamal Grady both scored 6 points to be the top scorers for YSU. Tim Patterson had 10 points for UIC but half of those came at the free throw line.

wheels came off the bus in the first 4-1/2 minutes of the 2nd half as YSU fell behind 47-32. The raucous Chicago crowd seemed to rattle the Penguins who turned the ball over repeatedly and continued to shoot poorly. 20 turnovers, 41% shooting, and 9 less trips to the foul line by the Penguins sealed their fate as they fell 72-62.

Top scorers for YSU were SG/SF Rick Martin and C Jamal Grady who both scored 11 points. SG Tim Patterson scored 20, dished out 4 assists, pulled down 6 boards, and had 2 steals for UIC.

“We came out flat and pretty much stayed that way the entire game. And we let the crowd take us out of the game early in the 2nd half. We then didn’t have the energy to pull ourselves out of that hole,” said Coach KD Durst.

In other games Milwaukee’s PF Ryan Watson had a monster game scoring 30 and grabbing 18 rebounds in the Panthers’ 85-83 overtime win at Oakland.

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins and Phoenix Engage In Donnybrook
By Steve Porter

Wisconsin-Green Bay came to town on a high after drubbing Northern Kentucky 65-40 in their league opener. For a second straight game, the Penguins faced a team with a hot-shooting SG, this time by the name of Ross Lang who is averaging 20.4 ppg.

The Phoenix came out firing with Ross Lang hitting 3 of his first 3 shots to score 8 and put the Penguins in an 11-7 hole. With 11 minutes to play in the half, YSU trailed 25-16. With 3 minutes left in the half, the Penguins tied the game at 40-40. But the hot shooting of Wisconsin-Green Bay’s guard, Tim Patterson and Andre Swan, who combined for 24 points put the Phoenix on top 47-42 at the intermission. The half was punctuated frequently by a lot of jostling and pushing be each team. C Jamal Grady scored 13 to lead Youngstown State.

YSU fell behind 58-47 after 5 minutes of play in the 2nd half as the play on both sides became very physical and the refs warned both coaches. The Penguins struggled to pick away at the lead, but they slowly came back and took a 66-65 lead when Levall Hart knocked down a 3 with 6:51 to go. The Phoenix scored to retake the lead but the Penguins then went on a 8-0 run. With a minute to play the Phoenix cut the margin to 4 points. With 22 seconds on the clock, the Phoenix hit a 3 that made the score 77-75. They immediately fouled. Coach Durst argued that it should have been a flagrant foul, but the refs didn't agree. Linehan Murphy sunk both free throws and Youngstown State evened their league record at 1-1 with a 79-75 victory.

C Jamal Grady scored 21 points and pulled down 7 boards. PF Aaron Tice added 12. For Wisconsin-Green Bay, SG Ross Lang rang up 20 points plus had 4 assists, 5 steals and 2 blocks. 

C Kent Jones sprained his ankle in the 2nd half when he came down on another player's foot while trying to rebound and is likely to be out of action for a week.

“The Phoenix are a tough team and we were fortunate to be able to come back after falling behind by 11 points in the 2nd half. I don't often compliment the refs, but they did a good job and controlling things to keep the players from letting the physicality of play get out of hand,” said Coach KD Durst.

[PointGuard 70]

Wayne23 wrote:  At the post game press conference the W-GB head coach, Lance Boyle, said, "Them Penguins play dirty!"

 

 

In the locker room before the next day's practice, Linehan Murphy read the above quote to the team. Amidst the cries of "boo hoo hoo" and "Boyle's a boil on the ass of humanity", Chad Delzell stated, "No one comes into our home gym and tries to cut our legs out from under us and doesn't get some payback!" Tim Lostetter added, "Let's make Boyle pay for that comment, guys. We visit the Phoenix in 5-6 weeks. Let's resolve right now to put another "L" on their record that night. Home losses always hurt more." Their was unanimous consent to Lostetter's plan.

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins Fall Short

By Steve Porter

The Penguins took a 3-1/2 hour bus ride to take on the Wright State Raiders last night. Youngstown State came out firing away and opened a double digit lead that they held onto for much of the first half. But the Raiders began hitting away from beyond the arc late in the half and narrowed the halftime margin to 46-42. C Jamal Grady was relentless inside and finished the half with 15 points. PF Rick Braswell added 10.

Wright State scored 5 quick points to start the 2nd half, taking a 47-46 lead. The Raiders expanded their lead to 57-51 with 13-1/2 minutes remaining in the game. The Penguins muddled along trailing by as much as 11 points before making a last-minute run that cut Wright State’s lead to 81-78 with a half minute left. YSU fouled intentionally, but the Raiders sunk both free throws giving them a 5 point advantage. The Raiders’ defense prevented the Penguins from putting up a shot until there were 4 seconds left. Linehan Murphy’s 3 dropped through but was too little too late. Youngstown State went down to a stinging 83-81 defeat. 

C Jamal Grady dropped in 20 points with PF’s Aaron Tice and Rick Braswell both scoring 12. For Wright State, PG Arthur Dawson hit 5 of 7 from 3-point land and finished with 21 points.

“We let the game slip away in the early part of the 2nd half. Although we made a valiant effort in the waning moments of the game, we just didn’t have enough time. Unfortunately tonight we shot extremely poorly from the foul line missing 13 of our 32 free throws. Those lost points were extremely damaging. This was a road game we should have won,” lamented Coach KD Durst.

[side note that is not part of the above newspaper article: I’ve been told that Coach Durst reamed out the team in the locker room after the game, telling them they are better than how they’re playing, that they can’t keep losing to inferior teams, and that they need to get tougher when playing on the road to start posting road wins rather than agonizing losses.]

[PointGuard 70]

Third Straight Nail-Biter for Penguins
By Steve Porter

The first half of last night’s Youngstown State’s game was a series of runs. The Penguins pulled away early to gain a double digit lead. The hometown fans not only saw the lead disappear but watched as the visiting Oakland Golden Grizzlies grabbed a small lead. Then YSU pulled away again to go ahead by 8. In the final minutes of the half, the Golden Grizzlies again tied the game. But then the Penguins hit two late buckets to achieve a 36-32 advantage at the break. The Penguins led in all statistical categories except 3’s where they were 0 for 7 compared to 7 for 13 for Oakland. C Jamal Grady again led the Penguins with 13 first half points.

The Penguins came out in the 2nd half ice cold allowing Oakland to take a 37-36 lead. YSU responded to pull back ahead by 5. The game tightened with the lead exchanging hands several times. With 3 minutes left on the clock, YSU led 64-61. With Kent Jones still on the injured list, Jamal Grady had had little relief, but after a short breather returned to the game. At the 2 minute mark, B.J. Dennis hit a long 3 pointer from the right side to give the Penguins a 6-point cushion. With fouls to give, the Penguins ran some time off the clock by fouling twice and keeping Oakland from putting up a shot. After a missed 3 point shot, Delzell ripped down the rebound, but his pass was off the mark and out of bounds giving the ball back to the Golden Grizzlies with 53 seconds remaining. Durst subbed in fresh legs as he attempted to defend against the expected 3. The strategy failed when Oakland’s Chris Alexander popped in a 3 off the glass and it became a one-possession game again. With the Penguins trying to run some time off the clock, Oakland fouled Levall Hart. With 41 seconds showing on the game clock, Hart made the first but missed the second. Oakland hurried the ball up court and Josh Angner drained a 3 to make the score 68-67 in favor of YSU. The Penguins got the ball back up court and Oakland went for the foul, but Levall Hart put up a 3 attempt as he was fouled and went to the line with 3 shots. He calmly sunk all 3 shots making it 71-67 with 26 seconds left. Durst again subbed to bring on his strongest defenders at all positions. Oakland worked the ball around then swung into the corner to Art Capel who knocked down yet another 3 making it 71-70 with 15 seconds remaining. Oakland fouled on the inbounds pass sending B.J. Dennis to the line with 12 seconds to go. His first shot rimmed around and fell through the basket to make it 72-70. His second shot was off the rim, but Jamal Grady outmuscled the Oakland players to pull down the rebound. He quickly flipped the ball outside to Linehan Murphy. He dribbled to the right and was fouled as he tried to pass the ball with 8 seconds left. Murphy’s first shot swished through the net. He toed the line and his 2nd shot was as clean as the first. The Penguins pressed and all Oakland could do was toss up a very long 3 hoping to make it and be fouled on the shot. It was not to be and Youngstown State escaped with a 74-70 win. Outplayed otherwise, Oakland made the game a squeaker by hitting 15 of 34 threes.

Leading scorer was C Jamal Grady with 21 points. SG B.J. Dennis and SF Aaron Tice both scored 13 with Tice also getting 8 boards. SF Chad Delzell pulled down 10 rebounds. PG Linehan Murphy scored 9, had 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 blocks.

The win gave the Penguins a 2-2 league record, putting them in a 4-way tie for 3rd place. Both Detroit and Milwaukee have 4-0 records. Detroit now owns an 11 game win streak.

Jamal Grady was selected as the Horizon Leagues Player of the Week based on his scoring 41 points in the Penguins two games this past week.

[PointGuard 70]

Youngstown State Comes Up BIG
By Steve Porter

Youngstown State jumped out on top of the Valparaiso Crusaders and held a lead nearly the entire first half. Both teams shot extremely well but the Penguins were just a little better. At the end of the half, YSU led 45-39. C Jamal Grady dropped in 12 points.

Valparaiso came out blazing and took a 49-47 lead three minutes into the second half. Midway through the half, the Penguins went on a run led by SF Rick Martin’s scoring that gave them a 79-60 lead with 5-3/4 minutes remaining in the game. The Penguins went on to hand Valparaiso an 89-70 crushing. YSU hit 60% of their shots, forced the Crusaders to make 21 turnovers, and was +4 in rebounding.

C Jamal Grady poured in 22 points plus hauled in 9 rebounds. SF/SG Rick Martin hit for 14 points in the 15 minutes he was on the court. Aaron Tice scored 10 plus had 3 steals and a block. Tim Lostetter and Line han Murphy combined for 16 points and 8 assists at the PG position.

Coach KD Durst said, “After enduring 3 straight razor close finishes, it sure was nice to have our guys come on so strongly tonight. Rick Martin ignited the team in the 2nd half, but we got great performances from the entire team. I felt like I could sub freely and not have to worry about a letdown. A big win like this on the road was important for our team.”

The win gives the Penguins a 3-2 record in the Horizon League. They’re in a tie with UIC for 3rd place. Milwaukee won again to go to 5-0, but Detroit finally lost and now is in 2nd place with a 4-1 record. In other Horizon League games tonight, Troy Fingelton scored 32 for Northern Kentucky, Ryan Watson scored 30 for Milwaukee, and Tim Patterson scored 27 plus pulled down 11 rebounds and handed out 6 assists for UIC.

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins Defense Awakens
By Steve Porter

Before last night’s game against the Northern Kentucky Norse, Coach KD Durst commented, “We have to keep Troy Fingelton from busting out.” Fingelton had his 2nd 32 point game this season in the Norse’ last game and he’s scored 58 points in his last two games.

Fingelton scored the first 4 points for the Norse, but then Jamal Grady neutralized him and he scored just 2 more points in the half. Meanwhile the two teams simply battled hard with the lead shifting back and forth throughout the half. The Penguins were able to eke out a 38-34 lead at the end of the half. C Jamal Grady scored 13 plus had 5 rebounds.

The Penguins came back onto the court in the 2nd half with a purpose, and led by Jamal Grady and B.J. Dennis, the team pulled ahead 54-40 in the first 6 minutes of the half. YSU kept the pressure on the rest of the way and bludgeoned the Norse by a final score of 77-57. Youngstown State’s defense predominated, holding the shooting of Northern Kentucky to just 36%.

Troy Fingelton scored better in the second half and finished with 16 points plus he grabbed 14 rebounds. But he was outshown by C Jamal Grady who scored 27 and picked off 10 rebounds. SG B.J. Dennis scored 13 and PF Aaron Tice added 10.

“Getting that big lead allowed to give a couple of our younger players, William Swan and William Worley. It was good to have the team put together a solid defensive effort. Jamal continues to impress. He’s been on a real roll the past several games. But B.J. Dennis is begging to lock in at SG. Not only did he score well, but he really shut down Jon Robinson, who typically scores well for the Norse,” said Coach KD Durst.

The win moved the Penguins into a 3-way tie for 2nd place with UIC and Detroit. Detroit lost at home and now has lost 2 straight. Milwaukee continued to win, running their record to 6-0 in the Horizon League. For their next game Youngstown State travels to Milwaukee to take on the hot Panthers.

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins Pound the Boards
By Steve Porter

Milwaukee has been on fire against Horizon League competition. After winning their league opener in overtime, they have beaten their last five foes by margins ranging from 10-29 points. They have 3 players averaging in double figures. PF Ryan Watson is their team leader, averaging 13.8 ppg and 8.1 rpg, but has scored 30 points in two separate games this season so has the potential to break out for a big game. While they won only 2 of their 9 pre-conference games, 6 of those losses were against strong teams. Obviously that tough schedule prepared them to handle Horizon League competition.

The Panthers were hitting shots from all over the court early in the first half and opened an 11 point lead. But midway through the half, Youngstown State completely dominated the boards and clamped down defensively as well. The Penguins quickly erased the lead and went on to take a 42-34 lead to the locker room. C Jamal Grady and PF Aaron Tice both scored 10 points in the half.

The Penguins continued to out-rebound Milwaukee throughout the 2nd half. They steadily increased their lead as they worked the ball around to get clear shots. Midway through the half, the Penguins were on top by 17 points. They continued to roll all the way up to the end of the game and finished by stomping Milwaukee 89-67. The Penguins hit 60% of their shots and held a 35-16 rebounding advantage.

C Jamal Grady finished with 22 points and 9 rebounds and had 3 steals. PF Aaron Tice scored 19 and had 6 steals, SF Chad Delzell hit for 12, and SG B. J. Dennis added 11. 

With the win, Youngstown State took sole possession of 2nd place in the Horizon League and cut Milwaukee’s lead to just 1 game.

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins Cut Down Titans
By Steve Porter

Youngstown State played their second straight road game this week when they travelled to Detroit. The Titans who won 11 straight (including 4 in the league), had now dropped their last 3 games.

Detroit scored on their first possession, but YSU brought the ball down court to tie it and then began pulling away. By the end of the half, the Penguins were on top 43-36. C Jamal Grady scored 16 points.

The Penguins continued to shoot well while using a strangulating defense and with 6 minutes to go led by 20. They coasted from there and won convincingly 83-66 to gain their 5th consecutive victory and hold onto sole possession of 2nd place in the Horizon League. In the game, they outshot Detroit 53% to 41% and held a 39-33 rebounding advantage. 

C Jamal Grady again led the team by scoring 26 points. PF Aaron Tice had 14 points and 8 rebounds. For Detroit, C William Rogers scored 21 and pulled down 8 rebounds plus had 4 steals and a block.

Coach KD Durst said, “Our starters played well as a unit and our bench players came in and played well also. We had just 10 turnovers so that was a big positive.”

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins Win Big Again
By Steve Porter

Youngstown State was in control throughout the first half against visiting Cleveland State. But the Vikings kept things close. The Penguins held a slim 38-34 lead at the break. PF Aaron Tice had 11 points for YSU in the first half.

Youngstown State caught fire in the 2nd half,hitting shots from all over the court, and left the Vikings behind. And the Penguins defense sparkled as well, making the Vikings earn any baskets they were able to convert. YSU's lead rapidly grew throughout the half, and they won going away, 84-61. 

C Jamal Grady scored 19 with PF’s Rich Braswell and Aaron Tice adding 12 and 11 points, respectively.

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins Win Steak Now Six
By Steve Porter

Youngstown State welcomed the UIC Flames to Beeghly Center last night. UIC came in with a 5-4 league record.

UIC took control early and with 7 minutes left in the half led 27-14. At that point the Penguins turned things around and went on a run that took them to a 33-31 halftime lead. C Jamal Grady scored 11 points in the half.

The Penguins again came out in the 2nd half with a stingy defense and a potent offense. They steamrolled the Flames opening as much as a 37 point lead and finishing with a 85-53 punch-down of UIC. YSU outshot the Flames 56% to 34%, dominated the boards 38-23, and held a 25-14 turnover advantage.

PF Aaron Tice topped the scoring for YSU with 17 points and had 8 rebounds. C Jamal Grady took a hard shot to his arm and was sidelined for the last 8 minutes of the game, but scored 15 and had 7 boards. PF Rich Braswell scored 13 and C Kent Jones and SG B.J. Dennis both scored 11.

“Aaron Tice has had two really strong games this week. It looks like Jamal sustained a bad bruise to his arm, but I expect he’ll be ready to play for our next game,” said Coach KD Durst.

Milwaukee continues to win and possesses a league-leading 9-1 record. So Youngstown State with its 8-2 record remains 1 game behind the Panthers. Wisconsin-Green Bay’s SG Ross Lang tossed in 30 points in the Phoenix’ losing effort to Northern Kentucky.

Freshman SG William Swan is reportedly experiencing severe back spasms and is likely to miss the next couple games.

[PointGuard 70]

Youngstown State’s Recruiting Efforts Stymied
By Steve Porter

Steve Simmons, the Penguins’ first assistant coach in charge of recruiting, said today that SAT score results came out and there was little good news for the Penguins. Simmons advised, “We’ve been actively recruiting a number of high school seniors from around the nation who are very talented players but who’ve had academic problems, hoping to snag a couple excellent players who because of their grades have been overlooked by other programs. Of the 7 we were watching, only one had SAT scores that are high enough to qualify to play for us. And neither of the two recruits who were ranked in the top 50 nationally qualified. We realized we were grasping at straws but still it’s a big letdown.” Simmons added that they are adding some new recruits to their watch and call lists. They now are focusing their efforts on increasing interest in the recruits they would most like to land with the aim of signing two more recruits this spring.

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Penguins Continue Winning
By Steve Porter

The thermometer registered below zero when the visiting Penguins took on the Wisconsin-Green Bay Phoenix. Fortunately basketball is played indoors.

The two teams played a close first half with both offenses overwhelming the other teams’ defense. The half ended with Youngstown State gaining a slim 45-43 advantage. Rather than the rough play that highlighted the previous encounter between these two teams, both squads seemed intent on settling the score by executing well on each and every possession. C Jamal Grady had 11 points and PG Linehan Murphy scored 10 for YSU in the half.

Both teams continued to shoot well in the 2nd half, but the Penguins took control of the boards which allowed them to gradually build a 16 point lead with 8 minutes to play. But the Phoenix fought to get back into the game and with 2 minutes left trailed by just a 83-80 score. YSU held them off and pulled away when the Phoenix were forced to foul in the final minute of play. The Penguins came away with a 90-83 victory. On a night when the temperature in Green Bay was absolutely frigid, the two teams warmed the nets by hitting over 50% of their shots. But the difference in the game was YSU’s 32-21 rebounding advantage. In addition, the Penguins were able to limit high-scoring SG Ross Lang to just 11 points.

C Jamal Grady had a double-double, scoring 26 points and getting 10 rebounds. PG Linehan Murphy had 15 points. SF/SG Rick Martin added 10.

Not only was this a big win since it was an away game, but more importantly, Milwaukee lost to lowly Cleveland State. So now the Penguins are in a first-place tie with the Panthers.

“The games with Wisconsin-Green Bay are pretty much ‘take no prisoners’ events for both teams. There’s no love lost between us and them. We’ve been playing our asses off lately, so it’s great to finally tie for first place in the league. But to be honest I think we all feel even better about beating the Phoenix on their own court. I hope we get to play them again in the conference tourney and give the Phoenix a third beating this season,” said PF Aaron Tice after the game.

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Penguins Challenged
By Steve Porter

The first half between Wright State and Youngstown State was close but the Penguins held a small lead most all the way and finished the half on top 42-36. SG B.J. Dennis led the scoring for YSU with 8 points.

The Raiders came out of the locker room and went on a run that gave them a 49-45 lead after 4 minutes of play in the 2nd half. The Penguins began chipping away and retook the lead 3 minutes later. With 6 minutes to go YSU led 64-54. Wright State cut the lead to 4 but could get no closer and had to put the Penguins on the foul line where YSU extended their lead and won by 75-66 score. YSU held a small advantage in almost all the statistical categories.

C Jamal Grady scored 16, had 7 rebounds and 3 steals. SG B. J. Dennis hit 7 of 8 shots to finish with 14 points. PF Rich Braswell scored 12 and PG Linehan Murphy added 11. 

With Milwaukee winning the two teams remain tied atop the Horizon League standings with 10-2 records. The Penguins now have won 9 straight games.

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Youngstown State Dominates
By Steve Porter

The Penguins scored first in their game last night at Oakland. They never looked back. Scoring with east they built a solid 50-35 halftime lead by hitting over 60% of their shots and controlling the boards. PG Tim Lostetter scored 12 to lead the Penguin charge.

YSU continued their onslaught in the 2nd half by tightening their defense. They continued to enlarge their lead all the way up to the end of the game and bludgeoned the Golden Grizzlies 92-61 and won their 10th game in a row. The Penguins outshot Oakland 59% to 44% and out-rebounded them 36-19.

PG Tim Lostetter scored 19 and PG Linehan Murphy scored 15. SG B.J. Dennis and PF Rich Braswell both scored 11, C Jamal Grady scored 10, and SF Chad Delzell scored 9 and had 9 rebounds.

With Milwaukee’s loss to UIC, Youngstown State took sole possession of 1st place in the Horizon League.

Coach KD Durst said, “We’ve been playing like a well-oiled machine. We are now seeing different players step up to carry the load so that Jamal Grady doesn’t have to come up big each and every game. That’s causing our opponents to defend all 5 positions rather than keying just on one.”

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What’s Happened with Youngstown State?
By Steve Porter

Following Youngstown State’s 10th consecutive victory, I caught up with Penguins Coach Durst to try to ask what’s behind the change in his team. 

Durst responded by saying, “It wasn’t one thing and certainly not instantaneous. We’d been sort of going through the motions as a team. Winning some and losing some. If you had to rate our level of play, it probably would have been at about the 75% level rather than 100%. I don’t think our guys really believed we were a good team. We’d just gone through a 4-game losing streak that included us losing the first game in league play. I’m sure most people believed this season was going to be a near repeat of last season. 

“Then over the course of four games, the team’s attitude completely changed. The first 3 of those 4 games were all exceptionally close. And we won 2 of those 3. At that point I think the team began to believe and gain confidence in their abilities and the importance of playing as a unit. Then that attitude was cemented in place over the course of the next two games. We won the first of those handily which proved to our guys we could dismantle other teams. Then we had to travel to Milwaukee to go up against a team that was undefeated in league play. We could have folded and let them walk over us like they had done to all other league competition up to that point. But our level of confidence was such that we blew the Panthers away. That further proved to us that we had what it takes to play anybody in this league. And from there on we’ve continued to steam-roll the opposition. What’s made me happiest is that the team’s confidence has been reflected not only in a potent offense, but dominance on the boards, and most importantly, a new defensive intensity. Instead of teams scoring 75-85 points against us, we’ve now regularly been holding them to 55-65 points.

“We’ve got five league games remaining. The team knows that if they want to come out on top of the Horizon League standings, it’s in their hands to do so. We’ve got to maintain our focus on winning each and every game we play.

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Penguins Come Out Firing
By Steve Porter

Youngstown State had a huge first half. They led all the way and smothered visiting Valparaiso by a 59-34 score at the half. PF Aaron Tice, C Jamal Grady, and SF Rick Martin each scored 12 points.

Coach Durst substituted liberally in the 2nd half. The Penguins cruised to an easy 91-69 victory over the Crusaders. 

C Jamal Grady scored 18 plus had 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks while playing just 14 minutes. SF Rick Martin scored 14, PF Rich Braswell had 13, and PF Aaron Tice scored 12. 

“After working so hard for the entire season, Jamal’s been tired the past few games. So it was nice to be able to give him a blow. I think the rest will reinvigorate him because I know we’re going to need him coming up big in some of the upcoming games toward the end of this season.”

The Penguins now have a 17-6 season record and a 12-2 league-leading record. Their RPI is 44th best in the nation.

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Penguins Defense Prevails
By Steve Porter 

In their next-to-last road game, the Penguins traveled to Kentucky to take on Northern Kentucky. The first half was 20 minutes of back-and-forth play. Midway through the half the Norse made a run that put them ahead by 9 points, but the Penguins came right back and closed the gap. The half ended with the two teams tied 39-39. Troy Fingelton scored 21 points for Northern Kentucky in the half. Top scorer for YSU was Linehan Murphy with 9 points.

Youngstown State came out with a staunch defense in the 2nd half that allowed them to gradually edge ahead of the Norse. Coach Durst played a deep bench to keep fresh legs on the floor and wore down Northern Kentucky. The Penguins forced the Norse to make 23 turnovers and won the game 78-69.

PG Linehan Murphy scored 13 points. C Jamal Grady had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds and had 3 steals and 2 blocks. C Kent Jones came off the bench with Grady in foul trouble to score 10. For Northern Kentucky, C Troy Fingelton scored 27 points but could only manage to pull down 3 rebounds.

“We knew this was going to be a tough road game and that Northern Kentucky would be gunning to take us down. So we changed our game plan completely from the last time we played the Norse,” said Coach KD Durst. “Rather than focusing on Fingelton to keep his scoring down as we had in the previous game, we instead decided to limit the rest of the team and did that effectively. While Jamal didn’t keep up with Fingelton’s scoring, he outplayed him on the boards and kept the rest of the Norse from scoring inside. And we got good play and production from all 7 players on our bench.”

With Milwaukee falling to Wisconsin-Green Bay, the Penguins now have a 2-game lead in the Horizon League.

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Penguins Clawed by Panthers
By Steve Porter

Last night’s game against Milwaukee had a little less relevance since Youngstown State had a 2-game lead over the Panthers. 
The Penguins started strongly and led 25-14 midway through the first half but Milwaukee reeled them back in and cut YSU’s halftime lead to 38-34. Jamal 
Grady scored 14 points to lead the Penguins in the first half.

The Panthers clamped down on the Penguins when the 2nd half started and pulled ahead to lead 60-47 with 9 minutes to play. The Penguins turned things around and made steady progress to reduce that lead. With 1:33 to go, Milwaukee’s lead was reduced to 69-68 when Linehan Murphy scored on a slashing drive to the hoop. But the Penguins were unable to put another point on the board and lost 73-68. The loss ended the Penguins 12-game win streak and cut their league lead to a single game.

C Jamal Grady scored 22 points and grabbed 13 boards plus also had a steal and 3 blocks. PG Linehan Murphy added 10 points.

Coach KD Durst said, “While we didn’t play badly, Milwaukee played a heckuva game. They put us in a hole in the early stages of the 2nd half which was just too deep for us to crawl out of. You know, I hate to lose but maybe this was good for us in two ways. First, if we’d won we may have felt like we could slack off in our last 3 league games since we would have had the championship wrapped up. And second, it shows us we have to play our best each and every game and this will be particularly true when the Horizon League Tournament rolls around.”

C Jamal Grady again earned Horizon League Player of the Week honors. In the Penguins two games this past week, Grady scored 34 points, pulled down 24 rebounds, and had 4 steals and 5 blocks.

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Penguins Light Up The Scoreboard
By Steve Porter

In their final home game of the season, the Youngstown State Penguins exhibited their best offensive output of the season for their growing legion of fans. The Penguins romped over the Detroit Titans 99-80. 

YSU scored first and rapidly built a 16-7 lead. The centers from both teams, Jamal Grady for the Penguins and William Rogers for the Titans, both began dumping in points. By the end of the half Grady had 16 points and Rogers had tallied 11. The Penguins hit 61% of their shots and held a 52-38 halftime advantage. 

Youngstown State’s offensive onslaught continued in the 2nd half and they were never seriously threatened as they drubbed the Titans. The Penguins hit 59% of their shots and 54% of their 3’s during the entire game plus held a 34-22 rebounding advantage over the Titans.

C Jamal Grady finished the game with 26 points. PF Aaron Tice tossed in 16 points while grabbing 7 boards. PF Rich Bramwell hit for 15 plus pulled down 7 boards as the Penguins scored 52 points in the paint. PG Tim Lostetter added 11.

“I’m glad we got back on track tonight and that we gave our hometown fans a good show in our season finale here in Youngstown,” said Coach Durst.

The Penguins improved their league record to 14-3 and held onto their one-game lead over Milwaukee for the top spot in the Horizon League. They close out the regular season when they travel to Cleveland to take on Cleveland State Thursday night.

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Penguins are Horizon League Champs
By Steve Porter

Youngstown State’s first half against lowly Cleveland State was close all the way with 12 lead changes and 6 ties. The Penguins came out of the half with a scant 35-33 lead. C Jamal Grady led their attack with 14 points.

YSU hung onto a small lead the first 4 minutes of the 2nd half and then exploded by going on a 17-4 run. As they worked their patented inside game to perfection the lead grew to 21 points. Coach Durst substituted heavily at the end of the game but the Penguins still won with ease, 80-68. YSU outshot the Vikings 56% to 41% and held a 35-28 rebounding advantage.

C Jamal Grady finished with 25 points while PG Linehan Murphy scored 10. PG Josh Griffin scored 20 points for Cleveland State.

With the victory, the Penguins finished their regular season with a record of 20-7 and finished atop the Horizon League with a 15-3 record. 

Milwaukee finished 2 games back after losing at Detroit 64-63 as the Titan’s SF Garvin Moore hit a baseline jumper with 3 seconds on the clock. Troy Fingelton of Northern Kentucky scored 35 in the Norse’ 77-60 loss to UIC.