The Town Crier

[PointGuard 70]

Final Standings for Horizon League 2018-2019 Season

[PointGuard 70]

Horizon League Tournament-Day 1

#10 Oakland (7-20, 5-13) vs #7 Northern Kentucky (12-15, 7-11): This game was a barn-burner from the opening tip off until the very end. There were a total of 25 lead changes and 12 ties. At the break, Northern Kentucky led 43-38. The 2nd half was just as close as the first had been and the game was hanging in the balance until the very end. With Oakland on top 86-85, the Norse brought the ball down court and worked it into their primary scoring threat, Troy Fingelton in the key. Fingelton turned and put up a shot but Oakland’s Chris Lovett went up and blocked the ball and into the hands of teammate Jarod Wolfe who heaved it up court to a racing Dante Lay who in concert with his name drove for an uncontested layin. With 9 seconds remaining, the Norse took a last second 3 but it was off the mark giving Oakland an 88-85 victory. SG Josh Angner and PG Dante Lay both scored 21 for Oakland. PG Kevin Young hit for 24 and C Troy Fingelton scored 20 for Northern Kentucky.

#9 Wisconsin-Green Bay (11-16, 6-12) vs #8 Wright State (12-16, 7-11): The first half of this game was as close as the preceding game with 16 lead changes and 10 ties. Wright State had a 43-39 edge at the half. Wisconsin-Green Bay totally shut down the Raiders’ offense in the 2nd half and raced away to an easy 82-60 win over Wright State. SF Randy Kurtz was blisteringly hot for the Phoenix, scoring 30 points. Leading scorer for Wright State was SF Jonathan Bakken who scored 13.

Horizon League Tournament-Day 2

#5 Valparaiso (12-15, 8-10) vs #4 Detroit (17-10, 9-9): Valparaiso held a lead throughout most of the first half, but the lead began to switch back and forth toward the end of the half. Valparaiso had a 41-39 advantage at the break. The game see-sawed back and forth early in the 2nd half, but Detroit’s shooting got hot and they edged ahead, taking as much as a 9 point lead. Valparaiso tried to come back but fell short and Detroit came away with an 83-78 win. Detroit C William Rogers and reserve guard Mills Ellis both chipped in 17 points. The Crusaders were led by PF Chris Wesby and PG Jack Roy who both scored 15 points. 

#6 Cleveland State (11-16, 8-10) vs #3 UIC (16-12, 12-6): Last season’s tournament-surprising Cleveland State pulled off yet another upset. The Vikings looked bad in the first half and trailed UIC by a score of 47-34 at the break But Cleveland State completely turned things around in the 2nd half and steadily chipped away at the Flames’ lead. The Vikings finally gained a lead with 3:25 remaining and held on to beat UIC 77-73. C Jeremy Hackett popped in 19 points to lead Cleveland State’s attack. The top scorer for UIC was C Dan Davis with 16 points.

#10 Oakland (8-20, 5-13) vs #2 Milwaukee (15-12, 13-5): Oakland and Milwaukee kept the score close throughout the first half with Oakland coming away with a 39-38 halftime advantage. The first portion of the 2nd half stayed tight, but then Milwaukee hit a series of 3’s and pulled away for an 82-74 win over Oakland. PF Ryan Watson had a double-double (23 points and 12 rebounds) for Milwaukee. Oakland was led by SG Josh Angner with 18 points.

#9 Wisconsin-Green Bay (12-16, 6-12) vs #1 Youngstown State (20-7, 15-3): C Jamal Grady scored the first 8 points for the Penguins but they still only led 8-7. Midway through the half, YSU had carved out a 27-16 lead with PF Rich Braswell picking up the scoring load when Grady went to the bench to some rest. The Penguins held a double-digit lead throughout most of the half, but in the late going, the Phoenix cut into the lead and got within 5 points. Youngstown State came away with a 55-48 halftime advantage by hitting 62% of their FG attempts. C James Grady scored 15, PF Rich Braswell hit for 12, and PF Aaron Tice scored 10 for YSU while SG Ross Lang notched 14 for Wisconsin-Green Bay.

The Penguins held onto a solid lead throughout the 2nd half but the Phoenix would continued to stay in striking distance. Youngstown State held on to win 93-83. PF Rich Braswell scored 19 points, C Jamal Grady knocked down 18 points while grabbing 9 rebounds, and PF Aaron Tice and PG Tim Lostetter both scored 12 for the Penguins. SG Ross Lang scored 21 and dished out 9 assists for the Phoenix.

[PointGuard 70]

Horizon League Tournament-Semi Finals

#6 Cleveland State (12-16, 8-10) vs #As2 Milwaukee (16-12, 13-5): The lead flip-flopped back and forth throughout the first half with Milwaukee coming away with a 30-29 edge at the half. But in the 2nd half, Milwaukee shot just a little better than the Vikings and that proved to be the difference as the Panthers gradually pulled away. The final score: Milwaukee-68, Cleveland State-55. Milwaukee’s offense was led by PG Corsley George who finished with 21 points. SG Reggie Hemphill scored 12 for the Vikings.

#4 Detroit (18-10, 9-9) vs #1 Youngstown State (21-7, 15-3): SF Chad Delzell dropped in 7 points and the Penguins led 15-6 after 7 minutes of play. They expanded their lead to 36-15 with 5 minutes remaining in the half. Hitting 59% of their shots and making just 1 turnover, the Penguins cruised to a 48-27 halftime lead. C Jamal Grady scored 10 to lead YSU’s scoring. 

Youngstown State let up in the 2nd half allowing Detroit to cut into the lead in the latter stages of the game, but there never was a serious threat. The Penguins knocked off Detroit by a score of 89-75. 

For Youngstown State C Jamal Grady scored 22, PF Aaron Tice added 15, and PG Tim Lostetter and SG William Swan both scored 12. C William Rogers led Detroit’s scoring with 23 points.

Horizon League Tournament Championship

#2 Milwaukee (17-12, 13-5) vs #1 Youngstown State (22-7, 15-3): A matchup of the two best teams in the league. Each team beat the other on their opponents’ court during the regular season. 

The Penguins turned the ball over 5 times in the first 4-1/2 minutes, but only trailed 6-5. With YSU on top 18-11 at the 10:16 mark, PG Tim Lostetter was injured and left the game. After leading by 11 points, the Penguins sloppiness continued allowing Milwaukee to draw with a single point at 27-26 at the half. YSU made 15 turnovers in the half and hit just 33% of their shots. B.J. Dennis led their scoring with 5 points. The Panthers hit just 37% of their shots and made 13 turnovers in an ugly half.

As the turnovers continued to pile up in the 2nd half, Milwaukee tied the game at 37-37 with 13 minutes to go. A minute later, the Panthers hit a 3 putting them ahead 40-37. The Panthers expanded their lead to 51-39 with 7 minutes left in the game as YSU’s lackluster play continued. A late attempt to close the gap failed as poor shooting by the Penguins predominated. The Penguins sustained a deserved 59-50 loss. Youngstown State made 29 turnovers, hit just 34% of their shots and 18% of their 3 point attempts.

C Jamal Grady was high point man for the Penguins with just 12 points and SG B.J. Dennis with 10 points was his only teammate scoring in double figures. For champions Milwaukee, PF Ryan Watson scored 13 and had 10 rebounds.

Coach Durst said, “It was disappointing to play our worst game of the year in the championship game. Our entire team just never could get untracked.” Left unsaid was that even though the team has a 22-8 record and a 46 RPI, only Milwaukee will be going to the NCAA Tournament from the Horizon League.

After the game, it was announced that PG Tim Lostetter sustained a broken wrist in the game. SF Chad Delzell has a bruised shoulder that will keep him out of action for 5-6 days.

[PointGuard 70]

Youngstown State University Penguins Player Stats for 2018-2019 Season:

Dynasty Threads: 

[PointGuard 70]

POST-SEASON TOURNAMENTS

Man, I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I'm sort of happy that the Penguins didn’t win the Horizon League Tourney. Well, yeah it would have been a big honor for them and for the city of Youngstown to have them in March Madness, but….

But…now they’ll be in a lesser tournament and maybe have a chance to play more that the one game they would have played and lost in the NCAA tourney. And yeah, that means a few more bylines for me.

And…had they won and gone to the NCAA tournament, it probably would have been Coach Durst’s ticket out of town and on to a bigger and better job and we would’ve more than likely got a loser head coach in his place. 

So, let's check out where Youngstown State and other Horizon Teams ended up for Post-Season Tourney Time and how they did:

CIT (Horizon League participants):

UIC is the #1 seed in the South Region

Round 1:

#8 Memphis-97, #1 UIC-87 (UIC was behind by as much as 22 points; SG Tim Patterson scored 19 and PG Dan Rucker scored 12 points and had 10 assists)

NIT (Horizon League participants):

Detroit is the #8 seed in the Midwest Region
Youngstown State is the #2 seed in the West Region

Hey, the newspaper just told me I can follow the team to any of their NIT games so I get a chance to see some of the world outside of Youngstown. I’m writing stories for each game they play, but will just give you a short synopsis here rather than the whole enchilada.

Round 1:

#8 Detroit-66, #1 Mississippi State-64 (Close all the way; SG Rufus Benton scored 17 and C William Rogers scored 13 and had 12 rebounds)

YSU's Game 1—Since YSU is the higher seed, the game will be played on their home court. Not much of a trip for me.

#2 Youngstown State-75, #7 Loyola-Chicago-73 (The Penguins led by as much as 10, but had to hold off a frenzied finish; PF Aaron Tice scored 14 and had 8 rebounds; PF Rich Braswell scored 14; C Jamal Grady scored 10; C Kevin Anderson scored 10)

Round 2: 

#5 Gonzaga-82, #8 Detroit-73 (Detroit trailed by 17 early in the 2nd half; SF Garvin Moore scored 18 points)

YSU's Game 2—Well damn..they’re still the higher seed and again the game is here in Youngstown. The newspaper’s happy as hell about this since they’re saving all sorts of money.

#2 Youngstown State-99, #3 Baylor-84 (First half was close with many lead changes but the Penguins took a 49-40 lead to the locker room and then held a double-digit lead throughout the 2nd half; C Jamal Grady scored 23; PF Aaron Tice and PG Levall Hart both scored 15; PF Rich Bramwell scored 12)

Round 3:

YSU's Game 3—Finally, the Penguins at the #2 seed play the #1 seed and it’s off to Oklahoma for me. Norman, OK is not my idea of paradise, but so be it.

#2 Youngstown State-93, #1 Oklahoma-78 (The Penguins trailed 46-41 at the half but rallied early in the 2nd half and pulled away for a big win; C Jamal Grady scored 28 points and had 9 rebounds; SF Chad Delzell scored 16; PF Aaron Tice scored 12)

Round 4 (SemiFinals):

YSU's Game 4—In the semi’s and on to Madison Square Garden and the Big Apple for me. Now we’re talkin’!

#1 Georgia-80, #2 Youngstown State-72 (The Penguins trailed 38-35 at the half and while staying in reach in the 2nd half were unable to catch up; C Jamal Grady-13; PG Linehan Murphy-11; SF Chad Delzell-10). 
So the Penguins season concludes. 25 wins and 8 losses overall with a 15-3 league-leading record and making it all the way to the Semifinals in the NIT. Quite an improvement over Coach Durst’s first two seasons.

YSU's Game 4 aftermath—Damn, we lost. I tried to wheedle staying in New York City for the championship round, but my editor said, “Hell no, get your ass home. No one in Youngstown cares now that the Penguins don’t have a chance at being champs and you damned well know that no one here gives a damn about Georgia vs Gonzaga playing for the NIT championship. We’re not spending money on you for nothing. Catch the next flight out of that den of inequity.”

NCAA Tournament (Horizon League participants):

#1 seeds: Louisville, Arizona, Oklahoma State, Wake Forest

Milwaukee is the #13 seed and will play #4 Michigan State.

Round 1:

#4 seed (19th ranked) Michigan State-73, #13 seed Milwaukee-55 (Milwaukee never led; PG Corsley George scored 14 points)

Championship: Georgetown-74, Temple-60

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins Awarded
By Steve Porter

The Horizon League announced their awards for the 2018-2019 season yesterday. Top awards went to three Penguins.

Horizon League Player of the Year: C Jamal Grady
Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year: PF Aaron Tice
Horizon League 1st Team All-Conference: C Jamal Grady
Horizon League Coach of the Year: Kendrick “KD” Durst

Vic Morrissey, YSU's Athletic Director, was enthusiastic as he talked about the Penguins who received awards, "We've known all along that Jamal, Aaron, and Coach Durst are special and were the keys leading to the re-emergence of basketball success here at Youngstown State. And believe me, we're very pleased to see that others recognize the excellence of these three individuals. Jamal has been a leader on our team the entire three years he's been with us, but his growth during the period has been exciting to watch. Aaron dominates inside and is rock-solid defensively, but also adds offensive strength to our team. And Coach Durst has brought excitement to our basketball program that had long languished before KD came to us three years ago. His leadership and coaching capabilities were evident from the start. Recruits recognize he's bringing excitement and success to YSU basketball and that he can help them develop into more complete players. Fortunately for us, all three of these individuals will be back with us next year as we continue to take the steps necessary to put Penguins basketball on the map."

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins Sign New Recruit
By Steve Porter

The late spring has brought more than blossoming flowers. It also brought welcome news to Penguins basketball. The Youngstown State Athletic Department announced that Lee Pauly from Toledo, Ohio has signed a letter of intent. Pauly is a 6-7 SF. He averaged 15.0 ppg and 8.7 rpg for Toledo High School this past season. Steve Simmons, the recruiting assistant for the Penguins, said, “We’ve been talking to Lee a long time. Once we found out he had a qualifying SAT score we really honed in on him and Coach Durst visited him and his family twice. Lee is a very strong rebounder and is strong defensively. He’s a good inside shooter and scorer and also can score from outside. He’s the 68th highest ranked recruit in the nation. So now with SF Colin Chambliss and PF LeRoy Delea who signed letters of intent early this year, we have 3 excellent players coming to us next year. We were pursuing two very highly ranked recruits, but they decided to go elsewhere. So we haven’t been able to fill the 4th and last remaining scholarship. Therefore, we’ll likely look to fill it with a transfer player.”


[Other thoughts fro:m the mind of Steve Porter]:

No announcement from the university, but I hear by way of the grapevine that they renegotiated Steve Simmons’ contract as 1st assistant upping his salary and the number of years left on his contract. I imagine that’s due to his work in getting the #68, #101, and #226 ranked recruits to fill scholarships for the upcoming season. Youngstown State is more used to having an extra digit or two added onto the rankings of athletes they recruit…like 1068, 1101, and 1226. My sources say that the program’s not really all that unhappy about not filling the 4th available scholarship either. That’s because they prefer to have 3 rather than 4 or more players in each year class. Also they feel this way they get a chance to possibly pick up a high quality transfer player who may have already proven himself at the college division I level, and the team has the depth to wait a year for him to become eligible to play. I’d sure like to have them find someone who can hit 3’s.

I also hear that since Coach Durst got a bump up in salary and a lengthening of his contract after last season, that they didn’t do anything more for him this year. After the year the Penguins had, that probably isn’t going to sit well with him. From what I hear he had some offers from other schools, but turned them down. If the team keeps improving, YSU is going to have to treat him better or it’s off to better digs for him.

All just rumblings from the peanut gallery so nothing I can write up for the newspaper, but thought you might be interested.

[PointGuard 70]

Youngstown State Adds Transfer Player
By Steve Porter

It’s two months past the end of last season and five months before the beginning of next season. But the Athletic Department announced today that Pat White will be transferring to play on the men’s basketball team. White is from Kahuku, Hawaii and was the starting point guard last season for the University of Oregon. White, who is 6’5” tall, will have to sit out this coming season but will be a sophomore for eligibility purposes when he can suit up for the Penguins for the 2020-2021 season. He was the #53 ranked recruit when recruited by Oregon Sand started all 29 games last season for the Ducks. He averaged 11.6 ppg, 3.1 apg, and 3.0 rpg as a freshman. He also possesses a 4.0 college GPA.

Coach Steve Simmons, the recruiting assistant for the Penguins, said that the team looked over a large number of PG and SG transfer players. Said Simmons, “There were really some excellent transfer players this year, so it took us a while to evaluate the available players and then contact and recontact several of them. We were not only impressed with Pat’s basketball skills but also his work ethic and durability. When he becomes eligible, we feel he can jump right in as either a starter at PG or SG. He’s a good scorer who can fill up the basket from beyond the arc, with mid-range jumpers, and by posting up in the paint. He’s a strong rebounder and has excellent defensive skills. He’s a very good passer with good court vision. Fortunately he gained experience with our main offensive and defensive sets while playing at Oregon. And oh yeah, he's a guy we won't have to be putting on study table or have to find a tutor for.”

Coach KD Durst added, “I’m extremely excited to land a player with Pat’s skills and can’t wait for him to be able to play for us. Pat said he was impressed by the advances our team made this past year and looks forward to helping us take further upward steps.”

The signing of a top-flight transfer player to fill the last remaining scholarship is like icing on the cake for Youngstown State, which had just completed an outstanding recruiting year with it’s signing of incoming freshmen SF Colin Chambliss, SF Lee Pauly, and PF LeRoy Delea. Chambliss is already expected to start this coming season at SF. Those 3 signings ranked the incoming Penguins’ recruiting class as 50th best in the nation, far above anything that Youngstown State has ever achieved in previous seasons. The next best recruiting class for schools in the Horizon League was UIC which ranked #123.

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins Recruiting Underway
By Steve Porter

With 3 scholarships to fill this year, Youngstown State began evaluating this year’s crop of recruits. “We would like to pick up 2 guards and a big man this year,” said Steve Simmons, YSU’s assistant coach in charge of recruiting.

Penguins Will Keep Bags Packed
By Steve Porter

The Youngstown State athletic department published the schedule for their basketball team. Fans were shocked when they discovered that the team’s first 7 games will be on the road and 8 of their 9 pre-conference games are away games.

Vic Morrissey, the YSU Athletic Director, explained, “When we tried to renew our insurance for Beeghly Center this summer, we were informed by our insurance carrier that structural repairs needed to be made in order for them to continue providing insurance. We got bids from contractors and scheduled the work for as soon as it possibly could be done. But the repairs won’t be completed until nearly a month into the season. That necessitated the scheduling of the string of games on the road. No one is happy about this, but there really was no alternative.”

Asked if the work included any upgrades to the facility, Morrissey responded, “I wish it did, but the repairs by themselves dipped deep into our budget. So upgrades can only be considered for the future.”

Coach KD Durst said, “At first it was quite a shock, but we’ve now accepted the fact and are looking at it as a challenge. At least the repairs will be completed before Horizon League play begins.”

[PointGuard 70]

Youngstown State Lands Recruit
By Steve Porter

It’s only mid-September but Youngstown State’s basketball program has already received a verbal acceptance for one of their three scholarships that will come available at the end of this season. The news for the Penguins goes beyond being good to exciting because the player is the 68th highest ranked player throughout the entire nation.

James Asbury is a 6’6” SF from Dexter, Michigan. Last season as a high school junior he averaged 18.0 ppg and 4.0 rpg. Steve Simmons, 1st assistant coach at YSU, exclaimed, “We’re extremely happy to have James commit to our program. He’s a prolific scorer who shoots very well from outside but is very talented at getting inside and putting points on the board there as well. He’s also very strong defensively. We really liked what we saw of him at the Chicago Prep Revue this summer and he was a top 25 player at that camp. He very well could come in and challenge immediately to be a starter. He’s not shone academically but we’re hoping he does well on his SAT’s.”

Simmons added, “We’re working hard to fill the other two scholarships. We’d like to add at least one big man.”

[PointGuard 70]

Durst Announces Starters for Penguins
By Steve Porter

KD Durst, the head coach for the Youngstown State Penguins announced the starters as the Penguins begin their 2019-2020 season. Said Durst, “Three of the five starting positions are set, but we’re very likely going to have multiple starters at the two guard positions as the season progresses.

“At PG 6-3 Sr Levall Hart will be starting in our opener but the competition between him and both 5-7 Jr Linehan Murphy and 5-6 Sr Tim Lostetter has been extremely intense. All three started part of our games last season, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see a repeat of that this season.

“At SG our initial starter will be 6-0 So B. J. Dennis, who started some of our games last season. 6-0 So William Swan and Tim Lostetter will be getting significant minutes, though, and could be starters at some point.

“Our starting SF will be 6-3 Fr Colin Chambliss. But 6-8 Jr William Worley and 6-7 Fr Lee Pauly should be effective coming off the bench.

“6-6 Jr Aaron Tice will again start for us again at PF. He’ll be spelled by 6-7 Jr Kent Jones, 6-3 Fr Colin Chambliss and 6-6 Sr Charlie Paben.

“At C we have 6-10 Sr Jamal Grady, last year’s Horizon League Player of the Year starting. Backing him up will be Kent Jones and 6-8 Sr Kevin Anderson.

“We’ve redshirted freshman PF LeRoy Delea this season. PG Pat White is ineligible to play until next season due to his transfer.”

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins in Foul Mode
By Steve Porter

Youngstown State travelled to Connecticut for their season opener and took on the Hartford Hawks. The game was a defensive battle early. With the Penguins on top 6-3 though, C Jamal Grady picked up his 2nd foul and an immediate question arose whether YSU would falter with their starting center having to miss most of the half. The Penguins stumbled and dropped behind by 4 points. But YSU didn’t fall bu instead came back to go ahead 24-19 with 6-1/4 minutes left in the half. By the 6 minute mark though, the refs had tagged 4 of the team’s 5 big men with 2 fouls apiece. The short-handed Penguins toughed it out as Coach Durst subbed guys into the game in out-of-positions When the half ended Youngstown State had built a 35-27 lead on the basis of a smothering defense and control of the boards. SG B.J. Dennis led the Penguins scoring with 7 points. 

After playing just 4 minutes and scoring just 2 points in the first half, Jamal Grady carried the Penguins, scoring 17 points in first 11 minutes of the 2nd half. With 8 minutes left to play YSU had expanded their lead to 65-51. After opening a 19 point lead a few minutes later, the Penguins coasted to a 77-66 road victory. Youngstown State held the Hawks shooting to 36% and forced 20 turnovers. The refs called 49 fouls against both teams and the two teams paraded to the foul line a total of 67 times in the game.

Jamal Grady finished with 21 points in just 19 minutes of play, but it was a team effort otherwise with a total of 12 of the Penguins scoring and 12 grabbing rebounds.

Coach KD Durst said after the game, “With our front line decimated by fouls, we had to cobble together a host of different lineups. We stuck Colin Chambers inside at PF for much of the first half. He did an admirable job defending even though he was having to go up against much taller players. With all the fouls, our entire bench not only got into the game but played a high number of minutes. And…we got a great defensive effort by everyone on the team. Sure was nice to get a win in our first game of the season. One road game down and six more straight road games to go.”

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins Defense Continues to Rock
By Steve Porter

The Charlotte 49ers lost their opener but they were playing away from home at Georgia Tech, a tough ACC team. The Penguins had to take on the 49ers on their own court.

Even though Youngstown State picked up 3 quick fouls, they jumped out to a 7-1 lead. The Penguins defense held the 49ers in check and with 8-1/2 minutes to go, Tim Lostetter dropped in a 3 to put YSU on top 21-6. The Penguins held Charlotte’s shooting to 25% in the first half and forced the 49ers to make 16 turnovers. YSU also controlled the boards 20-13. The result was a solid 35-17 halftime lead for the Penguins who were led offensively by PF Aaron Tice’s 9 points.

YSU scored the first 4 points of the 2nd half, but C Jamal Grady picked up his 3rd foul after just 1-1/2 minutes of the 2nd half. Charlotte went on a 16-3 run in the next 4 minutes. The Penguins then steadied their game. But Charlotte made another run late and with 4:30 remaining, trailed by just a 62-55 score. The Penguins then scored 12 unanswered points to lead by 19 with 1:22 on the clock. YSU went on to drub the 49ers 76-59. The Penguins hit 51% of their shots, held a 30-25 rebounding advantage and a 26-15 turnover advantage.

C Jamal Grady scored 17, PF Aaron Tice had 13, and C Kent Jones added 10. Freshman SG William Swan scored 9 points during the 12 minutes he was on the court. PG’s Levall Hart and Linehan Murphy combined to dish out 10 assists, score 10 points, and get 6 steals and 2 blocks.

“Other than a couple rough spots in the 2nd half, our guys played lock-down defense tonight,” said coach KD Durst. He added, “We played our entire bench again and everyone on the team made some type of positive contribution tonight.”

The Penguins next travel to Cedar City, Utah where they will take on the 1-1 Southern Utah Thunderbirds.

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins Successful Road Journey Continues
By Steve Porter

After Chris Edwards, Southern Utah’s leading scorer, opened the scoring by hitting a free throw, the Penguins’ SF Colin Chambers and C Jamal Grady both hit FG’s on which they were fouled. Both converted their 3 point plays putting YSU on top 6-1. The Penguins sported a 20-9 lead with 12 minutes to go in the half. Even though C’s Jamal Grady and Kent Jones both were sidled and side lined with 2 fouls, the Penguins carved out a 40-28 halftime lead. They did that by outshooting the 49ers 62% to 36% and controlling the boards 18-9. PF Aaron Tice dropped in 13 points in the half.

Southern Utah cut the lead to 52-46 with 13 minutes to play. The Penguins scored the next 9 points to regain a comfortable lead. The 49ers cut the lead in the last few minutes, but the Penguins still came away with an easy 75-68 victory. Their record improved to 3-0 with all victories being on the road as Coach Durst again liberally played his entire bench.

C Jamal Grady played just 21 minutes but scored 20 and PF Aaron Tice hit for 15.

[PointGuard 70]

Rainy Day in Hackensack for Penguins
By Steve Porter

A day-long rain deluge nearly swept the Youngstown State Penguins into the nearby Hackensack River when they journeyed to New Jersey to take on the 2-1 Fairleigh Dickinson Knights last night. Beyond the downpour, the Penguins were challenged to stop C Kori Krudup who was averaging 22.3 ppg.

PG Levall Hart scored 4 points in the first 43 seconds of play. But the Knights then began hitting their shots and took a lead that they built to 29-20 with 8 minutes to play in the half as the Penguins struggled to hit their shots. YSU then began to shrink the lead and by the end of the half trailed by just three points at 39-36. SF Colin Chambliss led the Penguins’ scoring with 8 points but C Kori Krudup had scored 10 and pulled down 5 boards for Fairleigh Dickinson.

Youngstown State took a 44-43 lead with 16:15 remaining. But the Knights again gained control and with 9 minutes left in the game they led 60-51. The Penguins kept cutting the lead to 3-5 points but each time the Knights answered by pulling away again. The final score was 80-75 in favor of Fairleigh Dickinson. The loss washed away an undefeated season for the Penguins who now are 3-1 in their games this season which have all be played away from home.

C Jamal Grady played most of the game in foul trouble and eventually fouled out but scored 20 and grabbed 7 rebounds in 22 minutes of play. SF Colin Chambliss scored 15, C Kent Jones tossed in 12, and SG B.J. Dennis finished with 10.

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins’ Freshman Wins Honors
By Steve Porter

Youngstown State’s freshman SF Colin Chambliss may have only played four collegiate games, but he’s turning some heads. Standing just 6-3, he’s shorter than most Division I small forwards, but what he lacks in height, he makes up in tenaciousness. He’s averaged 10.8 ppg and 4.5 rpg and has hit 47% of his FG attempts in the Penguins first four games this season. 

And now Chambliss has been awarded the Horizon League’s Freshman Player of the Week award following his two solid games against Southern Utah and Fairleigh Dickinson. 

Coach KD Durst said, “We knew we had a good one when we signed Colin, but he surprised us by immediately winning a starting spot and has become a key to our success this season. He’s still learning our system so he’s going to be even better in the future. We’ve even had Colin fill in at PF at times, and he’s held up well against much more physically imposing opponents. Although we’ve not yet tested him at the guard positions in a game, Colin has the ball handling and passing skills to play at either SG or PG if we need him to do that. It’s rare that you get a player who can ably handle four different positions. We’re all pleased that the entire league recognized Colin’s performance.”

[PointGuard 70]

Youngstown State Makes Surprising Announcement
By Steve Porter

Vic Morrissey, Athletic Director at Youngstown State, caught everyone by surprise yesterday by announcing that another high school recruit has accepted a scholarship offer to play basketball for the Penguins next season. YSU’s new catch is Will O’Neil, a 6-8 center presently attending New Prairie H.S. in New Carlisle, Indiana. Morrissey stated, “We seldom get seniors giving us verbal acceptances in late November, but we’re really happy to have this one. O’Neil is a well-rounded ball player. He’s averaging over 15 ppg, 5 rpg, 3 apg, 3 bpg, and nearly 3 spg. His top strengths are inside shooting and scoring, rebounding, and shot blocking. He’s presently ranked as the 560th best recruit in the nation but has been ranked as high as #243. More importantly, he was rated in the top 5 at the Chicago Prep Revue this past summer. On the other hand, his academic performance has been rather weak, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed until the end of January that he gets high enough SAT scores to meet our requirements.” 

O’Neil follows SF James Asbury accepting a scholarship for the Penguins this year. This leaves them with one more scholarship to fill. Steve Simmons, the Penguins 1st assistant coach and recruiting coordinator, explained, “At this point we are unlikely to offer the remaining scholarship until this spring. In the meantime we’ll keep trying to increase interest in the recruits on our list. We’ve added a few new ones to our list, including a couple international players. Since we don’t have the money to aggressively recruit internationally, they’re definitely long-shots, but any of the international players we’re considering definitely would be a big accomplishment to land. Ideally we’d like to add a guard to our roster, but probably will take the best recruit we can get regardless of position.”

[PointGuard 70]

Youngstown State Knocks off Big-10 Team
By Steve Porter

The Penguins were cold early and fell behind Penn State 19-4. Capping this, C Jamal Grady sustained an injury after 4 minutes of play. YSU then scored 9 unanswered points to get back in the game. Then with 5-1/2 minutes left in the half, the Penguins took a 22-21 lead. The half ended with Youngstown State on top 34-32. SF Colin Chambliss scored 10 points to pace the Penguins.

Continuing their solid defense, the Penguins opened a 40-33 lead with 17:13 remaining. But Penn State then caught fire and came back to take a 49-42 lead with 11-1/2 minutes to go. The Penguins then went on a 11-0 run to regain the lead at 53-49 with 7:44 on the clock. Penn State pulled ahead by a single point again, but back-to-back 3’s by Chambliss and Tim Lostetter gave YSU a 61-56 lead with 4 minutes remaining. The Penguins’ Colin Chambliss put the ball on the floor and drove to the basket for a dunk that made it 65-56 with 1:43 left. Youngstown State then cracked down defensively and won against the Big 10 team by a score of 69-58.

SF Colin Chambliss finished with 17 points and 9 rebounds, PF Aaron Tice had a double-double (11 points and 15 boards) and C Kevin Anderson came off the bench to score 12.

After the game, it was announced that injury sustained early in the game by Jamal Grady was a strained abdominal muscle, and he will miss the Penguins’ next game.

Coach KD Durst said, “When we started so poorly and Jamal was injured early in the game, it looked like we were in for a long night. But I was really impressed by how our team rallied after Jamal was forced out of the game. They cracked down defensively and then we began hitting our shots. Colin Chambliss carried us offensively but Kent Jones and Kevin Anderson both played well in place of Jamal. This early season road schedule is taxing us, but the guys have weathered it well. I never expected we would be 4-1 at this point.”

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins Singed by Dragons
By Steve Porter

Youngstown State took on the 2-1 Drexel Dragons without the services of injured star center Jamal Grady. Sophomore Kent Jones started in his place.

The Penguins fell behind 14-8, but then Linehan Murphy came in and score 5 quick points to cut the Dragons’ lead to a single point. Sub SF William Worley’s two successive 3’s put YSU on top 20-16 with 11 minutes left in the first half. The Penguins defense limited Drexel’s shooting to just 35% in the half and forced the Dragons to make 10 turnovers. YSU hit 50% of their shots and took a 37-27 lead to the locker room. Leading the Penguins’ scoring was SG B.J. Dennis with 9 points.

Youngstown State scored the first 6 points of the 2nd half to open a 16 point lead. After expanding their lead to 18, the Dragons made a run that cut the Penguins lead to 60-55 with 7-1/2 minutes remaining in the game. As the refs saddled YSU with fouls, the Dragons pulled ahead 68-67 with 2:48 left. On the ensuing possession C Kent Jones then received a pass inside and drove to the hoop to lay it in to regain the lead for the Penguins. The Dragons went ahead by 5 but the Penguins cut the lead to 73-71 with just over a minute to play. Drexel hit a shot and was rewarded with yet another foul where they converted the 3-point play and took a 5 point lead wi 56 seconds to go. With 14 seconds remaining and trailing by 6, B.J. Dennis knocked down a 3. But that was as close as the Penguins could get and they lost 77-74. The real difference in the game was Drexel parading to the foul line in the 2nd half and scoring 7 more points than the Penguins on free throws. The loss dropped YSU’s record to 4-2.

B.J. Dennis scored 16 to lead the scoring for YSU. PG Linehan Murphy added 10 to go along with his 5 assists and PF Aaron Tice scored 9 and pulled down 9 boards.

"We simply ran out of gas in the 2nd half after playing so many games on the road," said Coach KD Durst.

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins Road Ordeal Ends
By Steve Porter

In their last of seven straight away games, Youngstown State’s basketball team journeyed to Princeton, NJ to take on the 3-3 Princeton Tigers, led by SG Reggie French’s 20.2 ppg.

The Penguins use hot shooting to lead for the first 12 minutes of the game, but then Princeton began hitting their shots and the referees began dinging the Penguins with picky fouls. Princeton pulled ahead by as much as 17 points. After a free-wheeling offensive show, the half ended with the Tigers on top 48-39. SF Colin Chambliss led YSU’s scoring with 12 points, but Princeton’s Reggie French bombed away from outside to score 20 points in the half.

In the second half Youngstown State cut the lead to 5 points three times but the Tigers quickly regained double digit leads each time. The Penguins then made a run in the final two minutes, and with less than a minute to go Colin Chambliss hit two long 3’s that reduced Princeton’s lead to 84-81 with 22 seconds left. With only 3 team fouls YSU was unable to foul to get the ball back. Princeton scored inside to give them a 5 point lead. Linehan Murphy knocked down a 3 with 4 seconds to go. The Penguins’ attempt to steal the inbound pass failed so they fell by an 86-84 score. YSU’s season record now stands at 4-3.

The Penguins held a 30-23 rebounding advantage. YSU hit 54% of their shots and Princeton hit 52% of theirs. The Penguins knocked down 12 of 20 from 3 point distance, but the Tigers hit 14 of 29. And Princeton scored 2 more points from the free throw line, which was the difference in the score. 

SF Colin Chambliss had a career game in his 7th game as a Penguin, hitting 9 of 12 FG’s including 6 of 8 of his 3’s and finished with 25 points plus he grabbed 6 rebounds, dished out 3 assists, and had 1 steal and a block. PG Linehan Murphy scored 14 and PG Levall Hart hit for 10. The two combined for 8 assists. C Kent Jones scored 10 while C Jamal Grady scored 9 and had 11 rebounds. For Princeton, SG Reggie French finished with 25 points and hit 7 of 14 of his 3 point attempts.

Coach KD Durst said, “Our guys made a helluva comeback at the end. Without being able to regain possession by fouling, we did the very best we could. While we’d love to have a better record than 4-3, all those games have been on the road and our losses were by 5, 3, and 2 points so we’ve been in every game. Colin Chambliss put on a real show tonight with great shooting and a fantastic all-around game for a freshman.”

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins Freshman Honored Again
By Steve Porter

Youngstown State’s SF Colin Chambliss was awarded the Horizon League’s Freshman Player of the Week for the second time this season. Coach KD Durst commented, “Colin has quickly shown he can be a go-to guy for us. He’s effective inside and now has proven he shoots well from beyond the arc. Beyond his offensive strengths, he can crash the boards and is also strong defensively.”

[PointGuard 70]

Beeghly Reopens But Penguins Offense Is A No-Show
By Steve Porter 

Repairs to Youngstown State’s Beeghly Center have finally been completed, so the Penguins were able to play their first game at home this season. As a strong team within the Missouri Valley Conference, the Southern Illinois Salukis, presented a step up in their opposition’s talent level.

The Penguins hit just 1 of their first 12 FG attempts, but their defense kept them in the game and they trailed by just an 8-7 score. YSU’s shooting remained ice-cold as they hit just 18% of their shots in the half. When the buzzer sounded ending an ugly half by both teams, Southern Illinois led 22-19. Top scorers for the Penguins were C Jamal Grady and PF Aaron Tice who each scored just 4 points.

Youngstown State’s shooting woes continued in the 2nd half. With 11 minutes left in the game, they trailed 43-27. The Penguins fell behind by as much as 22 points as their offense never clicked. The Salukis cruised to an easy 58-46 victory. YSU hit just 24% of their shots and were 0 for 10 from 3-point distance. 
Three of the Penguins five starters combined to go 0 for 18 shooting from the field. YSU also was out-rebounded by Southern Illinois 43-28. The only team statistic that was favorable to the Penguins was turnovers where they held a 23-10 advantage.

PF Aaron Tice was the only player for YSU to score in double figures and he scored just 10 points. Southern Illinois’ C Marc Jordan scored 20 points.

In a post-game interview, Coach KD Durst said, “We finally get a home game and we can’t get the ball in the hoop. While Southern Illinois was strong defensively, it’s embarrassing for us to play as poorly as we did in front of our fans. But we just have to put this game behind us as a total off-night for the entire team and come back strong in our next game.”

[PointGuard 70]

Youngstown State Begins Horizon League Play
By Steve Porter

Playing 8 of their 9 games on the road and playing their only home game as if in a daze, the Youngstown State Penguins 5-4 record can be viewed positively.

Their starting lineup has played well together and their bench players have contributed in a way that allows Coach KD Durst to substitute freely.

All starters are averaging 22-27 minutes of play per game. C Jamal Grady has been their key player, averaging 13.8 ppg and 6.9 rpg and is hitting 55% of his FG attempts. SF Colin Chambliss, has played better than expected as a freshman and is averaging 12.7 ppg while pulling down 5.3 rpg. SG B.J. Dennis, while being somewhat inconsistent, is averaging 10.7 ppg and is the team’s best 3-point threat. PF Aaron Tice again is again playing strongly this season with 9.1 ppg and 6.4 rpg. Even though PG Levall Hart hasn’t been a big scorer, averaging 5.7 ppg, he has performed well as the team’s field general, distributing the ball well and averaging 4.2 apg. 

PG Linehan Murphy is shooting well (54.8% from the field) and is averaging 6.7 ppg and 3.1 apg. Tim Lostetter and William Swan have each played about 10 mpg at the guard positions and both are averaging about 4 ppg. At SF, William Worley and Lee Pauly have combined to play about 13 mpg. While their scoring averages are low, each has had at least one strong scoring game so they have the capability to step up when needed. Inside, Kent Jones is averaging 6.2 ppg and 2.9 rpg and Kevin Anderson is averaging 3.9 ppg while playing about 10 mpg. Charlie Paben has been used sporadically, but has come up big in one game so has the ability to contribute.

The team is averaging 76.0 ppg while giving up 72.2 ppg. They have out-rebounded the opposition, averaging 30.7 rpg compared to their opponents’ 29.8 rpg. The Penguins are averaging just 14.8 turnovers per game while forcing their opponents to make 17.7 turnovers per game.

The best pre-conference records for Horizon League teams this year have been: Milwaukee (8-3), Detroit (7-2), UIC (6-3), and Northern Kentucky (6-3).

Jamal Grady, who was the top Horizon League scorer before being injured, is now 7th highest. Top scorers are: Ivoree Cameron (Wright State), 17.6 ppg; Troy Fingelton (Northern Kentucky), 15.4 ppg; Travon Capel (Valparaiso), 15.0 ppg; Jared McDaniel (Northern Kentucky), 14.7 ppg; DeWy Nielsen (UIC), 14.4 ppg; and William Rogers (Detroit), 14.1 ppg. Grady, along with Jon Finger (Milwaukee) and Ryan Watson (Milwaukee) are tied for 3rd in the list of top rebounders in the Horizon League. William Rogers (Detroit) is the leading rebounder with 9.9 rpg followed by Travon Capel (Valparaiso), 8.5 rpg. Levall Hart is the 3rd on the list of Horizon League players distributing assists following just Geordie Wright (Detroit), 6.1 apg and Michael Smith (Cleveland), 4.7 apg.

“While we’ve still got to develop further, the team has come together well this season,” said Coach KD Durst. “I believe the league is stronger overall this season, so it will be a challenge and we will need to be up for every game. I don’t think there are any walk-overs. Beyond continuing to develop our players and improve our teamwork and overall intensity, hopefully we can avoid any serious injuries. Even though we have a strong bench, injuries always change the way we play the game and can expose weaknesses.”

[PointGuard 70]

Penguins Drop League Opener
By Steve Porter

SG B.J. Dennis and C Jamal Grady combined to score the first 9 points of the game while the Penguins held the Titans scoreless for the first 3-1/2 minutes of the game. But the Titans stormed back to take a 13-10 lead six minutes later. The Penguins shooting went cold and they fell behind by a 30-20 score. Detroit held YSU at arms’ length and finished the half ahead 37-30. C Jamal Grady topped the scoring for Youngstown State with 10 points.

At the beginning of the 2nd half, the Penguins scrapped to get back into the game. With 16:10 on the clock, Jamal Grady scored on a driving layup and was fouled. He hit his free throw to convert the 3-point play and put YSU back on top 45-44. With the score tied at 48-48, both teams went ice cold, but the Penguins poor shooting continued longer allowing Detroit to pull away to a 65-53 lead with 4-1/2 minutes to play. The Penguins offense then woke up but they were unable to cut significantly into the Titans’ lead and came out on the short end of a 75-67 final score. 

C Jamal Grady scored 22 and PF Aaron Tice and SG/PG Tim Lostetter both scored 10.

“Detroit was a tough place to begin our league play. The Titans came into this game hot. We played well only sporadically so we were unable to hold them off and to come back when we got behind,” said Coach KD Durst. “We had our chances but just couldn’t take advantage of them.”

[PointGuard 70]

Youngstown State Unimpressive in Win
By Steve Porter

The Penguins failed to score for the first 3 minutes of last night’s game against the Valparaiso Crusaders. But then they caught fire to jump out to a 10-4 lead. But both teams seemed to play at low energy and the half ended with Youngstown State holding a narrow 31-29 lead. C Kent Jones led the Penguins’ scoring with 8 points.

YSU quickly opened a 10 point lead in the 2nd half. Late in the half, Valparaiso came back and took a 3 point lead, but the Penguins rallied to retake the lead. With 3:12 remaining, YSU was on top 57-53. Youngstown State held on to come away with a 65-58 victory. They are now 1-1 in league play.

PG Linehan Murphy and C Kent Jones topped the Penguins’ scoring with 12 points apiece with C/PF Kevin Anderson picking up 10 points. 

“Our intensity level was low tonight,” said Coach KD Durst. “Fortunately our bench players picked us up tonight since our five starters only scored 21 points. Even though we had a 25-10 turnover advantage, I’m upset that we let the Crusaders control the boards 34-21.”