The Town Crier

[PointGuard]

Penguins Put It All Together
By Steve Porter

Youngstown State came out with guns blazing and rapidly pulled away from the Cleveland State Vikings. By the time the buzzer sounded ending the first half, the Penguins had hit 54% of their shots while holding the Vikings shooting to just 23% and had out-rebounded Cleveland State 26-11. That resulted in a lopsided 48-18 lead for the Penguins. PF Aaron Tice and C Jamal Grady both had scored 10 points.

YSU relaxed their defense in the 2nd half but held onto their lead to batter the Vikings by a score of 88-59. The Penguins held a 46-23 rebounding advantage and out-shot the Vikings 56% to 33%. The win was YSU’s 5th straight bringing their league-leading record to 6-2 and their season record to 11-6. Their RPI is now 60th best in the nation.

PF Aaron Tice hit for 18 points plus pulled down 9 rebounds. C Jamal Grady and reserve C/PF Kevin Anderson both scored 14 points and reserve SG William Swan dropped in 12 points.

“We were on fire throughout the entire game tonight,” said Coach KD Durst. “And our defense in the first half was outstanding.”

[PointGuard]

Penguins Continue to Roll
By Steve Porter

Youngstown State travelled to take on Wright State last night. The game was close between the Penguins and Raiders throughout most of the first half with 10 lead changes and 7 ties, but Youngstown State’s defense tightened in the late in the half. The Penguins then quickly opened a solid double digit lead and left the court at the intermission with a 51-37 lead over Wright State. Even though C Jamal Grady got into foul trouble early and played just 8 minutes in the half, he led the scoring for the Penguins with 10 points. SG B.J. Dennis added 9 points and dished out 5 assists in the half.

Youngstown State held the Raiders at arms’ length in the 2nd half and maintained a solid double-digit lead until the waning moments of the game when Wright State hit a series of last gasp 3’s. The Penguins still were never seriously threatened and came away with a comfortable 84-76 victory. Youngstown State outshot Wright State 54% to 41% and controlled the boards 37-27. The Penguins now have a six game win streak, a 7-2 league record and a 12-6 overall record, and they remain in sole possession of 1st place in the Horizon League, one game ahead of Oakland.

C Jamal Grady dropped in 19 points and pulled down 8 rebounds while playing just 17 minutes. SG B.J. Dennis scored 13 and SF Colin Chambliss added 10 points and 8 boards.

Coach KD Durst said, “Overall we played solidly, but we uncharacteristically committed 18 turnovers. Again our bench played extremely well and we needed that tonight since Jamal fouled out and Aaron Tice was in foul trouble throughout the game. Our strong and deep bench also allows us to keep fresh legs on the floor and wear down the opposition.”

[Wayne23]

Break up the Penguins!

[PointGuard]

Revenge is Sweet
By Steve Porter

Youngstown State lost their league opener 75-67 when then travelled to take on the Detroit Titans, so the team was focused on gaining some revenge last night. “We really want to win this game,” said PG Levall Hart before the game. “The Titans (now 3-6 in the league) went into a tailspin after beating us, but they’re still a dangerous team possessing a 10-8 overall record that has three guys averaging in double figures. So we’re definitely taking them seriously.”

With a big crowd filling Beeghly Center, YSU forced Detroit to make 4 early turnovers and YSU’s PF Aaron Tice and C Jamal Grady scored the first 10 points of the game. It took 4 minutes and 41 seconds before Detroit was able to score. The Penguins rolled on throughout the half with a potent offense (hitting 69% of their shots), a staunch defense that held Detroit’s shooting to 33% and forced 12 turnovers by the Titans, and control of the boards (15-8). The half ended with Youngstown State in possession of a commanding 45-23 lead. C Jamal Grady dropped in 16 points in the half.

With the game’s outcome pretty much ensured, the 2nd half was an exhibition of ugly basketball with YSU seemingly content to hold onto a 20 point lead throughout the half. The crowd went home happy though with the Penguins winning by a final score of 79-59.

C Jamal Grady played an outstanding game, scoring 28 points and grabbing 9 boards while holding Detroit’s talented C William Rogers to just 12 points. PF Aaron Tice also picked off 9 rebounds while scoring 8 points. Reserve C Kevin Anderson scored 10 points in 12 minutes of play.

Youngstown State is now 8-2 in Horizon League play and expanded their league lead to 2 games over three teams that are tied for 2nd place. The team’s RPI is now 45th best in the nation.

Coach KD Durst said, “After losing our initial game to Detroit, our guys came out with a score to settle and played an exceptionally strong half of basketball. We lost our intensity in the second half, but still I’m happy with how we played overall. It’s not easy winning 7 straight games in league play, but our guys have really come together as a team.”

[PointGuard]

Penguins’ Two Recruits Qualify
By Steve Porter

Both recruits who have committed to accepting scholarships to play basketball for Coach KD Durst next season have qualified academically. Although neither SF James Asbury nor C Will O’Neill have stellar academic records at their high schools both got high enough SAT scores to meet YSU’s standards. For O’Neill it was extremely close since his 840 SAT’s were at the minimum acceptable for Youngstown State.

First Assistant Coach Steve Simmons said, “We’re relieved that both guys qualified. We’ll probably be using some tutoring early on for both to get them off on the right foot academically when they arrive on campus. We now have to focus in on lassoing the final recruit to fill our remaining scholarship that will open the end of this season.”

[PointGuard]

Youngstown State Blasts Valparaiso
By Steve Porter

Valparaiso took a 12-5 lead early in the half but at the 14:52 mark of the first half, the Penguins gained their first lead at 15-14 when SF Colin Chambliss hit a baseline jumper. With 8 minutes left in the half, YSU’s lead had expanded to 33-18. The Crusaders then began hitting their shots and cut the Penguins’ halftime lead to 44-35. Youngstown State hit 55% of their shots and had only 3 turnovers in the first half. Leading the scoring for the Penguins was C Jamal Grady with 9 points.

The Penguins controlled the game in the 2nd half and came away with a 92-6nd 9 dusting of Valparaiso. YSU hit 56% of their FG attempts including 50% of their 3’s and held a 16-8 turnover advantage.

Top scorer for the Penguins was SF Colin Chambliss with 17 points to go along with his 9 rebounds. SG William Swan and PG Levall Hart both scored 14 and C Jamal Grady contributed 13 points.

By winning their 8th straight game, Youngstown State improved their season record to 14-6 and their league-leading record to 9-2 and now are 3 games ahead of 3 teams that are tied for 2nd place in the Horizon League.

[PointGuard]

March of the Penguins Continues
By Steve Porter


William Swan drills shot

Youngstown State sprinted to an 18-6 lead over the Milwaukee Panthers in the first 6 minutes of the game. The Penguins’ lead ballooned to 24 points during the first half. The half ended with YSU on top 46-27. Youngstown State held a 22-15 rebounding advantage and a 12-1 turnover advantage in the half and scored 30 points in the paint. PF Aaron Tice poured in 16 points.

YSU continued their dominance in the 2nd half, finishing the game by controlling the boards 43-28, making just 7 turnovers compared to Milwaukee’s 15, and scoring 46 points in the paint. That allowed the Penguins to post an 88-63 pasting of the Panthers. Youngstown State is now 10-2 in the Horizon League and owns a 9 game win streak. Over the span of those 9 games, Youngstown State has averaged 86 ppg compared to their opponents’ 69 ppg. For the entire season the Penguins are averaging 79 ppg whereas their opponents are averaging 71 ppg.

PF Aaron Tice scored 22 and pulled down 8 boards. C Jamal Grady had a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds and also dished out 5 assists and had 3 steals.

SF Colin Chambliss was named the Horizon League’s Freshman Player of the Week. In the Penguins two games this week, Chambliss scored 25 points, pulled down 18 rebounds, and had 5 assists, 2 steals, and a block.

[PointGuard]

Heat Proves Extreme In Green Bay
By Steve Porter

February in Green Bay is supposed to be brutal. But when the Youngstown State basketball team arrived yesterday, the thermometer was setting all time record HIGHS instead of LOWS, confusing the Penguins and making them wonder if they’d flown south instead of north.

Still apparently in a daze, the Penguins started the game slowly with the lead shifting back and forth during the first 10 minutes. But then YSU opened a 10 point lead, only to surrender that in the final moments of the half which ended in a 36-36 tie. C Jamal Grady scored 11 points to lead the Penguins offensively.

With the temperature inside Philips Arena he Phoenix scored the first 9 points of the 2nd half. Wisconsin-Green Bay continued to sink every shot they took and led by 16 with 14 minutes to play. The Penguins made a run to cut the lead to 9 with 4 minutes to go, but could get no closer and fell by a final score of 81-70. The Penguins were outshot 57% to 46% and lost the battle of the boards 32-21. Wisconsin-Green Bay had 6 players scoring in double figures.

C Jamal Grady hit for 17 points and SF Colin Chambliss scored 12.

The loss broke YSU’s 9 game win streak. The Penguins now lead 2nd place Cleveland State by 2 games.

[PointGuard]

Penguins Alarm Clock Goes Off In 2nd Half
By Steve Porter

Northern Kentucky came out hitting their shots from all over the court. Throughout a good portion of the first half, they knocked down 80% of their FG attempts and built an 11 point lead. The Penguins made a comeback late in the half but still trailed 45-40 at the break. YSU hit 54% of their shots in the half, but the Norse finished the half by sinking 64% of theirs. PG Aaron Tice led the Penguins with 11 points and 5 rebounds.

Four minutes into the 2nd half, Youngstown State tied the Norse at 48-48 when SG B.J. Dennis picked off a pass and pushed it forward to a driving Aaron Tice who threw down a jam which brought the home town crowd to their feet. With 11:30 remaining, the Penguins took the lead with Jamal Grady sunk two free throws to make it 54-52. Thereafter YSU gradually pulled away to win 77-65.

C Jamal Grady scored 19 points even though he was in foul trouble most of the game and eventually fouled out. PF Aaron Tice had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. SF Colin Chambliss scored 10 points plus has 3 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and a block. Reserve C Kevin Anderson scored 9 points during his 11 minutes on the court.

“Fortunately our defense came to life in the 2nd half,” said Coach KD Durst. “After letting Northern Kentucky nearly score at will in the first half, we held them to just 20 points in the 2nd half by holding their shooting to under 30% throughout the final 20 minutes.”

[PointGuard]

Road Work Blocks Youngstown State
By Steve Porter

In last night’s game at Rochester Hills, Michigan, Oakland and Youngstown State combined to hit the first 7 field goals attempted in the game. But YSU coach KD Durst was upset early when Jamal Grady picked up two personal fouls in the first 3 minutes of play. The Penguins then fell behind the Golden Grizzlies 16-10 with 12 minutes left in the first half. But Durst’s team fought back and when reserve C Kent Jones was fouled on a 14-foot jumper that he sunk and converted the 3-point play by dropping in his charity shot, the Penguins went on top 23-22 with 7:57 on the clock. Oakland then went on a rampage to pull away to a 43-28 lead when the buzzer sounded ending the first half. Oakland hit 60% of their shots and outplayed the Penguins in all aspects of the game. PF Aaron Tice scored 7 points for Youngstown State.

The Penguins struggled mightily to cut into the Golden Grizzlies’ lead in the 2nd half. With 8 minutes left in the game, they lead was down to 3 points as C Jamal Grady and reserve SG William Swan led YSU’s offensive effort. But then a series of turnovers stymied the Penguins’ efforts. But the Penguins persevered and cut Oaklands lead to 64-62 with 4 minutes to go. Oakland struck back to increase their lead and prevent YSU from making a last minute charge. Youngstown State went down to a 72-68 road loss that dropped their Horizon League record to 11-4, but they retained a 2 game lead over the two teams, Milwaukee and Cleveland State, that art tied for 2nd place.

SG William Swan dropped in 15 points while C Jamal Grady and PF Aaron Tice both scored 14.

“We uncharacteristically made 19 turnovers,” said Coach KD Durst. “But I’ll take the blame for this loss. I sat Jamal Grady for the last 17 minutes of the first half after he got into early foul trouble. That put us in a big hole. I was way too conservative and should have gotten him back on the court in the first half. He played his heart out in the 2nd half and never did get called for another foul. William Swan continues to impress as he hones his skills and becomes more confident in game situations. He’s now strongly competing for the starting SG spot.”

Late breaking news: Following the game, Jamal Grady slipped in the shower and will be evaluated to determine if he suffered a mild concussion. If he did he will miss 1-2 games as a precautionary measure.