The Town Crier

[Wayne23]

Break up the Penguins!

[PointGuard]

Horizon League Awards Continue for O’Neil
By Steve Porter

Four weeks into the season C Will O’Neil was named the Horizon League Player of the Week for the third time. O’Neil scored 18 points, pulled down 7 rebounds, and had 2 assists and 2 steals in the Penguins only game this week and their 7th victory of the season.
O’Neil is averaging 20.3 ppg and 6.3 rpg this season.

[PointGuard]

Ball Drops Ball State’s Way
By Steve Porter

A combination of poor shooting and numerous fouls on the Penguins with Ball State converting 9 of 10 free throws resulted in the YSU falling behind 20-7 after just 7 minutes of play. But the Penguins’ defense took hold and the team scored 19 unanswered points to take a 26-20 lead with 7 minutes later. The score at the end of the half was 32-30 in favor of Youngstown State. Both teams shot poorly with Ball State hitting 33% of their shots and YSU just 30% of theirs, but the Penguins controlled the boards 24-16. PG Pat White and C Will O’Neil both scored 6 points for YSU while Ball State’s PG Chris Miles led all scorers with 10 points.

Ball State went on a 12-0 scoring spree in the first 2 minutes of the 2nd half to take a 42-32 lead. After falling behind by 12, the Penguins ground their way back midway through the half and with 8-1/2 minutes remaining trailed by just 2 at 56-54. When Will O’Neil threw down slam dunk with 5:57 on the clock, YSU went on top 57-56. But the Cardinals hit back-to-back 3’s to take a 69-63 lead with 3:39 to play. Ball State held off the Penguins from there on and Youngstown State dropped their first game of the season by a final score of 74-69. Even though the Penguins were outshot 42% to 36%, the real difference in the game was PG Chris Miles scorching the nets for 27 points.

C Will O’Neil scored 18 and grabbed 8 rebounds, SF/SG James Asbury hit for 11, and PG Pat White and PF Donnie Williams both scored 10 with Williams recording his first double-double as a Penguin with 10 boards.

“Tough game to lose. We had a shot at it but the Cardinals' Chris Miles hit some darts that sunk us,” said Coach KD Durst.

[PointGuard]

Player in the Spotlight: Colin Chambliss
By Steve Porter

Senior small forward Colin Chambliss has started in 102 of the 103 games Youngstown State has played since he began playing for the Penguins 4 years ago. The only game he didn’t start was the Penguins’ final home game when Chambliss was a sophomore for which he gave up the starting spot to a perennial substitute who was playing his final game for the Penguins. Chambliss still finished with high point honors in that game.

Colin hails from Girard, Ohio where he was the star of the Girard High School basketball team and a talented wide receiver on their football team. As a 6’3” small forward, he gives up height to most of his opponents but plays big. He’s an extremely talented pressure defender who gets not only a lot of steals but a surprising number of blocks. Chambliss has a sweet shot and can and does score from anywhere on the court.

“Colin is selfless on the court. He connects on a high percentage of his shots and has been a good scorer for us every year, but he often gives up scoring opportunities attempting to find the best shots for the team. To go along with his scoring proficiency he often shuts down his opponent and has great leaping ability so that he’s always one of our best rebounders,” said Coach KD Durst. “He is probably the most flexible player we’ve had here at Youngstown State, so while he’s primarily a small forward he’s also played extensively at PF and SG and even a little at PG. He’s an extremely hard worker who has steadily developed his skills each and every year and plays the game with a high level of intensity.”

“It’s been great playing for Youngstown State. With Girard being right outside Youngstown, my family and friends have been able to get to a lot of our games. And I feel fortunate to have been able to play here as Coach Durst’s program gelled into the best in the League,” said Chambliss.

Chambliss was the Horizon League’s Freshman Player of the Year in 2020, named to the All-Conference 2nd Team in 2021, and was named the Horizon League’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2022.

He is on the Dean’s List with a 3.5 GPA and will be graduating at the end of spring term with a degree in Natural Resources and Conservation. “For too many years worrying about the environment and pollution was never a concern in the Rust Belt, so I hope to be able to make a contribution toward protecting environmental conditions and improving the health of our younger population in Ohio after I graduate,” said Chambliss.

[PointGuard]

Odds Long in Las Vegas
By Steve Porter



Youngstown State’s final pre-conference game was at UNLV. Following last season when the Runnin’ Rebels sported a 33-3 record and were ranked #3 in the nation, this season UNLV was 4-4 coming into the game. But three of their losses were to #17 Wake Forest, #22 Kansas, and Duke and two wins were over #4 Maryland and UCLA. The Runnin’ Rebels were 4-0 at home. SG Tim Daniels was scoring 22.9 ppg and C Antonio Boyce was averaging 17.3 ppg.

The Penguins hung with UNLV early, but good outside shooting by the Runnin’ Rebels allowed them to gradually pull away and open as much as a 10 point lead as C Will O’Neil and PG Pat White got into foul trouble limiting their time on court. But YSU fought back late in the half to close the half trailing by just a 42-40 score. C Andre Lilly scored 9 and SG/SF James Asbury added 8. But UNLV’s SG Tim Daniels scored 13 plus pulled down 6 rebounds.

James Asbury buried an early 3 in the 2nd half to put YSU on top 43-42. UNLV recaptured the lead but the score stayed close and the lead exchanged hands several times. But late in the half, the experience of the Runnin’ Rebels paid dividends and they gradually pulled away to defeat the Penguins 78-65. While Youngstown State hit more FG’s, UNLV knocked down 11 three’s compared to just 1 by the Penguins. UNLV also scored 9 more points at the line than did the Penguins.

SG/SF James Asbury scored 13 and had 5 rebounds, 3 steals, and a block. C Will O’Neil scored 12 and pulled down 6 boards. PF Donnie Williams hit for 11 and C Andre Lilly added 10. UNLV’s scoring was topped by SG Tim Daniels who finished with 17 plus had 10 rebounds.

“We gave it a good try and put a scare into UNLV but UNLV’s home crowd had an affect and we ran out of gas at the end of the game,” said Coach KD Durst.

Youngstown State finished pre-conference play with a 7-2 record.

[PointGuard]

Penguins Begin Horizon League Play
By Steve Porter

Although Youngstown State presently has a 2-game losing streak, the Penguins enter Horizon League action as the prohibitive favorites. Before their recent losses they ran off 7 straight wins. Their 7-2 preconference record betters all other Horizon League teams and their RPI (40th best in the nation) is better than any others teams in their league. YSU is averaging 82.4 ppg (33rd best in the country), 38.1 rpg (36th in the country), 20.4 apg (9th highest nationally), 7.8 spg (40th best in the country), 5.9 bpg (112th in the nation), and just 11.9 topg (63rd best nationally). Their opponents have averaged 71.8 ppg, 32.7 rpg, and 16.2 topg.

The team has shown excellent depth. At PG Pat White is averaging 7.7 ppg and 7.4 apg while Matt Stafford has scored 6.3 ppg while dishing out 3.1 apg. James Asbury (10.6 ppg and 3.9 rpg) and Matt Angner (6.8 ppg and 3.1 rpg) have shared most of the time at SG while Noel Manley has played well albeit with limited playing time. Colin Chambliss continues to perform well at SF, averaging 8.6 ppg and 5.2 rpg and has been backed up well by James Asbury and Lee Pauly (4.1 ppg and 3.6 rpg). On the interior freshman Donnie Williams has solidified his starting role at PF (6.2 ppg and 6.0 rpg) and Will O’Neil leads the team at the C position (19.1 ppg and 6.4 rpg). Andre Lilly (6.4 ppg and 3.0 rpg) and Morris Phelan (3.8 ppg and 2.0 rpg) fill in at both C and PF while Lee Pauly and LeRoy Delea (2.0 ppg and 1.3 rpg) have spent time at PF.

The UIC Flames led by SG Ronald Spruel (14.3 ppg) have the next best preconference record (6-3) and the second best RPI (75). The Milwaukee Panthers have a 5-4 record and RPI of 114 but their leading scorer, SG Kyle Selby (17.5 ppg) has a broken elbow and will miss nearly a month more of action. The Detroit Titans also have a 5-4 record with PG Copley Scott averaging 18.3 ppg and C Walter Beerbohm averaging 15.9 ppg. The Wisconsin-Green Bay Phoenix were an early favorite to challenge the Penguins but have slumped in preconference play to a 3-6 record with SF Josh Abraham averaging 13.7 ppg and C Jamil Weekes hitting for 12.4 ppg.

“Being past league champs and favorites this season simply paints a big target on our backs. “Our opponents will be looking to knock us off, so we need to come up big each and every game. Playing on the road in the Horizon League is always fraught with danger,” said Coach KD Durst. “It’s true that our players have set as their goal to repeat as league champs and make a deeper run in the NCAA Tourney, but it’s a long season and we can’t have any let-downs and hopefully no serious injuries.”

[PointGuard]

Penguins’ Offense Sizzles
By Steve Porter

Youngstown State held Cleveland State scoreless for the first 6 minutes of the game and were ahead 12-0 by that point. Although the Vikings got their offense going, the Penguins continued to pull away and finished the half ahead 50-33. YSU hit 59% of their shots while limiting Cleveland State to 39%. PG Pat White hit for 10 points and C Will O’Neil scored 9. PG Michael Schau fired in 9 points for the Vikings.

The second half was characterized by sloppy defense as Coach Durst shuttled players in and out of the game. But the Penguins came away with a 93-76 victory in their first league game of the season. The Penguins knocked down 58% of their shots.

Leading the scoring for YSU was C Will O’Neil with 15 point, and he also had 4 steals and a block. PG Pat White and SG/SF James Asbury both scored 13. SG Matt Angner dropped in 11 points and SG Noel Manley scored 10. For Cleveland State SG John Smith scored 17.

But the win was tempered by the news that PF Donnie Williams suffered a broken toe during the game and is expected to miss at least the rest of the regular season. 3rd Assistant Coach Shannon Winn said, “Donnie was playing well, particularly for a freshman, and was rapidly fitting more and more into the flow of the game, so we will miss his presence on the court and his contributions both offensively and defensively. Injuries are always a real downer, especially when they happen to a starter. But we’ll use a combination of Andre Lilly, Morris Phelan, Lee Pauly and LeRoy Delea to absorb Donnie’s minutes. All four are talented players. We’re hoping Donnie heals quickly enough to give us a boost for the Horizon League tournament.”

[Wayne23]

Oh No! Not Donnie!!!

[PointGuard]

Durst Cops a Plea
By Steve Porter

“Oakland’s 4-6 record makes them look weak but when we play in their renovated gym, we will be their first home game of the season. So it was no mean achievement to win 40% of their games on the road and one of those wins was at Florida State. So we definitely can not underestimate them. And with our game against them being their home opener, I expect them to be extremely motivated,” commented Coach KD Durst before their game with the Oakland Golden Grizzlies. “They’re nursing some injuries just like we are so I think there’s a lot of uncertainty coming into this game.”

Oakland’s head coach, Reggie Williams, said, “I’ve never before coached a team that began the season with 10 straight road games. It was hell. Our guys are excited to finally have a home crowd to cheer them on. We’ve had a rash of injuries so our guys will need to play at the top of their game, especially since we’re taking on the Penguins. Unfortunately our record against them in the past few years hasn’t been good, but winning this one would buoy our spirits and definitely help turn around our season. We want to finish near the top of the league standings so need to win at home.” Williams took over as head coach at Oakland four seasons ago and has taken a team that was winning less that 10 games a season to a team that won 35 and lost 26 games the past two seasons.

Youngstown State opened the game with Andre Lilly starting at PF in place of injured freshman Donnie Williams. Oakland came out of the gate shooting well and took a 10-6 lead after 4 minutes of play. The Penguins evened things up soon thereafter but Earl Hoskin, starting in place of injured SG Gary Johnso We n, hit his 4th three-pointer with 10 minutes remaining in the half to put the Golden Grizzlies on top 25-20. Late in the half Oakland went on a run that put them in command at the break 51-35. The Golden Grizzlies hit 68% of their FG attempts and knocked down 7 of 9 from beyond the arc. PG Pat White led the Penguins with 8 points, while SG Earl Hoskin scored 14 and PG Clint Smith and C Ivan Oates both scored 10 for Oakland.

In the 2nd half Youngstown State’s poor shooting kept them from making a serious run and even though Oakland had numerous turnovers (27 for the game), the Golden Grizzlies continued to shoot well enough to open as much as a 22 point advantage. Late in the game the Penguins made a desperate attempt to catch up but the closest they got was the final losing deficit of 80-72. YSU hit just 38% of their FG attempts and was 3 of 19 from 3-point range.

Leading the Penguins was C Will O’Neil with 19 points and 13 rebounds (11 of those were offensive rebounds). PF Morris Phelan and SG/SF James Asbury both scored 12. PF Keanan Cole scored 17 plus had 2 steals and 3 blocks for Oakland.

“We’d hoped to stay undefeated in the league a little longer so we’d be up at or near the top of the standings, but with this loss we’re in the middle of the pack. It was disappointing how we played tonight,” said Coach KD Durst. “We just never got untracked offensively and our defense was exceptionally porous. Even though we forced a lot of turnovers, we continually gave Oakland too many open shots. We just seemed to be a step slow way too often tonight. I erred in the first half when Will O’Neil got into early foul trouble and I sat him until the very end of the half. While he was off the court Oakland made their big pull-away. That turned out to be too big of a hole for us to climb out of in the second half. So chalk up this loss to me rather than the players.”

[PointGuard]

O’Neil Dominates
By Steve Porter

Both Wright State and Youngstown State played well in the first half. But the Penguins hit 55% of their shots compared to the Raiders 46% shooting. That made the difference in YSU’s 47-40 halftime lead. C Will O’Neil had a big half scoring 17, grabbing 4 rebounds, and getting 3 steals. Reserve PG JaJa Watkins led Wright State with 11 points.

The Penguins’ lead in the 2nd half increased to 23 points. They then coasted to an easy 93-75 victory, hitting 56% of their FG attempts even though they hit just 1 of 12 from outside the arc. The Penguins controlled the boards 35-27 and held a 17-11 turnover advantage and scored 46 points in the paint. The win improved Youngstown State’s league record to 2-1, good enough for a tied for 3rd place, a game behind UIC and Detroit.

Youngstown State’s C Will O’Neil was totally dominant inside, scoring 31 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, and getting 4 steals. SG/SF James Asbury scored 15, hauled in 6 boards, and had 5 assists. PF Morris Phelan tossed in 12 points and PF/C Andre Lilly hit for 10 points. PG Pat White had 11 assists. PF Jerald Johnson led Wright State with 15 points and 9 rebounds.

“The guys took care of business tonight and Will O’Neil had an awesome game,” said Coach KD Durst.