The Town Crier

[PointGuard]

Youngstown State Offense Continues to Surge
By Steve Porter

Youngstown State came out on the attack and went ahead of the Northern Kentucky Norse 18-6 in the first 5-1/2 minutes of play. The next 3 minutes were all Northern Kentucky as they reduced the lead to 18-15. The Norse then tied the game at 27-27 with 6-1/2 minutes remaining in the half. The Penguins gradually pulled away again and went to the locker room with a 42-35 lead. YSU achieved the advantage by dominating the boards 19-8. C Will O’Neil scored 12.

Early in the 2nd half the Penguins would open a small lead only to be reeled back in by Northern Kentucky. But YSU went on a run with O’Neil scoring repeatedly inside and drove to a 66-51 advantage with 11 minutes remaining in the game. The Penguins held off the Norse from there on and came away with a decisive 91-79 road win that improved their Horizon League record to 3-1 and moved them into a tie for 2nd place behind Detroit. The Penguins out-rebounded Northern Kentucky 34-20 and scored 52 points in the paint.

Leading the scoring was C Will O’Neil with 25 points. PG Pat White dropped in 19 points. Others scoring in double figures were SG Matt Angner with 11 points and SF Colin Chambliss who added 10 points. SF Terrance Grace scored 19 for Northern Kentucky.

“Our defense was soft tonight, but overall we played well,” said Coach KD Durst. “LeRoy Delea came off the bench to score 7 points and grab 5 rebounds in the 8 minutes he was on the court. We needed this win since we play UIC, the team tied for 2nd with us, and 1st place and 4-0 Detroit next week.”

The 10-3 Penguins are now averaging 83.9 ppg which is the 16th highest scoring offense in Division I this season. YSU’s opponents have averaged 73.5 ppg thus far.

[PointGuard]

O’Neil Has Big Week
By Steve Porter

State’s talented junior center Will O’Neil scored 56 points (hitting 23 of 31 FG’s and 10 of 13 FT’s), picked off 16 rebounds, dished out 4 assists, and had 5 steals in the Penguins two victories last week. His production led the Horizon League to name him their Player of the Week. This is O’Neil’s 4th such award this season. O’Neil now leads the Horizon League in scoring with 20.2 ppg, is third in rebounds with 7.0 rpg, is tied for 4th in steals with 1.5 spg and is tied for 5th in blocks with 1.2 bpg.

[PointGuard]

Battle of the Titans
By Steve Porter

The Penguins took on a big challenge last night when they traveled to meet the league-leading Detroit Titans (9-4, 4-0) who were 6-0 at home coming into the game. The Titans had scored more prolifically than YSU (86.3 ppg for Detroit compared to the Penguins’ 83.9 ppg). Three seniors for Detroit were averaging in double figures (SG Copley Scott at 19.2 ppg, C Walter Beerbohm at 14.8 ppg and SF Israel Hill at 11.5 ppg). “Detroit is such a potent team. Scott has averaged in double figures all four years he’s been playing for Detroit, but with Hill and Beerbohm able to come up big, it makes it tough to focus on Scott But Scott has scored well over 20 points in 6 of the Titans 13 games this season, so failing to stay on him can let him erupt and he’s knocked down 42% of his 3 point attempts. But then again, Beerbohm has scored over 20 points in three of their games and is hitting 66% of this field goal attempts. We’ve really wrestled with how best to defend this team,” said the Penguins 2nd assistant coach Donnell Weems.

The lead shifted back and forth in the early stages of the game. But midway through the half, Youngstown State opened a small lead at 25-16 with 9:17 remaining. The Titans chipped away and recaptured the lead at 36-34 with 4-1/2 minutes left in the half. The Penguins came right back and took back the lead, holding onto it throughout the remainder of the half to finish up by a 44-42 score. C Will O’Neil dropped in 15 points to lead the Penguins attack. SG Copley Scott had 11 for Detroit.

The Penguins scored 9 of the first 11 points in the 2nd half increasing their lead to 53-44. At the 10 minute mark, YSU led 71-61. The Titans hung in there though and when they hit a 3 with 4:11 remaining, they moved to within a single point at 80-79. Andre Lilly was fouled when trying to put up an 8 footer and sunk both free throws to make it 82-79 with 3:33 to go. Detroit scored on their next two possessions to take an 83-82 lead with 2:55 on the clock. YSU called a time out and on a designed play got the ball inside to Will O’Neil popped in a short jumper making it 84-83 in favor of the Penguins. PG Jim Avery hit another 3 as Detroit jumped back on top 86-84 with 1:25 left. Then after a miss by YSU, Detroit brought the ball upcourt and put up a shot that missed but PF Louvon Coursey tipped in the rebound to make it 88-84 with just 55 seconds to go. Following a time out the Penguins Colin Chambliss was freed up for a 3 but it went off the rim and Detroit rebounded. YSU was forced to foul. Detroit missed the first of a one-and-one and the Penguins grabbed the rebound. Unable to get an outside shot off, the ball went inside to Andre Lilly who was fouled on his shot attempt. Lilly dropped in both free throws cutting the lead to 88-86 with 14 seconds remaining. The Penguins fouled again but his time PF Terrance Towns nailed both shots to make it 90-86 in favor of the Titans which remained the final score. The loss dropped the Penguins into a 3-way tie for 3rd place in the league.

C Will O’Neil scored 30 and pulled down 9 boards. PF/C Andre Lilly contributed 19 points and 7 rebounds. SF Lee Pauly chipped in 12 points. Four players were in double figures for Detroit, led by SG Copley Scott’s 15.

“The Titans played as well as we expected and their hitting 55% of their shots compared to 47% by us was the difference in this game,” disappointedly said Coach KD Durst. “After we took a double digit lead, the Titans began chipping away which ignited their home crowd which lifted their team to a rousing finish. We’ve got our work cut out for us now in league play.”

[PointGuard]

Penguins Extinguish Flames
By Steve Porter

Both the Penguins and the visiting Illinois-Chicago Flames shot poorly at the beginning of the game. But midway through the first half, YSU went on a 12-0 run that put them ahead 22-14. From there on the Penguins continued to pull away to roll up a 45-30 lead at the break. The Penguins were led by C Will O’Neil’s 13 points and PF/C Andre Lilly’s 10 points, even though Lilly sat out the last part of the half with an ankle injury. SG Ronald Spruel knocked down 11 points for UIC.

UIC came out shooting bullets and quickly narrowed the gap to 54-47. Within the first 7 minutes of the 2nd half, C/PF Morris Phelan was out of the game along with Andre Lilly with an injury and C Will O’Neil had 4 fouls. 15 seconds later PG Pat White picked up his 3rd foul. Using their entire bench, the Penguins gradually pulled away and stomped the Flames 93-72. The win improved Youngstown State’s record to 11-4 overall and 4-2 in the Horizon League elevating them into a tie for 2nd place. Detroit continued to roll, drubbing Northern Kentucky 105-72, so the Titans now hold a 2-game lead in the league.

C Will O’Neil tossed in 22 points and picked off 8 rebounds. PF/C Andre Lilly had 12 points in the 12 minutes he was on the court. SG/SF James Asbury and SF/PF Lee Pauly both scored 10 points. For UIC SG Ronald Spruel scored 18 and had 7 rebounds.

Coach KD Durst said, “Scary game for us with two interior players coming down with injuries, particularly since we’ve already lost Donnie Williams. Andre Lilly went down hard on his shoulder in the first half. During the break, he said he felt good enough to play, but it was obvious he was favoring it when he started the 2nd half, so we sat him the rest of the game. Then Morris Phelan took a hard shot to the thigh early in the 2nd half so we took him out for the remainder of the game as a precautionary measure. Both seem to have sustained significant contusions. We’ll have the doctor check them out in the morning. Until then their status for our next game is uncertain.”

[PointGuard]

O’Neil Maintains His Dominance
By Steve Porter

The Horizon League again selected C Will O’Neil as their Player of the Week. O’Neil earned the award by scoring 52 points, gathering 17 rebounds, dishing out 3 assists, and making 2 steals and 2 blocks in the two games the Penguins played this past week. O’Neil has averaged 27 ppg and 8.3 rpg in his last 4 games.

“Will is carrying our team and gives them such a lift when he’s on the court.” Said Coach KD Durst. In the Horizon League, O’Neil is now 1st in scoring (20.9 ppg), 2nd in rebounding (7.2 rpg), 4th in steals (1.4 spg), and tied for 3rd in blocks (1.2 bpg). He’s been the league’s Player of the Week 5 of the 9 weeks this season.

[PointGuard]

Short-handed Penguins Dominate
By Steve Porter

Youngstown State travelled to take on the Milwaukee Panthers with not only Donnie Williams out of action, but also missing two other big men. Morris Phelan and Andre Lilly. Both stayed home nursing injuries sustained in their previous game, so the Penguins were very short-handed on the interior. Coach Durst selected Lee Pauly to start at PF. The Panthers top scorer, SG Kyle Selby, who missed a month with an injury was not a starter although able to play a limited role off the bench as he worked himself back into playing shape. Before the game, Coach KD Durst said, “Lee’s started for us before so I’m confident he’ll do a good job for us. But we’ve lost our interior depth so that could make things difficult for us, particularly if any of our big men run into foul problems.”

The Penguins applied a staunch defense early to jump out to a 16-5 lead after 8 minutes of play. The Penguins maintained a double digit lead throughout most all of the first half, and they led 36-24 at the break. C Will O’Neil scored 9 and PG Pat White hit for 8 while SF/PF Colin Chambliss hauled down 7 rebounds.

Led by O’Neil and White, the entire team caught fire and poured it on both offensively and defensively throughout the second half. The Penguins crushed the Panthers 89-55. YSU hit 53% of their shots (including 7 of 13 from beyond the arc) while limiting Milwaukee’s shooting to 31%. The Penguins also out-rebounded the Panthers 44-27.

C Will O’Neil dropped in 23 points and PG Pat White scorched the nets (8 of 10 FG including connecting on all 4 of his 3 point attempts) for 22 points. PF Lee Pauly scored 12 and grabbed 8 boards. SF/PF Colin Chambliss led the team in rebounding with 9 boards.

Coach KD Durst said, “This was a tremendous team effort. The guys pulled together with several of them playing out of position at times during the game. I was particularly pleased by our defensive effort.”

The win improved Youngstown State’s record to 12-4 overall and and left them in sole possession of 2nd place in the Horizon League with a 5-2 record. Detroit continued to lead the league with an unblemished 7-0 record. Within the Horizon League, the team is 2nd in scoring with 84.9 ppg (Detroit leads with 87.8 ppg), 2nd in assists with 19.4 apg (Detoit leads with 21.8 apg), 1st in rebounding (36.7 rpg), 1st in steals (8.1 spg), and 2nd in blocks with 5.3 bpg (UIC leads with 5.8 bpg).

[PointGuard]

Penguins Rock Beeghly Center
By Steve Porter

The Penguins welcomed the Wisconsin-Green Bay Phoenix to Beeghly Center with Andre Lilly and Morris Phelan still recuperating from injuries. The tattered Penguins fell behind 7-2 but then scored the next 8 points. Then 6-1/2 minutes into the game YSU opened a double digit lead at 19-9. But the Phoenix shot their way back into the game pull ahead 32-31 with 5 minutes remaining in the half. But the Penguins regained their footing and finished the half strong, leading 50-42. YSU outshot Wisconsin-Green Bay 53% to 39% but the Phoenix hit 7 of 18 from 3 point land to keep in the game. C Will O’Neil poured in 14 points while pulling down 8 boards. The Phoenix SG Ben Pettaway was on fire, scoring 16 points.

Cheered on by the crowd, the early-going of the 2nd half went all YSU’s way and with 13 minutes to go they led 65-51. They expanded their lead to 20 at 75-55 with 9-1/2 minutes remaining. Youngstown State continued to roll and reeled off a solid 90-72 victory. The Penguins dropped in 49% while Wisconsin-Green Bay hit just 36%. The Penguins also held a 15-8 turnover advantage.

The Penguins were led by C Will O’Neil’s 20 points, 13 rebounds, 1 steal and 3 blocks. SF/PF Colin Chambliss scored 15 while getting 4 steals and a block. PF LeRoy Delea and SG/SF James Asbury both scored 12, while SG Matt Angner and PG Pat White both scored 10 with White dishing out 9 assists. SG Ben Pettaway finished with 19 points and PF Julian Bonner hit for 14 and grabbed 9 boards for Wisconsin-Green Bay.

“Playing with 3 of our better players unavailable due to injuries is far from ideal, but it’s nice to see others step in to fill the breach. Tonight that was LeRoy Delea who did a great job offensively and defensively,” said Coach KD Durst. “And tonight was also another team effort with 6 players scoring in double figures.”

[Wayne23]

Very impressive win with three guys out!

[PointGuard]

Déjà vu: O’Neil Player of the Week Again
By Steve Porter

For the third week in a row and the 6th time this season C Will O’Neil was selected for the Horizon Lue Player of the Week award. This past week O’Neil scored 43 points, captured 18 rebounds, and had 3 steals and 5 blocks in the Penguins two wins. O’Neil now leads all others in the league in scoring (21.0 ppg) and rebounding (7.4 rpg). “Will’s simply on fire. With us having 3 players injured this week, it was huge the way he played and led the team,” said Coach KD Durst.

[PointGuard]

Surpraiso in Valparaiso
By Steve Porter

Last night’s opponent, the Valparaiso Crusaders, presented an usual perplexity. The Crusaders began the year by losing their first 12 games and were pretty much out of all those losses. But Valparaiso has won 3 of their past 5 games and one of the losses was in overtime. They’ve improved their offensive output by at least 10 ppg and decreased the scoring of their opponents by over 5 ppg. So they have become a very competitive team with 3 players averaging between 12 and 14 ppg. C Marty Jeppson has not only scored 57 points in the Crusaders past 3 games but has hit 25 of 30 of his field goal attempts.

Valparaiso’s court is in their Athletics-Recreation Center which seats a maximum of just 5000 people. But that was no problem because there were plenty of empty seats. PF/C Morris Phelan, while not fully recovered, was cleared to play a limited role. Valparaiso hit 7 of their first 8 shots to take a 15-8 lead after just 3-1/2 minutes of play. After falling behind as much as 14 points, the Penguins came back to tie the game at 31-31 with 7-1/2 minutes remaining in the half. The refs piled foul upon foul against YSU. Coach Durst’s complaints turned into a tirade with 6 minutes still to play in the half and the refs called him for a technical. The half ended with 15 fouls being called against YSU but only 5 against the Crusaders. Valparaiso made 18 of 23 foul shots compared to 5 of 7 for the Penguins. That together with Valparaiso’s sizzling 77% shooting from the field (17 of 22) resulted in Youngstown State trailing 54-47 at the break. 6 players for the Penguins had 2 fouls and one had 3. PG Pat White hit for 13 points and C Will O’Neil scored 10, but the Crusaders’ C Marty Jeppson was 7 of 7 from the field and 5 of 7 from the line for 19 points.

The 2nd half was a bigger disaster for the Penguins than the first half had been. The Penguins could never maintain a sustained attack and the Crusaders continued to shoot the lights out while the refs called 15 more fouls against YSU putting Valparaiso on the line for 20 more free throw attempts. Not only that the Penguins were out-rebounded 40-26 and outscored in the paint 44-22. Youngstown State suffered an embarrassing 102-75 drubbing.

PG Pat White led the scoring for the Penguins with 18 points followed by SG Noel Manley’s 14 points, and C Will O’Neil’s 11 points. O’Neil also had 9 rebounds, 3 steals and a block. C/PF Marty Jeppson finished with 24 points for Valparaiso and SF Andrae Calloway scored 16 and grabbed 10 boards.

“Valparaiso basically stole our game away from us attacking inside and also controlling the boards,” said Coach KD Durst. “Not only that, they sealed off the interior and kept the ball away from Will O’Neil and our other interior players. A great job of coaching and implementing their game plan. When you let a team hit 67% of their shots, there’s not much way you can contend. We deserved the butt-kicking we got tonight. One positive was that Noel Manley had another great game, hitting 5 of 6 field goals including 3 of 3 from beyond the arc and also dishing out 4 assists in 16 minutes of play.”

While still in 2nd place in the Horizon League, the Penguins are now 3 games behind 9-0 Detroit. Detroit is now the 3rd best scoring team in the nation, averaging 87.4 ppg. “Since league play began, the Titans have really gelled. They’re rolling over everybody,” commented Durst. Durst refused to admit that injuries are wreaking havoc with the Penguins. Instead he said, “We might just find that the injuries are a positive in the long run, since our bench is getting more minutes and reserves are getting experience that could be invaluable later in the season.”