The Town Crier

[PointGuard]

Penguins Duke It Out With Dukes
By Steve Porter

Asked about last night’s opponent the Duquesne Dukes before the game, Coach KD Durst replied, “The Dukes are an outside shooting team. All three of their starting perimeter players are averaging in double figures. We need to throttle their outside game.” The Dukes record stood at 3-1 coming into the game.

The Penguins’ inside due of Aaron Tice and Will O’Neil put their team on top 8-0 before two minutes has been played. As YSU continued to score inside, by the middle of the first half, they had increased their lead to 25-12. By hitting 51% of their shots, scoring 34 points in the paint and 14 points on fast breaks, out-rebounding Duquesne 19-15, and holding a 13-4 turnover advantage, the Penguins came out of the first half with a commanding 44-24 lead. PF Aaron Tice scored 16 and grabbed 6 boards and C Will O’Neil dropped in 14 points.

With 15 minutes left in the game, YSU’s lead had ballooned to 60-31. But midway through the second half, Duquesne roared back cutting the lead to 66-50 with an all-substitute Penguins squad on the floor. Youngstown State quickly rebuilt a 20+ point lead and sailed to an 80-59 drubbing of the Dukes the improved their record to 4-2. YSU outshot the Dukes 51% to 37%, controlled the boards 41-26, held a 17-11 turnover advantage, and scored 52 points in the paint. The only team advantage held by Duquesne was that they hit 11 of 24 three pointers compared to the Penguins 3 for 16 shooting from beyond the arc.

PF Aaron Tice led the scoring for the Penguins with 24 points and also grabbed 8 rebounds, C Will O’Nei scored 21 and pulled down 10 boards, and reserve C Kent Jones added 10 points.

“Coach Durst developed a game plan to exploit the Dukes inside and we were able to make that game plan work,” said Aaron Tice. “We got the crowd behind us early and with the rest of the team working the ball inside, Will, Kent and I were able to drop in a lot of shots. It was a lot of fun out there tonight.”

[PointGuard]

Tice Wins Award
By Steve Porter

For the third straight week, one of the Penguins was presented with a weekly award by the Horizon League. This week it was PF Aaron Tice who was named Horizon League Player of the Week. Tice scored 39 points and gobbled up 19 rebounds in the two games played by the Penguins this past week.

“Aaron put together two great games and against Duquesne, he was simply outstanding. In that game he dropped in 9 of 12 shots from the field and 6 of 7 from the foul line to score 24 points as well as hauling in 8 rebounds. In the earlier game against George Washington he scored 15, but more importantly, had 12 rebounds. This is the 4th year that Aaron has been a very solid player for us inside,” said Coach KD Durst.

Durst added, “Personally I thought Will O’Neil had another two exceptionally strong games that should have garnered him a 3rd straight Freshman of the Week award. He scored 38 points and picked off 17 rebounds in our two games this week.”

[PointGuard]

Minimal Recruiting Efforts by Penguins
By Steve Porter

First assistant coach Brandon Warren said that the Penguins recruiting efforts are continuing but right now are low key. “We have to conserve funds, so most of our effort right now consists of making a lot of phone contact. We aimed high during summer and early autumn but were only able to land one recruit. That leaves us with three more scholarships to fill,” Warren said.

He added, “There's some very good players still on our list, but we need to let things percolate a bit to see how they perform this season and if we can build interest with limited effort at this point. Some of them have academic records that give us concern as to whether they will get SAT scores that will qualify them to play for us. So that means not doing much beyond keeping in touch with them until SAT scores are available in late January. We also have one very strong international player who has shown interest, but we don’t have the money to make a big play for him. Hopefully our long-distance efforts stimulate enough interest within him by this spring. I don’t anticipate signing anyone else until April anyway.”

[PointGuard]

Penguins Rage in Cajun Country
By Steve Porter

Last night Youngstown State traveled to Louisiana to take on the UL Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns, a team led by perimeter scorers, SG William Hyle (20.3 ppg) and SF Bryan Adams (16.4 ppg). The Ragin’ Cajuns came into the game sporting a 4-3 record (with 2 of their losses to Florida and #10 UCLA), and they possessed the 36th highest RPI in the nation.

The Penguins struggled early but with 13 minutes left in the half, took their first lead at 11-10. With Coach Durst shuttling players in and out to try to wear down the Ragin’ Cajuns, YSU went ahead by 6 points at 23-17 with 6-1/2 minutes left in the half. But 90 seconds later the score was tied. The remainder of the half was tight with UL Lafayette escaping with a 37-36 halftime lead. C Will O’Neil led the scoring with 13 points in the half.

In the 2nd half the Penguins gradually established a 9 point lead midway through the half. The refs then decided to get overzealous with the use of their whistles, keeping either team from really employing an offense. Both teams traipsed repeatedly to the foul line. With 2 minutes to play YSU’s lead had shrunk to 72-68. Then with 1 minute on the clock, the Penguins led 75-70. The Ragin’ Cajuns missed a 3 and then had to foul. PG Linehan Murphy made just 1 of 2 leaving the outcome in doubt as UL-Lafayette quickly brought the ball up court. Aaron Tice blocked a 3 point attempt and James Asbury recovered the ball and made a quick outlet pass to Murphy who again was fouled immediately. Murphy again made just 1 of 2 to make it 77-70 but with just 24 seconds on the clock. The Penguins defense kept UL Lafayette from shooting until the last second. The miss left Youngstown State with a 77-70 win. Their record improved to 5-2. The Penguins outshot the Ragin’ Cajuns 50% to 38% which was the difference in the game.

C Will O’Neil dropped in 20 points. SG B.J. Dennis added 15.

“I feel very happy to escape with a win. Even though we seemingly gained control in the 2nd half, UL Lafayette never gave in and kept things close. Although B.J. and Will scored a high proportion of our points, overall this was a good team effort. Our 4 guards dished out a total of 16 assists and Aaron Tice and Kent Jones pulled down a combined 17 rebounds. Defensively we were able to hold Hyle and Adams, who had been averaging a combined 37 ppg to just 19 point combined and 7 for 27 from the field.” Asked about the refs, Durst replied, “They called the game tightly in the 2nd half when I think they thought the teams were getting overly aggressive, but you have to give them credit for calling it fairly against both sides.”

[PointGuard]

O’Neil Gains Another Award
By Steve Porter

Even though the Penguins played just one game this week, C Will O’Neil’s 20 points in their road win over the UL Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns yielded him yet another Horizon League Freshman of the Week Award.

O’Neil is now averaging 18.6 ppg as well as 6.1 rpg in his first seven Division I collegiate games. He’s hitting 60% of his FG attempts. His only deficiency is that he has dropped in just 51% of his free throw attempts, but he has gone to the foul line more than any other Penguins player and only Aaron Tice has scored more points at the line.

[PointGuard]

Home Update

When I was in New York a couple years ago when the Penguins played in the NIT, I met a woman from Queens who was coordinating things for the press. Not only was I attracted by her looks and personality, but her name greatly exceeded the Youngstown one-syllable “rule”. Meredith (3 syllables) Austinweiler (4 syllables) and I corresponded for several months and got together again when she was on a business trip to Ohio. That finally led to her finding a job here and moving in with me. Surprisingly to me, all has gone well thus far. My biggest challenge has been getting her to begin to use Ohio terms. I keep telling her it’s "warsh" not "wash"; we use a sweeper not a vacuum cleaner; the car has a boot not a trunk; rather than the ABC’s it’s the 3 C’s (Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati); there’s really just 3 main stores (Penny’s, Krogers, and Meijers); it’s B-Dub and not Buffalo Wild Wings; The Jake really isn’t a guy; rather than it being "no problem" or "no worries" it’s "you’re fine"; we don’t wear sneakers we wear tennis shoes; you "put that up" rather than "put that away"; and we drink pop rather than soda.

Other than her vocabulary, though, Meredith is quite a gal and the best thing that’s happened to me in years. I’m not sure how long she will put up with me, but hopefully it’s a long, long time.

To top that off, she’s got a top-notch management job here locally and makes a heckuva lot more money that I do. My friends all say they wonder what she sees in me.

[PointGuard]

Youngstown State Crushes Aggies
By Steve Porter

The New Mexico State Aggies came into the game sporting a 7-2 record that included a win on the road against #24 ranked Kansas.

Hot shooting by the Penguins made it possible to open a lead and gradually pull away from the Aggies in the first half. With 8 minutes remaining until halftime, YSU led 30-15. The lead expanded to 20 with 4-1/2 minutes remaining in the half. When the half ended, the Penguins were on top 42-25. C Will O’Neil had a tremendous half, scoring 16 points and pulling down 9 boards.

Youngstown State scored the first 9 points in the 2nd half to open a 26 point lead. The lead shrunk to 12 points late in the game, but the Penguins held on to record a 74-56 win over New Mexico State. Defensively, the Penguins held the Aggies shooting to 35% and forced 22 turnovers.

Leading the Penguins offensively was C Will O’Neil who scored 26 points and also grabbed 14 rebounds. PF Aaron Tice scored 18, SG B.J. Dennis hit for 12 points, and SF Chris Chambliss added 10. PG Pat White dished out 10 assists.

[PointGuard]

Penguins’ Center Gains Horizon League Honors
By Steve Porter

Will O’Neil, Youngstown State’s freshman center had a big game against New Mexico State (scoring 26 and pulling down 14 boards). That earned him not only the Horizon Leagues Freshman of the Week award but also the league’s Player of the Week award. Following the Penguins first 8 games, he leads the league in scoring averaging 19.5 ppg and is 5th in the league in rebounding with 7.1 rpg.

[PointGuard]

Penguins Nearly Bowled Over by Bowling Green
By Steve Porter

Youngstown State opened with a 4-0 lead but then fell behind. Even though they continually drew close, they didn’t overtake the Bowling Green Falcons until there were 3 minutes left in the half. They then held of the Falcons to hold a narrow 30-28 lead after 20 minutes of play in what was a defensive struggle. SG B.J. Dennis was the Penguins top scorer in the first half with 9 points.

In the 2nd half, Bowling Green’s defense stymied the Penguins and the Falcons went ahead 44-36 with 13 minutes to play. YSU fought back and with 4:58 on the clock, B.J. Dennis sunk a long 3 to put the Penguins back on top 57-55. A series of turnovers by Bowling Green allowed the Penguins to take a 64-57 lead with 1:37 on the clock. The Penguins then held on to score a 69-62 road victory and run their win streak to 5 games. YSU outshot Bowling Green 46% to 38%.

SG B.J. Dennis led the scoring for Youngstown State with 16 points and C Will O’Neil and PF Aaron Tice contributed 14 and 11 points respectively. PG Pat White dished out 9 assists for the 2nd straight game.

“This was a tough game for us. Bowling Green kept us on our heels most of the game. Fortunately our offense caught fire late in the 2nd half. B.J. Dennis played strongly throughout the entire game,” said Coach KD Durst. He added, “I’m pleased that we were able to finish our pre-conference schedule with a 7-2 record, particularly since 6 of our 9 games were on the road. I think we’re ready for league play now. The team is looking forward to defending its league title.”

[PointGuard]

Horizon League Outlook
By Steve Porter

Three teams in the Horizon League finished pre-conference play with stellar records. Wisconsin-Green Bay lost their final two games but still has a 6-3 record and has the 14th best RPI in the nation. Valparaiso’s record also stands at 6-3 and they have an RPI of 65. Youngstown State came on strong to go into conference play with a 7-2 record and an RPI that is 43rd best in the country.

The Penguins have been led by C Will O’Neil who is averaging 18.9 ppg which is tops of any player in the Horizon League. He and PF Aaron Tice are both averaging 7.0 rpg so they’re tied as the 4th best recruiters thus far in the Horizon League. Tice is also averaging 10.4 ppg. PG Pat White is only averaging 5.8 ppg but his 7.6 apg is the best of any Horizon League player. SF Chris Chambliss is averaging 11.3 ppg and 5.7 rpg and is the 2nd best player in the league in steals with 1.6 spg. SG’s B..J. Dennis and William Swan are averaging 7.9 and 6.6 ppg, respectively.

The team is averaging 76.8 ppg while having given up just 66.9 ppg. They’ve out-rebounded opponents 35.0 rpg to 34.1 rpg. And the Penguins have averaged only 12.3 topg while they forced their competition to make 17.9 topg.

“I’ve got a good feeling about our team this season,” exclaimed PF Aaron Tice. “We’re putting a potent offense together with a strong defense. After Jamal Grady graduated at the end of last season, I think everyone expected that our interior offense which had been our strength would wither away. But Will O’Neil has really come on strong. For a freshman to not only contribute but lead our team offensively like he’s done is simply amazing. And Pat White has really been an asset in the way he’s able to direct our offense and feed guys the ball for easy scores. This year we again have a strong bench with guys who can come in, fit in really well, and give us a boost. I can’t wait for Horizon League play to get underway.”