Men's Basketball Visits USF on ESPN3.Com Tuesday Night
12/16/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Game Notes vs. USF
Blake Allen Interview
Jerry Slocum Interview
After a more than a week between games due to finals, the Youngstown State men's basketball returns to action against South Florida, Tuesday, Dec. 18, at the USF Sun Dome in Tampa, Fla.
• Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game can be heard on 570 WKBN-AM and IHeartRadio and seen nationally on ESPN3.com.
Last Time Out
• The Penguins defeated Hiram, 71-44, on Dec. 8, at the Covelli Centre.
• It was YSU's first non-Beeghly Center home game in 40 years.
• Senior Damian Eargle scored a game-high 20 points with nine rebounds, four blocks and four steals.
• Junior Kendrick Perry scored 12 points and dished out seven assists.
• Sophomore Shawn Amiker tied a career high with 12 points.
Up Next
• The Penguins continue their swing through the Sunshine State when they visit Bethune-Cookman, Friday, Dec. 21, at 7 p.m. in Daytona Beach, Fla.
The USF Series
• This is just the second meeting in the all-time series between Youngstown State and South Florida.
• USF won the only meeting against the Penguins exactly 28 years ago on Dec. 18, 1984, with a 63-56 victory in Tampa.
Scouting USF
• USF enters the game with a 5-3 overall record and is coming off a 61-49 loss to Oklahoma State on Dec. 5.
• The Bulls are led by Toarlyn Fitzpatrick with 12.5 points and six rebounds per game.
• Jawanza Poland is second on the team in scoring with 10 points per contest.
• USF is under the direction of Head Coach Stan Heath.
USF Commonalities
• The Penguins and Bulls have three common opponents in 2012-13.
• Each school has defeated Georgia. YSU defeated the Bulldogs, 68-56, on Nov. 12.
• USF was victories over Georgia, 64-53, on Nov. 30.
• The Penguins defeated Bowling Green, 58-49, on Dec. 1 while the Bulls face the Falcons on Dec. 21.
• USF defeated Horizon League member Loyola, 68-50, on Nov. 17.
• The Penguins face the Ramblers on Jan. 5 and Feb. 7.
YSU Sunshine Standouts
• Youngstown State has three players that hail from the "Sunshine State."
• Senior Blake Allen is a native of Tampa, Fla., junior Kendrick Perry is from Ocoee, Fla. and freshman Bobby Hain hails from Jupiter, Fla.
Slocum Now 2nd
• With the 71-44 win over Hiram on Dec. 8, Head Coach Jerry Slocum picked up his 80th win at Youngstown State.
• He now ranks second all-time at Youngstown State for most victories with 80.
• He trails just legendary Dom Rosselli, who had 589 from 1940-82.
• He is just the second Youngstown State coach to with at least 80 games.
A Win Will
• Improve YSU to 7-4 on the year.
• Mark YSU's fourth road win of the season.
• Mark YSU's first win over USF.
• Mark Head Coach Jerry Slocum's 662nd career victory and his 81st at Youngstown State.
• Mark YSU's 1,015th victory in the program's history.
KP Countdown
• Junior Kendrick Perry's countdown to 1,000 career points is officially underway.
• Perry now has 953 points in his career and scored 26 points against Kent State on Nov. 28.
• Perry needs just 47 points to become the 33rd player to score 1,000 points in YSU history.
• The last player to accomplish the feat was Vytas Sulskis (2007-11).
• The last junior to reach 1,000 points was Quin Humphrey in 2005-06.
Largest Margin Since 1990
• The Penguins' 43-point margin of victory against Geneva on Dec. 6 was the largest point differential since 1990 when YSU defeated Point Park, 126-65.
Charitable Time of Year
• YSU's 30 assists against Geneva on Dec. 6 tied for the fourth most in a single-game.
• The last time the Penguins were credited with 30 assists was against Slippery Rock on Dec. 3, 2003.
• The Penguins also had 19 assists against Hiram on Dec. 8.
• Over the last two games, the Penguins averaged 24.5 assists per game.
Eargle's Block Party
• Senior Damian Eargle already owns the YSU and Horizon League career blocks records with 239.
• Eargle has recorded a block in 12 straight games dating back to last season.
• He has also blocked at least one shot in 40 of the last 41 games.
• In his 71 game career at YSU, Eargle has tallied a block in 66 contests.
More Millennium Man
• Kendrick Perry would become the 16th YSU player to score at least 1,000 points before his senior year.
• He would be the 14th player to reach the mark during his junior season.
• Perry would be just the sixth Division I junior to score 1,000 at YSU.
• He would also become just the 15th player since YSU joined Division I to score at least 1,000 career points.
Allen Second in Horizon League
• Senior Blake Allen is second in the Horizon League with 2.7 3-pointers made per game.
• Allen is also second with 27 3-pointers made.
Straight-Aiming Amiker
• Sophomore Shawn Amiker is one of the team's best in terms of efficiency.
• Amiker leads the team and the Horizon League with a .586 field-goal percentage.
Eargle Reaches 1,000 Points
• With 17 points against James Madison on Nov. 20, senior Damian Eargle scored the 1,000th point in his collegiate career.
• Eargle has scored 812 points at Youngstown State and had 268 in 2008-09 at UNC-Greensboro for a total of 1,080.
• He needs 188 more to become a 1,000-point scorer at YSU.
Three for 1,000
• Seniors Blake Allen and Damian Eargle and junior Kendrick Perry each have a legitimate chance at scoring 1,000 points in their careers at YSU.
• Perry needs 47 more while Eargle is 188 away and Allen needs 268 more.
Blake's Take
• Senior Blake Allen is continuing his pursuit of the YSU all-time 3-point record.
• Allen now ranks tied for fourth all-time with 165 career 3-pointers made.
• With two against Bowling Green on Dec. 1, Allen became just the fifth player in school history with at least 160 career 3-pointers made.
• He needs just 34 more to break the record of 198 set by Craig Haese (Haze) from 1997-2001
• He made six against Saint Francis (Pa.) on Nov. 16.
• Against GW on Nov. 10, Allen connected on 4-of-8 3-point attempts and tied for the team lead with 19 points against the Colonials.
Perry Among League Leaders
• Junior Kendrick Perry is having an all-league caliber season.
• Perry ranks fourth in the Horizon League in scoring with 16.3 points per game,.
• He also ranks fourth with a .877 free-throw percentage and fifth with 4.5 assists per game.
• Perry is fifth in the Horizon League with 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Eargle Defensive Production
• Senior Damian Eargle is playing like a defensive player-of-the-year candidate.
• Eargle ranks seventh nationally and leads the Horizon League with 3.6 blocks per game.
• The Youngstown, Ohio, native also leads the league with 7.6 rebounds per game.
• Eargle is fifth in the league with 1.5 steals per game.
• He also has a league-high 6.0 defensive rebounds per game.
• Against Bowling Green on Dec. 1, Eargle grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds, including 14 defensive boards.
Takin' Care of Business
• The YSU trio of guards of Blake Allen, DJ Cole and Kendrick Perry take care of the ball well.
• Combined, the three have dished out 99 assists compared to just 53 turnovers.
• That works out to an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.87.
• Allen is second in the league at 2.6, Perry is fifth at 2.0 and Cole is ninth at 1.3.
KP Scores Career High
• Junior Kendrick Perry scored a career-high 34 points against North Dakota State on Nov. 19.
• His 34 points are the most since Quin Humphrey scored 35 on Feb. 22, 2007, against Wright State.
• Perry scored 12 straight YSU points, including the Guins' final 10 of regulation.
• He hit a 3-pointer with 3.4 seconds left in the second half to force overtime.
• For the game, Perry made a career-best 13 field goals, grabbed a season-high eight rebounds and made four 3-pointers.
Belin Nets Back-to-Back Double-Doubles
• With 10 points and a career-high 12 rebounds against JMU, junior Kamren Belin posted his scored straight double-double.
• Belin recorded the first double-double of his career against North Dakota State on Nov. 19.
• Belin scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds against the Bison.
Eargle Sets Blocks Record
• With six against James Madison on Nov. 20 senior Damian Eargle became Youngstown State's career leader in blocked shots.
• Eargle has 239 surpassing Ricky Tunstall's 221, a record that stood since 1984.
• Eargle's 243 blocks are also the Horizon League career all-games blocks record.
Belin Hits For Career High
• Junior forward Kamren Belin scored a career-high 17 points against his home-state school.
• Belin connected on 5-of-9 from the field, including three 3-pointers against Georgia on Nov. 12.
• He also grabbed six rebounds and made 4-of-5 free-throw attempts.
KP Named Player of the Week
• For the second time in his career, junior Kendrick Perry was named the Horizon League Player of the Week on Nov. 19.
• Perry averaged 21 points, four assists and three steals per game and shot 50 percent from the floor in two wins.
Eargle Second To Get to 200 Blocks, Gets 300
• Senior Damian Eargle became just the second player in school history to accumulate at least 200 career blocked shots.
• Eargle has 243 blocked shots, which is the YSU career record.
• The only other player with 200 blocks is Ricky Tunstall, who recorded 221 career blocks.
• Counting his 57 blocks at UNC-Greensboro, Eargle has reached 300 blocked shots for his entire college career.
Perry Now 7th in Assists
• Junior Kendrick Perry ranks tied for seventh all-time with 288 career assists.
• Perry is averaging 4.5 assists per game.
Penguins Ink Marcus Keene Early
• The Penguins inked Marcus Keene to a National Letter-of-Intent during the early signing period.
• Keene, a 5-foot-9 point guard from San Antonio, Texas, was named all-state after averaging 14.7 points, 5.1 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game.
• Over his junior and sophomore seasons, Keene scored 781 points.
Hain Named HL Co-NOW
• Freshman Bobby Hain turned in an impressive performance in his college debut at George Washington.
• He was named the Horizon League Co-Newcomer of the Week on Nov. 12.
• Hain posted a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
• He was 7-of-9 from the field, including a 3-pointer.
• Hain scored 16 of his points in the first half, including a stretch of seven straight for the Penguins.
Penguins Picked Fourth
• Youngstown State was picked to finish fourth in the Horizon League in a poll of the League's Head Coaches, SIDs and select media.
• It is the highest preseason ranking for the Penguins since joining the Horizon League in 2001-02.
• YSU was never picked higher than seventh.
Perry Preseason First-Team
• Junior Kendrick Perry was named to the Horizon League Preseason First-Team.
• He is the first player since Quin Humphrey in 2006-07 to receive preseason league accolades.
• Perry led the league in scoring last year with 16.8 points per game.
Eargle Preseason Second-Team
• Senior Damian Eargle was selected to the Horizon League Preseason Second-Team.
• Eargle led the league in blocks (3.7), ranked third in rebounding (7.5) and 15th in scoring.
KP NABC All-District 2nd-Team
• Junior Kendrick Perry was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District 12 Second-Team last season.
First Winning Season in 11 Years
• The Penguins finished last season with an overall record of 16-15 and a 10-8 mark in the Horizon League.
• The 16 wins are the most since 2000-01 and the overall record marks the first winning season since the same year.
KP First-Team All-League
Junior Kendrick Perry was named to the All-Horizon League First-Team last season. Below are some tidbits on Perry:
• Led HL in scoring in all games (16.8) and league games only (16.8 ppg).
• Led league in steals in conference games (2.4).
• Just the fifth player to lead the Horizon League in scoring and steals in the same season.
• Tied for league lead with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.9.
• Ranked second in steals (2.4) in all games.
• Ranked fourth in assists per game (3.9).
• Was the first sophomore in school history to earn first-team all-conference honors.
• First YSU player since Quin Humphrey (2006-07 and 2005-06) to be named first-team all-league.
Eargle Named All-Defensive Team
Senior forward Damian Eargle was voted to the Horizon League All-Defensive Team. Below are some notes on Eargle's season:
• Set the Horizon League single-season blocks record for all games with 116 and league-games only with 65.
• Owns the Horizon League career record for blocks in conference play at 122.
• Ranked third nationally with 3.7 blocks per game.
