YSU Hosts Hiram in Inaugural Downtown Roundball Classic at Covelli Centre
12/7/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Youngstown State hosts the Hiram Terriers in the Inaugural Downtown Roundball Classic, Saturday, at the Covelli Centre.
• Tipoff is set for 7:05 p.m. and the game can be heard on 570 WKBN-AM and IHeartRadio.
Last Time Out
• The Penguins defeated Geneva 93-50 on Dec. 6 at the Beeghly Center.
• Freshman Bobby Hain recorded a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
• Senior Blake Allen scored 15 points with five assists.
• Junior Kendrick Perry scored 11 points with eight assists and five rebounds.
• Sophomore Shawn Amiker added 10 points.
Up Next
• The Penguins take a break for finals then visit South Florida, Tuesday, Dec. 18, at 7 p.m. in Tampa, Fla.
The Hiram Series
• This is the 32nd meeting between Youngstown State and Hiram in a series that dates back to 1928.
• The Penguins own a 26-5 advantage in the all-time series and have won the last 11 contests.
•The last time Hiram defeated Youngstown State was in 1949, 70-64, in Hiram, Ohio.
Scouting Hiram
• Hiram enters the game with a 1-3 record and has lost three straight games. The Terriers lost to Oberlin, 55-51, on Dec. 5.
• Leading the Terriers are Aaron Stefanov and Alan Sheppard, who are averaging 13.8 points and 12.5 points per game, respectively.
• The Terriers are coached Steve Fleming, a 1994 graduate of Hiram.
First Non-Beeghly Home Game Since 1972
• Tonight's game against Hiram at the Covelli Centre is the first time in more than 40 years Youngstown State will be playing a home game away from the Beeghly Center.
• The last time the Penguins played a home game not in the Beeghly Center was on Feb. 19, 1972, against Steubenville. YSU won, 86-61, at South Field House.
Slocum Now 2nd
• With the 93-50 win over Geneva on Dec. 6, Head Coach Jerry Slocum picked up his 79th win at Youngstown State.
• He now ranks second all-time at Youngstown State for most victories with 79.
• He trails just legendary Dom Rosselli, who had 589 from 1940-82.
• With his next win, Slocum will be just the second Youngstown State men's basketball coach to reach at least 80 wins.
A Win Will
• Improve YSU to 6-4 on the year.
• Mark YSU's third home win of the season.
• Mark YSU's 27th win over Hiram.
• Mark Head Coach Jerry Slocum's 661st career victory and his 79th at Youngstown State.
• Mark YSU's 1,014th victory in the program's history.
KP Countdown
• Junior Kendrick Perry's countdown to 1,000 career points is officially underway.
• Perry now has 941 points in his career and scored 26 points against Kent State on Nov. 28.
• Perry needs just 59 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 was the largest point differential since 1990 when YSU defeated Point Park, 126-65.
Charitable Time of Year
• YSU's 30 assists against Geneva 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.
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 11 straight games dating back to last season.
• He has also blocked at least one shot in 39 of the last 40 games.
• In his 70 game career at YSU, Eargle has tallied a block in 65 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 Tops in Horizon League
• Senior Blake Allen leads the Horizon League with 2.8 3-pointers made per game.
• Allen also has a league-high 25 3-pointers made.
Straight-Aiming Amiker
• Sophomore Shawn Amiker is one of the team's best in terms of efficiency.
• Amiker leads the team with a .556 field-goal percentage.
• That clip also ranks second in the Horizon League.
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 792 points at Youngstown State and had 268 in 2008-09 at UNC-Greensboro for a total of 1,06051.
• He needs 208 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 59 more while Eargle is 208 away and Allen needs 276 more.
Blake's Take
• Senior Blake Allen is continuing his pursuit of the YSU all-time 3-point record.
• Allen now ranks fifth all-time with 163 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 36 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 third in the Horizon League in scoring with 16.8 points per game,.
• He also ranks seventh with a .863 free-throw percentage and sixth with 4.2 assists per game.
• Perry is fifth in the Horizon League with 1.9 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 second in the league with 7.4 rebounds 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.
Take Care
• 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 87 assists compared to just 45 turnovers.
• That works out to an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.9.
• Allen is second in the league at 2.3, Perry is fifth at 1.9 and Cole is eighth at 1.7.
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 239 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, Nearing 300
• Senior Damian Eargle became just the second player in school history to accumulate at least 200 career blocked shots.
• Eargle has 239 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 296 blocked shots for his entire college career.
• He needs just four more for 300 for his entire career.
Perry Now 8th in Assists
• Junior Kendrick Perry ranks tied for eighth all-time with 281 career assists.
• Perry is averaging 4.2 assists per game.
