Men's Basketball Hosts Cleveland State in HLN Game of the Week Saturday
1/25/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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Game Notes vs. Cleveland State
The Youngstown State men's basketball team hosts in-state rival Cleveland State in the Horizon League Network's Game of the Week, Saturday, Jan. 26, at the Beeghly Center. Tipoff is set for 2:06 p.m. EDT and the game can be heard on 570 WKBN-AM and iHeartRadio.
MyValleySports and SportsTimeOhio are also broadcasting the game live throughout the State of Ohio. The game can also be seen on ESPN3.com.
Last Time Out
• The Penguins won their second straight Horizon League game with a 68-61 victory overWright State, who was tied for the league lead at the time.
• Seniors Damian Eargle and Blake Allen led the Penguins with 18 and 17 points, respectively.
• Junior Kendrick Perry posted his first double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
• Junior Kamren Belin added 10 points and four rebounds.
Up Next
• The Penguins close out their three-game homestand against Horizon League leader Valparaiso, Wednesday, Jan. 30.
• Tipoff is at 7:05 p.m. at the Beeghly Center and the game can be heard on 570 WKBN-AM and iHeartRadio.
• The game is also on ESPN3.com
The Cleveland State Series
•This is the 78th meeting between Youngstown State and Cleveland State in a series that dates back to 1930.
• The Vikings own a 40-37 advantage in the all-time series and have won nine of the last 11 meetings.
• Last year, the Penguins fell to the Vikings, 67-47, at the Beeghly Center.
• At the Wolstein Center, Youngstown State came away with a 73-67 win last season.
Scouting Cleveland State
• Cleveland State is 10-11 overall and 2-5 in the Horizon League.
• The Vikings have lost three straight league games and are 1-9 in road contests this season.
• Freshman Bryn Forbes leads the Vikings with 11.8 points per game.
• Sophomore Charlie Lee is also averaging in double figures with 10.6 points per contest.
• Lee also has five assists per game.
A Win Will
• Improve YSU to 12-8 overall on the year.
• Improve YSU to 4-3 in the Horizon League.
• Mark YSU's sixth home win of the season.
• Mark YSU's 38th win over Cleveland State.
• Mark YSU's third three-game winning streak of the season.
• Mark Head Coach Jerry Slocum's 667th career victory and his 86th at Youngstown State.
• Mark YSU's 1,020th victory in the program's history.
Eargle Nearing 1,000 at YSU
• The 1,000-point countdown for senior Damian Eargle has officially started.
• Eargle needs just 78 more points to become the 34th player in school history to score 1,000 points.
• Eargle has scored 922 points, including 239 this season, in his three-year career at Youngstown State.
• Including his 268 points at UNCG in 2008-09, Eargle has scored 1,190 points in his collegiate career.
• He would become the only player in school history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 250 blocks.
Allen Nearing 3's Mark
• With two 3-pointers against Milwaukee, senior Blake Allen became is within eight of tying the YSU career 3-point record.
• Allen has made 190 career 3's and needs nine more to break the record of 198.
• The record of 198 was set by Craig Haese from 1997-2001.
• Allen ranks second in the Horizon League with 52 3-pointers made and leads the league with 2.7 3-pointers made per game.
DJ - Put the Needle on the Record
• Over the last six games, sophomore guard DJ Cole is averaging 8.5 points per game.
• Cole is also shooting 44 percent from the field, 54 percent from 3-point range and 78 percent from the free-throw line during that time.
• In his first career start at Milwaukee on Jan. 19, Cole scored seven points and dished out five assists.
• Cole turned in a career performance against Detroit on Jan. 10.
• Cole scored a career-high 16 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field.
• He also made a career-best eight free throws.
KP Moving Up
• With 14 points against Wright State on Jan. 23, junior Kendrick Perry is in 22nd place on the YSU all-time scoring list with 1,087.
• He needs 44 to move into 21st place and 101 more to crack the top 20 all-time.
• Perry needs 13 more to become the 22nd player in school history to score 1,100 points in a career.
Eargle Approaching 300 Blocks
• Senior Damian Eargle has the chance to become the only player in YSU and Horizon League history to record 300 blocks.
• Eargle has 272 blocked shots, which are the YSU and Horizon League career records.
• Counting his 57 blocks at UNC-Greensboro, Eargle has reached 329 blocked shots for his entire college career.
To Catch a Thief
• Junior Kendrick Perry had a season-high six steals against Green Bay (1/17) and is tied for the Horizon League lead with 1.8 steals per game.
• Perry also has a steal in eight straight games, has a total of 22 and an average a 2.8 during that span.
• Perry also ranks third in YSU history with 148 career steals.
• Last season, he set the school's single-game steals record with seven against Loyola on Feb. 5, 2012.
• Perry also set the YSU single-season mark with 74 swipes last year.
Perry Among League Leaders
• Junior Kendrick Perry is having an all-league caliber season.
• Perry ranks third in the Horizon League in scoring with 15.6 points per game.
• He also fourth with 4.3 assists per game and ranks sixth with a .854 free-throw percentage.
• Perry is third in the Horizon League with 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Eargle Defensive Production
• Senior Damian Eargle is playing like a defensive player-of-the-year candidate.
• Eargle ranks sixth nationally and leads the Horizon League with 3.4 blocks per game.
• The Youngstown, Ohio, native is third in the league with 6.8 rebounds per game.
• He is also second with 5.1 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 193 assists compared to just 92 turnovers.
• That works out to an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.1.
• Allen leads the league at 3.2, Perry is third at 2.1 and Cole is seventh at 1.6.
