Men's Basketball Hosts Horizon League Leader Valpo Wednesday on ESPN3
1/28/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Youngstown State men's basketball team closes out its three-game homestand when it welcomes Horizon League leader Valparaiso, Wednesday, Jan. 30, to the Beeghly Center.
• Tipoff is set for 7:05 p.m. and the game can be heard on 570 WKBN-AM and iHeartRadio.
• The game can also be seen on ESPN3.com.
Last Time Out
• The Penguins won their third straight Horizon League game with a 73-59 win over Cleveland State on Jan. 26.
• Junior Kamren Belin scored a career-high 24 points and made four 3-pointers to lead the Penguins.
• Junior Kendrick Perry scored 17 points with four assists and four steals.
• Senior Damian Eargle added 14 points with four blocks.
Up Next
• The Penguins visit Detroit, Friday, Feb. 1, in a nationally-televised contest on ESPNU.
• Tipoff is at 9 p.m. at the Calihan Hall and the game can be heard on 570 WKBN-AM and iHeartRadio.
The Valparaiso Series
•This is the 35th meeting between Youngstown State and Valparaiso in a series that dates back to 1989.
• The Crusaders own a 26-8 advantage in the all-time series.
• Youngstown State snapped a 14-game losing streak to Valparaiso with a 71-53 victory last season at the Beeghly Center.
• It marked the Penguins' first win over the Crusaders since 2000.
Scouting Valparaiso
• Valparaiso is 16-5 overall and leads the Horizon League with a 6-1 record.
• The Crusaders, who lost their first league game, are on a six-game winning streak and coming off a 73-61 win over Green Bay on Jan. 23.
• Senior Ryan Broekhoff leads the Crusaders with 17.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.
• Senior Kevin Van Wijk is posting 13.5 points per game and newcomer LaVante Dority averages 10.8 points per contest.
• Broekhoff is the defending Horizon League Player of the Year while Van Wijk was a First-Team All-Horizon League selection last season as well.
A Win Will
• Improve YSU to 13-8 overall on the year.
• Improve YSU to 5-3 in the Horizon League.
• Mark YSU's seventh home win of the season.
• Mark YSU's seventh win over Valparaiso.
• Mark YSU's first four-game winning streak of the season and first since last year.
• Mark Head Coach Jerry Slocum's 668th career victory and his 87th at Youngstown State.
• Mark YSU's 1,021st victory in the program's history.
Belin Named Newcomer of the Week
• After pouring in a career-high 24 points against Cleveland State on Jan. 26, Kamren Belin was named the Horizon League Newcomer of the Week.
• Belin was 7-of-14 from the field, including four 3-pointers, and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line against the Vikings.
• He also added five rebounds and three steals.
• Against Wright State on Jan. 23, Belin scored 10 points.
• Belin is averaging 12.1 points per game against Horizon League opponents.
• He has scored at least 20 points in two of the last three games, including a 21-point effort at Milwaukee on Jan. 19.
Eargle Nearing 1,000 at YSU
• The 1,000-point countdown for senior Damian Eargle has officially started.
• Eargle needs just 64 more points to become the 34th player in school history to score 1,000 points.
• Eargle has scored 936 points, including 253 this season, in his three-year career at Youngstown State.
• Including his 268 points at UNCG in 2008-09, Eargle has scored 1,204 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 Cleveland State, senior Blake Allen is within six of tying the YSU career 3-point record.
• Allen has made 192 career 3's and needs seven more to break the record of 198 in three years.
• The record of 198 was set by Craig Haese from 1997-2001, in four seasons.
• Allen ranks leads the Horizon League with 54 3-pointers made 2.7 3-pointers made per game.
DJ - Put the Needle on the Record
• Over the last seven games, sophomore guard DJ Cole is averaging 8.6 points per game.
• Cole is also shooting 42 percent from the field, 50 percent from 3-point range and 82 percent from the free-throw line during that time.
• In his three career starts, Cole is averaging 7.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game.
• YSU is also 3-0 when Cole is in the starting lineup.
KP Moving Up
• With 17 points against Cleveland State on Jan. 26, junior Kendrick Perry became the 22nd player in YSU history to score 1,100 points in a career.
• Perry has 1,104 and needs 27 to move into 21st place and 84 more to crack the top 20 all-time.
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 276 blocked shots, which are the YSU and Horizon League career records.
• Counting his 57 blocks at UNC-Greensboro, Eargle has reached 333 blocked shots for his entire college career.
To Catch a Thief
• Junior Kendrick Perry leads the Horizon League with 38 steals and 1.9 steals per game.
• Perry has a steal in nine straight games, has a total of 26 and an average a 2.9 during that span.
• He had a season-high six steals against Green Bay on Jan. 17.
• Perry also ranks third in YSU history with 152 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 15.7 points per game.
• He is also fourth with 4.3 assists per game and with a .865 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 3.5 blocks per game.
• The Youngstown, Ohio, native is tied for third in the league with 6.7 rebounds per game.
• He is also third with 5.0 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 206 assists compared to just 100 turnovers.
• That works out to an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.06.
• Allen leads the league at 3.3, Perry is third at 2.1 and Cole is eighth at 1.4.
Belin Finding Rhythm
• Junior Kamren Belin has scored a career high in two of the last three contests.
• Against Cleveland State, Belin scored a career-best 24 points on Jan. 26 and posted a then-career-high 21 points to lead the Penguins to a 75-72 win over Milwaukee on Jan. 19.
• Over the last three games, Belin is averaging 18.3 points and 4.5 rebounds.
• He is also averaging 12.1 points per game against Horizon League opponents.
• His .826 free-throw percentage against Horizon League foes is second to Kendrick Perry's .900 free-throw percentage in league games.
More Millennium Man
• Kendrick Perry is just the 16th YSU player to score at least 1,000 points before his senior year.
• He became the 14th player to reach the mark during his junior season.
• Perry is just the sixth Division I junior to score 1,000 points at YSU.
• He also became just the 15th player since YSU joined Division I to score at least 1,000 career points.
• 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.
Allen Among Nation's Best
• Senior Blake Allen is one of the country's best guards regarding assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Allen leads the Horizon League and ranks fifth nationally with a 3.3 assist-to-turnover mark.
• He has 63 assists and just 19 turnovers in 20 games.
• His averages are 3.2 assists and 0.9 turnovers per game.
• Allen also ranks 10th in the Horizon League in assists per game.
Two More Searching for 1,000
• With junior Kendrick Perry becoming the 33rd YSU player to score 1,000 points, seniors Blake Allen and Damian Eargle are trying to become the 34th and 35th players to match that feat.
• Eargle needs 64 more points while and Allen is 164 away.
• Eargle has scored 1,204 points in his college career, but 268 were at UNC-Greensboro.
• The last time two YSU players scored 1,000 career points in the same season was in 2000-01 when Desmond Harrison and Craig Haese reached the plateau.
Eargle's Block Party
• Senior Damian Eargle already owns the YSU and Horizon League career blocks records with 276.
• Eargle has recorded a block in 22 straight games dating back to last season.
• He has also blocked at least one shot in 50 of the last 52 games.
• In his 81-game career at YSU, Eargle has tallied a block in 76 contests.
• Eargle also leads the Horizon League with 146 career blocks in league-games only.
