Men's Basketball Hosts Westminster on Saturday Morning
11/22/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Youngstown State men's basketball team plays consecutive home games for the first time this season when it hosts Westminster, Saturday, Nov. 23.
• Tipoff is set for 11:15 a.m. EST at the Beeghly Center.
• The game can be heard on 1390 WNIO-AM and iHeartRadio.
Ticket Promotion
• YSU football fans can use their game ticket against South Dakota State for free admission to the men's basketball game against Westminster.
• Fans using a football ticket will be allowed to sit in the general admission portion of the Beeghly Center.
Last Time Out
• Six players scored in double figures as Youngstown State defeated Thiel, 82-58, on Nov. 20.
• Senior Kamren Belin led the way with 13 points and junior Shawn Amiker came off the bench to score 12.
• Junior DJ Cole and sophomore Ryan Weber each scored 11, and senior Kendrick Perry and sophomore Bobby Hain added 10 points apiece.
The Westminster Series
• This is the 47th meeting between Youngstown State and Westminster in a series that dates back to 1928.
• This is the first time the schools have met since 1981.
• The Titans own a 29-17 advantage in the all-time series.
Scouting Westminster
• Westminster enters the game with an overall record of 0-3 after dropping an 84-71 decision to Pitt-Bradford on Nov. 20.
• Freshman guard Jason Pilarski leads the Titans with 15 points per game while sophomore Paul Carswell is second on the squad with 13.3 points per game.
• Senior Anthony Thomas is also in double figures with 12.7 points per contest.
KP In the League
• Senior Kendrick Perry is in the top four in four key Horizon League statistical categories
• He leads the league in steals (3.0 spg), ranks second in assists (4..5 apg), third in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.7), and fourth in scoring (18.0 ppg)
A Win Will
• Improve YSU to 6-1 on the season.
• Mark YSU's first 6-1 start since the start of the 1994-95 season.
• Mark YSU's 18th win over Westminster.
• Mark YSU's third home win of the season.
• Mark Head Coach Jerry Slocum's 679th career victory and his 98th at Youngstown State.
• Mark YSU's 1,032nd victory in the program's history.
Slocum In Elite Company
• Youngstown State Head Coach Jerry Slocum ranks among the best in the history of college basketball in terms of overall wins.
• As of Nov. 15, Slocum ranks 34th all-time with 678 career victories and surpassed Denny Crum, who had 675 career victories.
• He also ranks fifth among active Division I coaches in all-time wins.
Cool Hands Cole
• Junior guard DJ Cole has been sure handed when handling the rock.
• Cole, who is averaging 4.2 assists per game, leads the league with a 3.6 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• He also ranks third in the league in assists per game.
Hain On the Boards
• Sophomore Bobby Hain is proving he is one of the top rebounders in the Horizon League.
• Hain, who already has two double-doubles this year, ranks fourth in the league with 7.8 rebounds per game.
Six For 10
• In the 82-58 win over Thiel on Nov. 20, six players scored in double figures.
• It marked the first time that feat has been accomplished since Feb. 4, 2010, when six players scored at least 10 points against Loyola.
KP Nets Steals Mark
• With four steals against UMass on Nov. 17, senior Kendrick Perry became Youngstown State's all-time steals leader.
• He now has 188.
• Perry broke the record of 182 set by Bruce Alexander between 1979-83.
Keene Hits for High
• Freshman Marcus Keene has exploded onto the scene for the Penguins through the first five games.
• Keene, who is averaging 10.0 points per game, scored a career-high 20 points in the 85-69 loss to UMass on Nov. 17.
• He is also ranks seventh in the Horizon League with a .480 3-point percentage
Hot-Handed Hain
• Sophomore Bobby Hain is playing a hot hand right now.
• The 6-10 center has two double-doubles and has made 58.5 percent of his field-goal attempts over the last five games.
• Hain also ranks ninth in the Horizon League with a .500 field-goal percentage.
Century Mark
• With the 104-58 win over Warren Wilson College on Nov. 14, YSU reached the 100-point mark for the first time since 2003.
• The last time the Penguins scored at least 100 points was a 106-69 win over Slippery Rock on Dec. 3, 2003.
KP Notches 22nd 20-Point Game
• With a game-high 31 points against Eastern Kentucky, senior Kendrick Perry notched his 22nd game with at least 20 points.
• It also marked the fourth 30-point effort of his career.
• Last season, Perry scored more than 20 points 10 times.
• He also scored at least 20 points in a game as a sophomore nine times and once as a freshman in 2010-11.
Weber Nets Career-High
• Sophomore Ryan Weber began his sophomore campaign on the right foot.
• Weber scored a career-high 18 points with four 3-pointers, five rebounds and five steals against Kennesaw State.
Perry Now 14th
• With 108 points this season, senior Kendrick Perry now ranks 14th all-time on the YSU scoring list with 1,417 points.
• He needs 14 more to move into 13th place on the all-time scoring list.
Keene Makes Impressive Debut
• Freshman Marcus Keene made an impressive debut at the Kennesaw State tournament. Keene averaged nine points, three rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.
• He also converted 55 percent (5-of-9) of his 3-point attemtps.
• He scored a then-career-high 10 points against Kennesaw State on Nov. 8.
Perry Moving Up Assists, 3's, FT Charts
• Not only is senior Kendrick Perry YSU's all-time steals leader and climbling the all-time scoring list, he is also moving up the career assists, career 3-pointers made, and free-throws made charts.
• Perry ranks tied for fourth all-time with 392 career assists, sixth with 336 made free throws and seventh with 149 career 3-pointers made.
• Perry should also become the school's all-time leader in minutes played.
• Her currently ranks fourth with 3,205 minutes, and the school record is 3,689 held by Quin Humphrey from 2003-07.
Penguins Picked Fifth; Get First-Place Vote
• Youngstown State was picked to finish fifth in the Horizon League's Preseason Poll of head coaches, SIDs and selected media.
• The Penguins earned 219 points and received a first-place vote for the first time.
Perry Named Preseason POY
• Senior Kendrick Perry was named the Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year after averaging 17.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game last season.
• Perry is the only returning player in the Horizon League that ranked in the top 10 in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals per game and free-throw percentage.
• Perry tied for the league lead with 1.9 steals per game, and ranked second in scoring, fifth with a .845 free-throw percentage, sixth with 4.1 assists per game and 10th with 5.5 rebounds per game.
Belin Named Preseason Second-Team
• Senior Kamren Belin was voted to the Preseason All-Horizon League Second-Team. Last season, Belin averaged 11.1 points per game, but posted a 12.3 points per game scoring average in league play. His .407 3-point percentage ranked fifth in the league.
Perry Preseason Accolades
• Senior Kendrick Perry collected a plethora of preseason honors this year.
• Besides the Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year, Perry also collected the following preseason laurels:
• 2014 Cousy Award Watch List
• 2014 Senior CLASS Award Candidate
• Named 2013-14 Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year by Midmajormadness.com
• Named 2013-14 Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year by Blue Ribbon Sports.
• Named Top Ten Mid-Major Point Guards to Watch in 2013-14 by MidMajorMadness.com
• Named 2013-14 Horizon League Preseason Top Player by TheHoopsReport.com
• Ranked #17 on Bleacher Reports Top 20 Mid-Major Stars in 2013-14
Most HL Wins In Consecutive Years
• Youngstown State's 17 Horizon League wins over the last two seasons marks a program high.
• The Penguins had just 16 league wins in the previous four years combined.
• The 10 wins in 2011-12 were the most since joining the league in 2001-02.
• Last year was the third time the Penguins have won at least seven league contests.
• The Penguins had 20 conference wins in their final two seasons in the Mid-Continent Conference - 11 in 2000-01 and nine in 1999-2000.
