Men's Basketball Visits League Leader Valpo Tuesday Night
2/25/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Game Notes vs. Valparaiso
The Youngstown State men's basketball team returns to the road for two final Horizon League contests starting with league leader Valparaiso, Tuesday, Feb. 26, at the Athletics-Recreation Center. Tipoff is set for 8:05 p.m. and the game can be heard on 570 WKBN-AM and iHeartRadio. The game can also be viewed on the Horizon League Network.
Last Time Out
• The Penguins defeated Central Michigan in the 2013 Ramada Bracketbusters, 86-75, on Feb. 23.
• It was the Penguins' fifth straight home bracketbuster win.
• Senior Blake Allen and junior Kamren Belin each scored 20 points.
• Sophomore DJ Cole posted the first double-double of his career with 12 points and a career-high 12 assists.
• Senior Damian Eargle added 10 points.
• Freshman Ryan Weber scored nine points in his first career start.
Up Next
• The Penguins close out the regular season at Wright State, Saturday, March 2.
• Tipoff is set for 2:05 p.m. at the Nutter Center.
• The game can be heard on 570 WKBN-AM and iHeartRadio.
• The game is the Horizon League Network's Game of the Week and can also be seen on MyValleySports and SportsTimeOhio.
The Valparaiso Series
• This is the 36th meeting between Youngstown State and Valparaiso in a series that dates back to 1989.
• The Crusaders own a 26-9 advantage in the all-time series, however, the Penguins have won the last two contests.
• The ARC has been a tough place for the Penguins.
• Youngstown State has only one win in Valparaiso - a 69-66 triumph on Jan. 24, 1998.
Scouting Valparaiso
• Valparaiso is 22-7 overall and leads the Horizon League with an 11-3 record.
• The Crusaders, who have six seniors, have an impressive 13-2 record at home.
• Leading the Crusaders is senior Ryan Broekhoff with 16 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.
• Senior Kevin Van Wijk is averaging 12.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per contest.
• LaVonte Dority is on the cusp of double figures with 9.9 points per game.
A Win Will
• Improve YSU to 17-12 overall on the year and 8-7 in the Horizon League
• Mark YSU's first 17-win season since 2000-01.
• Mark YSU's 10th win over Valparaiso.
• Mark YSU's second win at Valparaiso and the first since 1998.
• Mark YSU's seventh road win of the season.
• Mark Head Coach Jerry Slocum's 672nd career victory and his 91st at Youngstown State.
• Mark YSU's 1,025th victory in the program's history.
Late-Season Injury Bug
• Youngstown State has been hit hard twice by the injury bug in the last two weeks.
• Senior Damian Eargle missed two games with a broken nose.
• Junior Kendrick Perry had a streak of 88 straight games played snapped on Feb. 23 against Central Michigan.
Nearing 200 3's
• Youngstown State is approaching 200 made 3-pointers for the third consecutive season.
• The Penguins have made 193 this year and need just seven more for 200.
• It would also mark the only time in school history that the Penguins made 200 3's in three straight season.
• The school record of 270 was set in 2011-12.
• The previous record was 235 set in 2010-11.
Back-to-Back 16
• The Penguins' 86-75 win over Central Michigan on Feb. 23 marked their 16th win of the season.
• It also marks the first time since 1984 and 1985 that Youngstown State has won at least 16 games in consecutive seasons.
• The Penguins won 18 games in 1983-84 and 19 in 1984-85.
Perfect 10
• With the over Central Michigan, the Penguins marked their second straight year in which they won 10 games at home.
• Before 2011-12, the last time the Penguins won 10 home games was during the 2006-07 season.
Eargle and Single-Season Blocks
• Senior Damian Eargle owns the YSU career blocks record with 290.
• He also ranks second third and tied for fourth on the single-season blocks list.
• Last season, he moved into second with 116 blocks.
• His 91 in 2010-11 are third while his 83 this year are tied for fourth.
King Cole
• Sophomore DJ Cole scored a career-high 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor on Feb. 15 against Milwaukee.
• He just posted his first career double-double with 12 points and 12 assists against Central Michigan on Feb. 23.
• He is the first player to have a points-assists double-double since Kendrick Perry did it against Buffalo on Dec. 10, 2011.
High 60's
• Against Central Michigan on Feb. 23, the Penguins shot a season-high 60 percent from the floor.
• The Penguins made 30-of-50 field-goal attempts against the Chippewas.
• It marked the first time YSU shot 60 percent from the field since it made 63.6 percent against Loyola on Feb. 5, 2012.
Two for 20
• Senior Blake Allen and junior Kamren Belin each scored 20 points against Central Michigan.
• It marks the first time this season and the first time since Feb. 11, 2012, that two players scored at least 20 points in the same game.
• The last time was against Valparaiso when Kendrick Perry scored 23 and DuShawn Brooks had 20.
