Men's Basketball Hosts Loyola on Tuesday Night in HL Tournament
3/4/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The sixth-seeded Youngstown State men's basketball team will play host to seventh-seeded Loyola on Tuesday night at the Beeghly Center in first-round action of the Horizon League Tournament.
Tipoff will be at 7:05 p.m. and the game will be on 570-AM WKBN, the Horizon League Network and tape-delayed on MyValleySports.
Reserved tickets are $10 and general admission tickets are $7. Group general admission tickets will $4. Tickets for Youngstown State students are free with a current and valid ID.
For more information, please call the Youngstown State Athletic Ticket Office at (330) 941-1YSU (1978).
Last Time Out
• The Penguins scored a season-low in a 72-45 loss to Wright State in the regular-season finale on March 2.
• Senior Damian Eargle was the only player to score in double figures for the Penguins.
• Youngstown State shot just 36 percent from the field and had 16 turnovers, including 14 in the first half.
Up Next
• With a win, the Penguins will take on third-seeded Wright State for the second time in seven days, Friday, March 8.
• The second-round game is being hosted by top-seeded Valparaiso and tipoff is set for 6 p.m. EST.
• The game can be heard on 570 WKBN-AM and iHeartRadio.
• The game can also been seen on the Horizon League Network.
The Loyola Series
• This is the 30th meeting between Youngstown State and Loyola in a series that dates back to 1956.
• It is also the third meeting between the schools this season.
• The Penguins own a slim 15-14 advantage in the all-time series and have won the last four contests.
• Three of the last four games have been decided by four points or less.
Scouting Loyola
• Loyola earned the seventh-seed in the tournament after defeating Cleveland State, 87-60, on March 2.
• The Ramblers are 15-15 overall and finished with a 5-11 record in the Horizon League.
• Ben Averkamp leads the Ramblers with 14.9 points per game.
• Christian Thomas is averaging 12 points per game and leads the Ramblers in total points with 360.
A Win Will
• Improve YSU to 17-14 overall and mark YSU's first 17-win season since 2000-01.
• Mark YSU's 16th win over Loyola.
• Mark YSU's fifth straight win over the Ramblers.
• Mark YSU's 11th home 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.
This Year Against Loyola
• The Penguins and Ramblers played in two thrillers with each game going down to the wire.
• Junior Kendrick Perry's hit a jumper with four seconds left to defeat the Ramblers, 68-66, on Jan. 5, at Gentile Arena.
• The Penguins trailed by 14 points with 12 minutes left.
• On Feb. 6, senior Blake Allen hit a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left to lift the Penguins to a 60-59 victory.
Guins in the Tourney
• Since joining the Horizon League in 2001-02, YSU owns a tournament record of 3-11.
• This is also Youngstown State's fourth home tournament game and the second straight first round home game.
• It also marks the second straight year the Penguins have been the sixth seed.
• The Guins own a record of 2-1 when hosting a first-round tournament game defeating Green Bay in 2012 and Detroit in 2007 and losing to UIC in 2009.
Penguins Capture Awards
• Senior Damian Eargle was named the league's 2013 Defensive Player of the Year, junior Kendrick Perry was named to the All-Horizon League First-Team for the second straight year and selected to the All-Defensive Team.
• Junior Kamren Belin was named to the Horizon League All-Newcomer Team.
• Eargle led the league with 3.1 blocks per game overall and 2.9 blocks per Horizon League game.
• He averaged 11.8 points per game this season, also ranked fifth with 6.2 rebounds per game and fourth with 4.4 defensive rebounds per game.
• Perry was named All-Horizon League First-Team after finishing second in the league in scoring with 16.9 points per game.
• He also led the league in steals for the second straight season with 2.0 steals per contest and was named to the All-Defensive Team with Eargle.
• Perry also ranked fifth in free-throw percentage (.848) and sixth in assists per game (4.1 apg).
• Belin averaged 12.3 points per game against league opponents.
• He ranked third among league newcomers in scoring in league contests; third in 3-point field-goal percentage at .446; fifth in 3-pointers made with 37 and fifth in 3-pointers made per game with 2.3.
• Belin is the first YSU player to be named to the league's All-Newcomer Team since Eargle in 2010-11.
Eargle - YSU's 34th 1,000-Point Scorer
• With 12 points against Valparaiso on Feb. 26, senior Damian Eargle became the 34th player in school history to score 1,000 career points.
• Eargle has scored 1,012 points, including 329 this season, in his three-year career at Youngstown State.
• Including his 268 points at UNCG in 2008-09, Eargle has scored 1,280 points in his collegiate career.
• He is the only player in school history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 290 blocks.
Late-Season Injury Bug
• Youngstown State has been hit hard twice by the injury bug late in the season.
• Senior Damian Eargle missed two games with a broken nose (UWM and UWGB).
• Junior Kendrick Perry had a streak of 88 straight games played snapped on Feb. 23 against Central Michigan and has missed the last three games
Notching 200 3's
• With five 3-pointers against Wright State on March 2, Youngstown State has made 200 3-pointers for the third consecutive season.
• The Penguins have made 203 this year, which ranks third most in a single season.
• It marks 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.
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.
• Last season's 10 wins were the most since joining the league in 2001-02.
• This year is 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.
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 a win 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.
Penguins 2K
• Youngstown State's 2,124 points this season marks the fourth straight year it has scored at least 2,000 points in a season.
• It's also the fifth time in the last eight years the Penguins has surpassed the 2,000-point mark.
• The Penguins are also averaging 70.8 points per game, the most since 71.1 ppg in the 2000-01 season.
• The last time the Penguins averaged at least 70 points per game was in 2000-01.
