• The Youngstown State men's basketball team opens its 92nd season with a visit to Penn State on Wednesday, Nov. 10. The Penguins take on the Nittany Lions at 8:30 p.m. at the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pa. The contest is available on 570 WKBN AM/Big Ten Network/iHeartRadio App.
    • This is the second contest between the programs with the only other meeting coming almost 10 years ago. The Penguins dropped an 82-71 decision to the Nittany Lions at the Joyce Center on Nov. 23, 2011.
    • The Penguins last played a contest against a Big Ten foe on Dec. 18, 2018 at Ohio State. The Guins lost the Buckeyes 75-56.
    • YSU opens its season with two true road games for the first time since 2012-13. The Penguins won at George Washington and beat Georgia to start the campaign that year.
    • Last season the Guins went 15-12 overall which included a 9-11 mark in Horizon League play. YSU played 10 back-to-back league series as part of a COVID-adjusted schedule to limit travel. In non-conference play, YSU beat Point Park, Binghamton, West Virginia Tech, Carlow and Richmond (Mich.) to go 5-0 in non-league competition.
    • The Nittany Lions finished 11-14 last year playing every game against a Big Ten Conference foe. At home, PSU posted a 7-5 mark.
    • Youngstown State has a 43-48 all-time mark in season openers. Last year, the Penguins defeated Point Park in the season opener which wasn't until Dec. 9. The Guins have won seven of their last 11 season openers.

 

Covington Ranks High
    Senior Garrett Covington ranks highly in multiple career categories after his four seasons in a YSU uniform.
    • 3rd games started - 104
    • 6th games played - 119
    • 7th minutes played - 3,190
    • 10th steals - 118
    • 26th points - 1,172

Covington Scoring Increases
    Despite playing his fewest games in a season, senior Garrett Covington scored his most points in 2020-21.
    In 26 games, Covington had a career-best 324 points. He closed out the season with a 30-point performance against Oakland in the Horizon League Tournament.
    He made 29 3-pointers last year, which was one shy of his career high. He made a career-best 118 field goals, one more than his previous best.
    In his career he has made 431 field goals, including 100 3-pointers.

Big First Season
    Shemar Rathan-Mayes was the third YSU player since 2017-18 to be named to the All-Freshman Team after his selection a year ago.
    He averaged 10.4 points and 3.5 assists per game and scored in double figures 15 times. He led the Penguins by making 40 3-pointers.
    During the season, Rathan-Mayes made 22 straight free throws from Jan. 8 through Feb. 13, which ranks tied for the fourth-longest streak in school history.

Akuchie Mr. Rebound
    Senior Michael Akuchie averaged a career-high 8.3 rebounds for the season last year. His previous best average was 6.1 in 2019-20, after he averaged 3.0 as a sophomore in 2018-19.
    Akuchie grabbed a Horizon League record with 24 rebounds at Robert Morris on Feb. 6, 2021. He had eight double-figure rebound games last year.
    He enters the season with 785 points, 576 rebounds and 113 3-pointers made. He is a 77.9 percent free-throw shooter making 141-of-181 attempts in his career.

Thomas Set to Return
    Senior forward Jamir Thomas will add some good size and bulk to the lineup after missing the 2020-21 season with a knee injury.
    In 2019-20, Thomas played a key role in the rotation averaging 9.2 minutes in 32 contests. He had 103 points while grabbing 99 rebounds. He also shot 56.5 percent from the floor. His best rebound performance was against Louisville when he grabbed a career-best 11 caroms.

Additions to Program
    The Penguins added some strong new faces in the offseason via the transfer route.
    • Tevin Olison - Two-time NAIA Second-Team All-American at the College of Cumberlands in Tennessee. In two seasons he scored 1,172 points in 58 games (20.2 per contest).
    • Dwayne Cohill - Spent his first three collegiate seasons at Dayton. He missed the 2020-21 season after suffering a torn ACL on Oct. 10, 2020. As a sophomore, he played in 30 games averaging 13.3 minutes a game on a stacked Flyers team.
    • Chris Shelton - Started at Hampton as a sophomore in 2020-21. Made 67-of-138 3-point attempts to lead the nation with a 48.6 shooting percentage from beyond the arc.
    • Owen Long - Averaged 19.3 points per game at Marysville College.
    • Collen Gurley - Scored 1,003 points in three seasons at nearby Mount Union.

Big Game Hunter
    Guard Myles Hunter started 12 games as a freshman for the Penguins a year ago. In his first season, he averaged 6.2 points and 2.0 rebounds per game.
    He had a breakout weekend on Jan. 15-16 at Oakland. Against the Golden Grizzlies he scored 18 points in consecutive games. His performances earned him HL Freshman of the Week accolades.

Other Familiar Faces
    Alex Vargo - As a freshman scored 105 points and grabbed 36 rebounds. Played in 22 games, making five starts.
    Daniel Ogoro - Played in 23 games and had a start in 2020-21 after redshirting in 2019-20. Scored 53 points and grabbed 31 rebounds.
    Will Dunn - Played in 20 games and started twice in 2020-21. Scored 64 points and grabbed 31 rebounds.

Calhoun in Fifth Season
    Jerrod Calhoun is in his fifth season as Head Coach of the Youngstown State program.
    He owns a career record of 177-109 and a 53-71 mark with the Penguins. The past two years, the Guins are 33-27 overall.
    YSU has finished above .500 in each of the past two seasons posting an 18-15 record in 2019-20 and a 15-12 mark in 2020-21.
    He was named the 13th coach in program history on March 27, 2017.

Up Next
    The Penguins are back in action on Saturday when they visit SEMO (SE Missouri State). Tipoff against the Red Hawks is set for 6:30 p.m. Eastern time at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo.