Setting the Scene
For the third straight season, the No. 4 seeded Youngstown State men's basketball team (19-12, 13-7 Horizon League) hosts a 2025 Barbasol Horizon League Men's Basketball Championship quarterfinal game when it welcomes No. 5 Purdue Fort Wayne (19-12, 12-8), Thursday, March 6.  Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center, and the game will be aired on ESPN+ and 570 WKBN.

Up Next
With a win, Youngstown State will advance to the 2025 Barbasol Horizon League Men's Basketball Championship semifinals, Monday, March 10. Game time and opponent are still to be determined.

Last Time Out
Junior Juwan Maxey scored a game-high 26 points and Ty Harper poured in a career-high 21 points, but Youngstown State dropped an 88-79 decision to Northern Kentucky on March at Truist Arena. Youngstown State made 14 3-pointers led by Maxey's five 3s and Harper's four. Cris Carroll added 14 points for the Penguins.

Guins in the Tourney
Youngstown State has an overall conference tournament record of 16-35 dating back to 1983-84. The Penguins own a Horizon League tournament record (2001-02 to present) of 9-23, 4-7 in the Mid-Continent Conference (1994-95 to 2000-01) and 3-5 in the Ohio Valley Conference (1983-84 to 1987-88). The Penguins own a record of 2-7 in the Horizon League quarterfinals.

A Win Would...

• Improve YSU's record to 20-12 overall.
• Mark the first time in program history Youngstown State posted three consecutive 20-win seasons.
• Mark the third time Youngstown State advanced to the Barbasol Horizon League Championship semifinals.
• Mark the Penguins' 17th overall conference tournament win and the 10th in the Horizon League. 
• Be the Penguins 66th overall victory over the last three seasons. 
• Mark Ethan Faulkner's 20th career win and second over Purdue Fort Wayne.
• Mark Youngstown State's eighth win over the Mastodons.
• Mark the third straight win over Purdue Fort Wayne in Youngstown and the fifth in the last seven games.
• Give the Penguins an 10-5 home record and mark the sixth straight season with at least 10 home victories. 

Scouting Purdue Fort Wayne
Purdue Fort Wayne enters the quarterfinal game with an overall record of 19-12 and had a 12-8 league mark. The Mastodons are coming off a 68-57 loss at Cleveland State on March 1. Purdue Fort Wayne is led by All-Horizon League First Team selections Jalen Jackson and Rasheed Bello. Jackson led the league in scoring with 19.2 points per game while Bello was fourth at 16.3 points per contest.  The Mastodons average 81.2 points per game and allow 74.7 points per contest.

Series vs. Purdue Fort Wayne
This is the 15th meeting between Youngstown State and Purdue Fort Wayne in a series that dates back to 2002. The series tied at 7-7, but the Penguins have won six of eight contests played in Youngstown for a 6-2 home record against the Mastodons. The last time Purdue Fort Wayne defeated Youngstown State in Youngstown was on Dec. 31, 2022 (76-71). Youngstown State and Purdue Fort Wayne split the regular season as both teams won on their home courts. Purdue Fort Wayne knocked off the Penguins, 90-81, on Jan. 4 in Fort Wayne while Youngstown State defeated the Mastodons, 93-71, in Youngstown on Feb. 12.

Last Time against Purdue Fort Wayne
In the last meeting, Youngstown State outscored Purdue Fort Wayne by 20 points in the second half for a convincing 93-71 victory over the Mastodons on Feb. 12 at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center. Nico Galette was 8-for-11 from the field to score 21 points, and he added 10 rebounds and five assists. Juwan Maxey scored 17 points and matched Galette with three 3s, Jason Nelson scored 14 points, and Cris Carroll scored 12. Gabe Dynes had eight points, seven rebounds and six blocks to anchor the Penguins defensively.

First Time Against the Mastodons
Junior Cris Carroll recorded his first career double-double, but Youngstown State dropped a 90-81 decision to Horizon League foe Purdue Fort Wayne on Jan. 4 at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. Carroll tied a career high with 20 points and posted a career-best 12 rebounds to go along with five assists. Nico Galette scored 14 points, EJ Farmer poured in 12 and David Wilkerson added a career-high 10 points.

Faulkner Named Finalist For 2024-25 Joe B. Hall Award
Youngstown State's Ethan Faulkner has been named as one of 16 finalists of the 2024-25 Joe B. Hall Award, which is presented annually to the top first-time head coach in Division I college basketball. Faulkner has led the Penguins to a 19-12 overall record and a 13-7 mark in Horizon League in his first season at the helm of the Penguins.

Three Earn Horizon League Postseason Honors
The Horizon League announced on Monday that three Youngstown State men's basketball players earned Horizon League postseason honors after a vote of the league's head coaches. Seniors Nico Galette and EJ Farmer were named All-Horizon League Third Team while sophomore Gabe Dynes was named to the All-Defensive Team. This marks the fourth straight season Youngstown State place multiple players on all-league teams. Over that span, the Penguins have landed 10 all-conference selections.

Farmer Named to Valeo #HLMBB All-Academic Team
Youngstown State senior EJ Farmer has been named to the Valeo Horizon League Men's Basketball All-Academic Team after a vote by the league's faculty athletic representatives. Farmer, a business major from Cleveland, Ohio, leads the Penguins with 15.1 points per game and carries a 3.51 grade-point average.  He is the fourth Youngstown State player in the last four seasons to earn all-academic team laurels and the first since 2023. 

Harper Hits for Career High
Senior Ty Harper turned in his best offensive game for the Penguins against Northern Kentucky on March 1. He scored a career-high 21 points on 7-for-10 shooting with four 3-pointers. Harper also grabbed three rebounds and dished out five assists.

Dynes Nearing Century Mark
Sophomore Gabe Dynes is approaching a rare feat not only in Youngstown State history, but in Horizon League history as well. Dynes has 96 blocks this season and is four shy of reaching 100. He would become just the third player in YSU history to record 100 blocks in a season and the fifth league history. 

What a Win Means
With a win, Youngstown State would record its third straight 20-win season and just the fourth in its Division I era that began in 1981-82. It would also mark the first time in program history the Penguins won 20 games in three consecutive years.

200 3s Streak
The Penguins have made 275 3-pointers this season and extends their streak of at least 200 made 3-pointers streak to 14 straight full seasons. The streak dates back to the 2010-11 season, and does not include the COVID-19 shortened 2020-21 campaign. The 275 made 3s rank third on the YSU single-season list. The Penguins need eight more to move into a second on the list with 283.