Setting the Scene
The Youngstown State men's basketball team (12-13, 5-9 Horizon League) begins a five-day, two-road trip when it visits Oakland, Thursday, Feb. 12. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at the OU Credit Union O'Rena and the game will be aired on 570 WKBN and ESPN+.

Up Next
Youngstown State stays on the road for a matchup against Horizon League member Detroit Mercy Sunday, Feb. 15. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Calihan Hall in Detroit, Mich., and the game will be aired on 570 WKBN and ESPN+.

Last Time Out
Youngstown State erased an 11-point halftime deficit and built a nine-point second-half lead but suffered a 72-66 setback to Robert Morris on Feb. 7 at Zidian Family Arena. Senior Cris Carroll scored 13 of his team-high 20 points in the second half to lead the Penguins while Bryson Dawkins poured in 16 points and Tae Blackshear added 12 points with four 3-pointers.

A Win Would...

• Improve YSU's record to 13-13 overall and 6-9 mark in the Horizon League.
• Give YSU 4-7 road record this season.
• Mark Youngstown State's 15th win over the Golden Grizzlies and its second straight win at the OU Credit Union O'Rena.
• Be Youngstown State's fifth win over the OU Credit Union Arena.
• Mark Ethan Faulkner's 34th career win and third win over Oakland.

Scouting Oakland
Oakland enters the game with an overall record of 14-11 and a 10-4 mark in the Horizon League. The Golden Grizzlies are coming off a 91-78 loss to Cleveland State on Feb. 4. Brady Robinson leads the Golden Grizzlies with 16.9 points and 6.4 assists per game.
Isaac Garrett is averaging 14.7 points and a team-high 7.1 rebounds per game while Tuburu Naivalurua is averaging 14 points per contest. As a team, the Golden Grizzlies are averaging 83.3 points per game while allowing 81.5 points per contest.

Series vs. Oakland
This is the 38th meeting between Youngstown State and Oakland in a series dating back to 1999. Oakland owns a 23-14 advantage in the all-time series, but the Penguins have won five of the last eight contests.  The Golden Grizzlies won the first meeting this season, 85-83, on Jan. 1 at Zidian Family Arena. Youngstown State owns a record of 4-15 against the Golden Grizzlies in games played at the OU Credit Union O'rena and has won two of the last three played in Rochester.

Last Time Against Golden Grizzlies
Youngstown State came up short by a final score of 85-83 against Oakland in a back-and-forth New Year's Day Horizon League battle at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center. Bryson Dawkins paced four Penguins in double figures with a season-high 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting from the field while also grabbing a team-high seven rebounds. Jason Nelson scored 11 of his 14 points in the first half while adding eight assists and seven rebounds. Rich Rolf finished with 14 points, six rebounds and five assists while Cris Carroll scored 13 points and made three of YSU's 10 3-pointers.

Tae 4 Trey
Junior Tae  Blackshear has caught fire from the 3-point line recently. Blackshear went 11-for-17 from beyond the arc over the last three contests. He also averaged 13.3 points per game and shot 65 percent (13-for-20) from the field during that span.

Carroll Now Tied for 9th
Senior Cris Carroll has moved into YSU single-season top 10 chart for most 3-pointers made in a season. Carroll ranks tied for ninth with 75 3s and one more to move into a tie for eighth on the list. Carroll also needs five more 3s to become just the fifth player in school history to make at least 80 3s in a season. Carroll needs 20 more 3s to break the single-season record of 94 set by Blake Allen in 2012-13.

Dawkins in 2026
Senior Bryson Dawkins has thoroughly enjoyed the calendar turn from 2025 to 2026. Since Jan. 1., Dawkins averaged 14.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game and shot 58.6 percent from the floor (65-for-117) in a 11-game span. He has also scored in double figures in nine of those 11 games.

Carroll 30-for-30
For the second time this season, senior Cris Carroll scored at least 30 points in game with his 34 against Green Bay on Jan. 22. He also scored 31 at Robert Morris on Dec. 17. He is the first player to score at least 30 points multiple times in a season since Michael Akuchie reached the feat in 2022. He's also just the 11th in YSU's Division I era to have multiple 30-point games. His eight 3-pointers were the most since Brandon Rush had 10 in 2023, and it marked the fifth time in program history a YSU player made at least eight 3s. Carroll is just the fourth YSU player to make at least eight 3s in a game, and he tied the record for most 3s in a game against a Division I and Horizon League opponent.

200 3s Streak Extended
With eight 3-pointers made against Cleveland State, Youngstown State has made at least 200 3-pointers in 15 straight full seasons. Youngstown State has made 262 this year and needs 44 more to break the school mark of 303 set in 2018-19. Last year, the Penguins made 299 3-pointers. The streak dates back to the 2010-11 season, and does not include the COVID-19 shortened 2020-21 campaign. The 299 made 3s rank second on the YSU single-season list.