Setting the Scene
The Youngstown State men's basketball team (11-12, 4-8 Horizon League) heads back on the road to visit Purdue Fort Wayne, Wednesday, Feb. 4. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Ind., and the game will be aired on 570 WKBN and ESPN+.

Up Next
Youngstown State returns home to host Robert Morris Saturday, Feb. 7. Tipoff is set for 4:30 p.m. at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center and the game will be aired on 570 WKBN and ESPN+.

Last Time Out
Youngstown State's men's basketball team had runs of 18-0 and 11-1 in the second half to rally for an 85-76 victory over IU Indy on Jan. 30 at  Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center. The Penguins trailed by 10 in the first half and by as many as eight in the second half before rallying. 
Cris Carroll scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half, while Tae Blackshear scored all 14 of his points in the second half for the Penguins, who shot 60% from the field after halftime. Bryson Dawkins matched Carroll with 18 points, and he added nine rebounds and seven assists while energizing the crowd with several highlight-reel dunks.

A Win Would...

• Improve YSU's record to 12-12 overall and 5-8 mark in the Horizon League.
• Give YSU an 3-7 road record this season.
• Mark Youngstown State's ninth win over the Mastodons and the third in the last five games
• Be Youngstown State's second win over the Mastodons in Fort Wayne and the second at Memorial Coliseum.
• Mark Ethan Faulkner's 33rd career win and third win over Purdue Fort Wayne.

Scouting Purdue Fort Wayne
Purdue Fort Wayne enters the game with an overall record of 14-9 and a league mark of 8-4. The Mastodons are coming off an 83-71 home victory over Robert Morris on Jan. 31. Leading the Mastodons is Corey Hadnot II with  20.1 points per game. Mikale Stevenson is averaging 15.1 points per game and DeAndre Craig, Jr., is scoring 14.7 points per contest.

Series vs. Purdue Fort Wayne
This is the 17th meeting between Youngstown State and Purdue Fort Wayne in a series dating back to 2002. The series is tied at 8-8 and the Mastodons won the first meeting this season, 71-69, on Jan. 7 in Youngstown, Ohio. The Penguins won the previous two meetings against Purdue Fort Wayne during the 2024-25 season. The last time Youngstown State won in Fort Wayne, Ind., was an 81-72 victory on Feb. 10, 2023.  

Last Time Against Mastodons
Purdue Fort Wayne's Corey Hadnot II made two free throws with 21.7 seconds left to lift the Mastodons to a 71-69 victory over Youngstown State in a back-and-forth Horizon League contest on Jan. 7. The Penguins and Mastodons battled through 16 lead changes and 10 ties inside Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center, and the largest lead for either team was six points. The final tie came when Imanuel Zorgvol's dunk made the score 69-69 with 54.8 seconds remaining. That slam capped a 6-0 run for the Penguins after the Mastodons had matched their largest lead with 4:05 left. Purdue Fort Wayne did not make a field goal over the final 4:47. Cris Carroll scored 14 points to lead four Penguins in double figures, and he added eight rebounds. His 3-pointer on YSU's final possession was off the mark. Jaiden Haynes scored 12 points, Cam Polak scored 11 and Zorgvol contributed 10. Haynes had 10 points in the first half, and Polak's 11 all came in the first 20 minutes.

Green Bay Recap
Youngstown State scored on its first seven possessions of the second half, and Cris Carroll scored a career-high 34 points as the Penguins beat Green Bay 88-81 on Jan 22 inside Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center. Carroll connected on eight of YSU's 16 3-pointers, setting his career high for triples, and the Penguins made at least 10 3s for the 14th time this season. YSU finished 16-for-36 from long distance and made nine more 3s than the Phoenix. Bryson Dawkins and Rich Rolf both scored 15 points, and Jaiden Haynes scored 12 as four Penguins reached double figures to complement Carroll.

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 240 this year and needs 64 more to break the school mark of 303 set in 2018-19. Last year, he 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. 

Need to Lead at Half
It is imperative for the Penguins to lead after the first 20 minutes of action. All of Youngstown State's victories have come when it holds a lead at halftime. YSU is 10-4 in games when it leads at halftime, 1-6 when it trails at the intermission, and 0-2 when the game is tied.