YSU PREVIEW Saturday's game

Who: Men (1-5) vs. Kent State (4-2).When: 7 p.m.Where: Beeghly Center.The coaches: John Robic (32-32) is in his third season at YSU. Stan Heath is in his first season with the Flashes after five years as an assistant at Michigan State.YSU starters: Stephen Flores, 6-foot-7 senior forward, 8.7 points per game, 5 rebounds per game; Bill Mallernee, 6-6 sophomore at center, 8.5, 6.2; Ryan Patton, 5-11 senior guard, 15.3, 1.8; Rafael Cruz, 6-2 senior guard, 9.8, 2.3; Doug Underwood, 6-3 freshman guard, 13.7, 4.5.Kent State starters: Trevor Huffman, 6-1 junior guard, 17.7 ppg., 2.7 rpg.; Andrew Mitchell, 5-11 senior guard, 13.5, 3.3; John Edwards, 7-0 sophomore center, 3.2, 1.7; Antonio Gates, 6-5 junior forward, 15.8, 9; Demetric Shaw, 6-3 senior forward, 9.3, 4.5.Scouting report: The Penguins dropped four straight on the road after beating Slippery Rock at home in the season opener. The Penguins have been beaten badly in two of their last three outings, losing to DePaul 107-69 in Chicago and then falling to Valparaiso 80-50. The Penguins also fell to Chicago State 81-72, and then last Saturday dropped a 79-56 contest at Toledo. This will be Kent State's first-ever appearance at Beeghly Center; the Flashes haven't played in Youngstown since 1960. Kent has been idle since Dec. 1 because of final exams. They defeated Chattanooga 75-56 in that game.Series: The Golden Flashes lead the overall series with YSU 21-14. Since the series resumed in 1998, Kent has won all four meetings. Last year the Flashes won 76-55.Radio: WBBW-AM (1240), WSOM-AM (600), WPIC-AM (790).
-- Pete Mollica