AT A GLANCE \ YSU men's basketball

The Youngstown State men's basketball team opens the 2004-05 season tonight at Beeghly Center against Lock Haven. Tip off is 7 p.m. YSU begins a busy week with three games in six days. The Penguins play Slippery Rock Tuesday and Boston University Nov. 27, all at Beeghly Center.
Scouting Lock Haven: Lock Haven opened its season with an 82-60 home defeat to Grand Valley State. Joe Walker led the Bald Eagles, who were 4-23 last season, with 21 points. Walker made 6-of-17 shots and was 9-of-13 at the free throw line. Lock Haven shot 44 percent while allowing 59.3 percent.
YSU coach: John Robic begins his sixth season as the coach at Youngstown State. He is the third coach in school history with at least six seasons leading the Penguins. His record is 53-90, representing the fourth-most wins in school history. In contests decided by five points or less under Coach John Robic, YSU is 23-20. Last year, the Penguins were 4-6 in games decided by five points or fewer.
The schedule: For the first time since the 1991-92 season, the Penguins will play 15 home games. YSU plays seven of its first 10 at home and three of its final four of the season at Beeghly Center.
Last game: Quin Humphrey scored a game-high 24 points to lead YSU past Denison 63-52 on Nov. 5. Humphrey made 10-of-16 shots from the field, including two 3-pointers. Brian Radakovich reached the double-figures scoring mark with 12 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds. For the game, YSU shot 43.8 percent and held Denison to just 37.5 percent shooting. In the contest, 10 players saw at least 11 minutes of action.
Radakovich a mainstay: Entering the contest against Lock Haven, Brian Radakovich has played in all but one game the past three seasons. Radakovich played all 28 games in 2001-02, all 29 games in 2002-03 and missed a game with the flu -- against Slippery Rock -- last year while playing in the other 27 contests. He has played in 84 games since joining the program and last year set a career high with 15 3-pointers made.
McQueen out: Senior forward Khari McQueen will miss the first five games of the season with a broken foot. McQueen suffered the injury in the second practice of preseason camp. Last season, McQueen set career highs in every statistical category. He came on strong the second half of the season and started 15 of the last 16 games.
Humphrey has green light: Sophomore guard Humphrey will be counted on to be the primary scorer for YSU this season. Humphrey is the team's top returning scorer from last year after averaging 6.8 points per game as a freshman. He started 15 of the last 16 games for the Penguins.
Mends runs the point: Junior point guard Jon Mends led the team in assists last year with 76 -- an average of just over three per game. This year, Mends, who saw a 200-minute increase in his playing time from the previous season, will be counted on heavily at the point. The top returning assist player behind Mends was Humphrey who had 38 last season.
Harris a steady contributor: In his two seasons, junior guard Derrick Harris has been a steady contributor on both offense and defense. Harris had 20 assists, 18 steals and scored 71 points in a backup role at the guard position last year.
Barber back after redshirting: Redshirt freshman John Barber is back after sitting out last season as a redshirt. Barber played in three games before being sidelined with a back injury. Midway through the season, the coaching staff and he agreed on a redshirt season.
Newcomers: There are seven players who weren't with the Penguins last year that will be in uniform tonight for the first time. YSU added three junior college transfers -- Mike Adams, Domonique Crawford and Zach Silverman in the off-season. Sophomore Dwight Holmes sat out last season working to meet NCAA initial eligibility requirements. Three freshmen were added to the mix -- Colin LaForme, Dan Jones and Alex Sanchez.
YSU sports information