Road wins have YSU in the hunt

I've always said that the Youngstown State men's basketball team would never be a contender in the Horizon League if it couldn't win on the road.
In their first four seasons in the league, all under former coach John Robic, the Penguins compiled a road record of 2-37 in the conference and one of those wins came in the Horizon postseason tournament.
YSU was 2-58 overall during that stretch on the road.
Saturday's win at Cleveland State gave the Penguins their second league road win this season, and although a 2-2 road mark in the Horizon is still only .500, it is another big improvement made by first-year head coach Jerry Slocum.
Right now the Penguins are 4-5 in the conference -- the best they've ever been at this point in the season -- and they find themselves right in the hunt to battle for one of the league's top four spots in the postseason.
It's true that two of YSU's four conference road wins over the last five years have come at Cleveland State, but it's a start.
Horizon Leaguevery balanced
Outside of UW-Milwaukee, the Horizon League is a very balanced league among the next seven teams. And even the Panthers are beatable as the Penguins proved last week when they almost pulled out an upset victory at Beeghly Center.
"Our conference is so balanced and so good that on any night anyone can beat anyone else," said Slocum.
The Penguins definitely have their work cut out for them in the remaining seven conference games, four of which will be on the road beginning tonight when the Penguins travel to Wright State for a 7 p.m. tip-off in Dayton.
With eight regular season games remaining, plus the Horizon Tournament, the Penguins are already 7-12, two wins better than last year with almost the same players.
Adams addspost presence
One of Slocum's biggest concerns this season was that the Penguins lacked a dominant player in the post position. He might have found one on Saturday in senior Mike Adams.
Adams, a 6-11 performer, who has averaged just over four minutes of playing time in the two seasons. He was forced into action late against the Vikings and responded with a game-winning effort.
The Jacksonville, Fla., native transferred to YSU a year ago from junior college. On Saturday, he played 17 minutes, including the final 10, and scored nine points. He also had eight rebounds and made two clutch free throws in the final seconds that iced the victory.
Adams came to YSU after sitting out nearly two seasons of basketball and he never really was given a chance to play under Robic. He was used mainly in mop-up duty when the team was out of the game.
Although he hasn't seen much action this season under Slocum, he has been used more and not just for mop-up duty.
I've watched Adams over the past two seasons in practice and in pre-game warmups and the one thing that has always impressed me is his athletic ability.
He moves very well for a big man and can handle the basketball, which he proved Saturday. And at 6-11, he is definitely a presence.
Saturday, when 6-10 sophomore Colin LaForme got into foul trouble in the second half, Adams was called on in a crucial situation and responded well.
Was it a one-time performance? Nobody really knows. But Adams is the first to tell you that he's ready at any time.
"I had no idea how many minutes I was going to get tonight," Adams said after the game. "I just got out on the floor and tried to execute the best I can."
The more he played the better he got on Saturday, leaving a lot of people to believe that maybe somebody has been missing the boat with the big guy.
"He's definitely a presence out on the floor," said Slocum. "He was in there mainly because of his size, but he did a tremendous job out there."
Whether or not Adams' playing time will increase over the last eight games of the year is all in the hands of Slocum.
But his performance on Saturday night certainly warrants another shot at some prime-time action with the Penguins.
XPete Mollica is a sportswriter for The Vindicator. Write him at mollica@vindy.com.