YSU

YSU

Penguins recognized

ST. LOUIS, MO. — The YSU football team had seven players earn Academic All-Gateway honors while quarterbacks Tom Zetts and Todd Rowan and offensive lineman Brian Mellott were first-team selections.

Senior safety Bob Perez, a first-team Academic All-District IV selection, was named second team Academic all-conference. Senior linebacker Jeremiah Wright, senior wide receiver Rory Berry and junior offensive lineman Brad Samsa were Honorable-Mention selections.

Zetts, a three-time first-team Academic All-Gateway selection, owns a 3.68 grade-point average in Secondary Education.

Rowan, a first-time honoree, owns a 4.0 grade-point average as a Biology/Pre-Med major.

Mellott, a first-time selection, has a 3.93 GPA as a Business Marketing major.

Nominees must be starters or important reserves with at least a 3.00 cumulative grade-point average.

Student-athletes must have reached sophomore academic and athletic standing at their institutions and must have completed at least one full academic year at their school.

Eleven players were named to the first-team while 11 were tabbed on the second team and 11 earned honorable-mention accolades.

YSU drops three

BOARDMAN — The Youngstown State University hockey team lost three games in the Dearborn (Michigan) Thanksgiving Tournament.

The Penguins are 3-14-2 and have lost nine straight.

YSU lost to Adrian College 6-2 on Friday, fell 6-2 to Western Michigan on Saturday, and 7-4 against Eastern Michigan on Sunday.

NATION

Stoops, Wildcats
eye possible bowl

TUCSON, Ariz. — Arizona coach Mike Stoops (Cardinal Mooney) can complete the Wildcats’ unlikely turnaround with a victory over No. 13 Arizona State.

Arizona is playing for a possible bowl bid, a scenario that seemed impossible when the Wildcats dropped six of their first eight games, sparking speculation about Stoops’ future.

With three straight wins, including a nationally televised upset of then-No. 2 Oregon, the Wildcats (5-6, 4-4 Pac-10) find themselves in contention for an invitation to the Sun, Emerald, Las Vegas or Armed Services bowls.

Before they can make travel plans, the Wildcats have to beat archrival ASU on Saturday night in Sun Devil Stadium. Arizona lost to the Sun Devils 28-14 a year ago, which left them 6-6 but out of the bowl picture for the eighth straight season.

“A bowl will take care of itself,” Stoops said Monday at his weekly campus news conference. “We have no chance if we don’t win. If we win, then we have a lot of possibilities.”

Adding to the motivation, Arizona also can knock ASU (9-2, 6-2) out of a possible shot at a Rose Bowl or a Fiesta Bowl berth.

The Wildcats have not fared well in the annual battle for the Territorial Cup, losing the last two games and six of the last eight.

Arizona seemingly didn’t have much to play for after a 21-20 loss to Stanford on Oct. 20. That put Stoops on the firing line and raised questions about the program’s direction. However, victories over Washington, UCLA and Oregon appear to have revived the program.

“Our kids are starting to make plays and it turns things in a hurry when people really doubted anything we were doing a month ago,” Stoops said. “It gets down to confidence and making plays.”

Stoops said the players seem to have taken cues from the coaching staff, which has tried to create a more relaxed atmosphere.

“When we started to relax as a staff they started to play better,” Stoops said. “Worrying really inhibits you in a lot of different ways.”

Ursuline’s Davidson
leads Michigan State

DOVER, Del. — Ursuline High graduate Courtney Davidson made four free throws in the final 8.6 seconds to help 19th-ranked Michigan State hold off Delaware State 65-62 on Monday night.

Ashlee Burbage’s 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have tied the game bounced harmlessly off the front of the rim.

Kalisha Keane scored 18 points and Allyssa DeHaan and Davidson each had 15 for Michigan State (5-1), which has won its last three games.

Raquel Collier scored 19 points to lead Delaware State (2-3), which played host to a nationally ranked opponent for the first time at Memorial Hall. The Hornets were scrappy on defense, forcing 25 Michigan State turnovers.

Trailing 33-30 at the half, Delaware State went on a 17-7 run to take a 47-40 lead with 11:50 left in the game.

Michigan State answered with a 15-7 spurt of their own to take a 55-54 lead with 5:01 left.

Vindicator staff/wire reports