Tuesday, November 23, 2010
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Youngstown State junior guard Tre Brewer is one of several newcomers making an impact for the Penguins this season. Brewer decided to transfer to Cal State San Bernardino, a Division II school.
Game time
Who: Toledo Rockets (0-5) vs. Youngstown State Penguins (2-1)
Where: Beeghly Center
Where: Wednesday, 7:35 p.m.
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Youngstown State senior forward Dan Boudler has given the Penguins a boost off the bench, averaging four points and four rebounds per game.
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
YSU men’s basketball coach Jerry Slocum responded to Saturday’s heartbreaking overtime loss to Akron with a four-step process. Coincidentally, it’s the same one he uses after wins.
Step one, watch the film.
Step two, analyze it.
Step three, learn from it.
Step four, forget about it.
“One of the great things you can learn from the NBA season is those guys move on, they let stuff go,” Slocum said. “That’s what we’re doing. We’re ready for Toledo, we’ve got a huge week this week and we start conference play next week.
“We’re focusing on the road ahead, not the rear view mirror.”
The Penguins (2-1) played their best game of the season against the Zips, losing after Akron made a last-second 3-pointer to force overtime.
Wednesday, YSU will meet its third straight Mid-American Conference team when it plays host to winless Toledo.
The Rockets (0-5) played three straight home games last weekend, losing all three as part of the 2K Sports Classic. They have a new coach in Tod Kowalczyk, who spent the last eight years at Horizon League-member Green Bay. The Rockets play a lot of underclassmen and Slocum has seen growth over their five games.
“Toledo is a dangerous basketball team,” Slocum said. “They come in having played just a brutal schedule.
“They’re a team we’re familiar with in terms of style of play because their coach was at Green Bay. He’s a good coach and he’ll get his guys ready to play. We’ll have our hands full.”
Although they’ve played just three games, the Penguins already have forged an identity as a deep team — 11 players have appeared in at least two games and nine have played in all three — with good athleticism and balance.
Senior forward Vytas Sulskis leads the team with 14.3 points per game but junior guard Devonte Maymon, one of two first-year starters, is right behind him, averaging 14 per game.
“[Toledo] is a very good team and we can’t take anything for granted,” Maymon said. “We haven’t proven anything yet.
“We need to play hard and try to get a W and keep our home-court winning streak going.”
YSU doesn’t have much size, but the Penguins are unselfish and play hard on both ends of the floor, Slocum said.
“We share the ball well and every game we’ve played, different guys have stepped up,” he said. “We’ve got a long way to go. By no stretch of the imagination are we at a place where we’re happy or content, but you can’t question our effort.
“We’ve played extremely hard. Our basketball IQ needs to get better and we need to continue to work to improve.”
MEN
Matchup: YSU (2-1) vs. Toledo (0-5).
Tip-off: 7:35 p.m. at Beeghly Center.
Radio/TV: WKBN-AM (570); MyYTV (10 p.m.)
Coaches: YSU — Jerry Slocum 51-101 at YSU, 631-426 career; Toledo — Tod Kowalczyk at Toledo, 136-114 career.
YSU starters: Kendrick Perry (8.3 points per game, 4.3 assists per game), 6-0 freshman point guard; Devonte Maymon (14 ppg, 1.7 apg), 6-2 junior shooting guard; Ashen Ward (9.0 ppg, 1.7 apg), 6-3 junior small forward; Vytas Sulskis (14.3 ppg, 7.0 rebounds per game, 2.3 apg), 6-7 senior power forward; Damian Eargle (3.7 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 2.0 blocks per game), 6-7 sophomore center.
Toledo starters: XXX
Series history: Toledo 8-1. Last meeting: Toledo won 78-74 on Nov. 26, 2003.
Notebook: This is the third straight Mid-American Conference opponent for YSU, which beat Buffalo and lost to Akron in the last week. ... The Penguins tied a school record with 33 3-point attempts against the Zips, making 10. YSU also attempted 33 in the opener against Samford. ... Sulskis needs 38 points to become the 32nd player in YSU history to score 1,000 for his career.
Next game: YSU plays host to St. Francis (Pa.) at 7:05 p.m. Saturday at Beeghly Center.