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Sulskis nets 1,000th point in YSU win
By Jon moffett
Youngstown
Vytas Sulskis didn’t even try to hide his smile after his shot went through the basket.
The senior guard had just scored his 1,000th career point at Youngstown State in a 91-63 victory over St. Francis (Pa.), becoming only the 32nd player in school history to achieve the milestone. And the fans let him know about it with a standing ovation.
“I’m not all about individual statistics, but it feels good to accomplish something that only [31] other players have accomplished before,” Sulskis said. “I feel pretty good about myself right now.”
With his 22 points, Sulskis has 1,004 at the school. He said his teammates, including 6-foot-7 sophomore forward Damian Eargle, look up to him.
Sulskis, who is slightly shorter than Eargle, was asked if he got it backwards.
“I’m bigger in the soul and spirit,” Sulskis said.
Eargle, a Warren Harding graduate, had seven points. He also brought down nine rebounds and blocked five shots. Two of his points came on a monster slam dunk late in the game.
Freshman Kendrick Perry also had a career night, though on a somewhat smaller scale. The Ocoee, Fla., native scored a career-high 19 points, including the game’s first six.
Perry was 4-of-6 from behind the arc also went 3-of-4 from the free-throw line.
“Really, it was just an execution of our offense, making the plays,” Perry said. “Actually, I have to give all of the credit to my teammates. We swung the ball [around] and then off of their penetration, and they got me the open looks.”
The Penguins (4-1) did a good job of moving the ball around for the second time in as many games. Of the 30 field goals made, 21 were assisted.
YSU head coach Jerry Slocum said it’s awfully tough to defend a team that makes the extra pass or finds the open man.
“When you do that, you’re hard to guard,” Slocum said. “And I thought our guys did a really good job of that tonight.”
The Penguins also shot well in the game, making 70 percent of their attempts in the second half. They finished with 52 percent.
The Red Flash (2-4) shot just 40 percent on the game, including 2-of-13 (15.4 percent) from the free-throw line. Slocum said part of the gameplan was to force St. Francis outside.
“They have a really good post player in [6-foot-8 forward Mislav Jukic] and he had 13 points in the first half,” he said. “He got five in the second, and a couple of them were on jump shots.”
Slocum said he was happy for Sulskis, and said he is one of the more emotional leaders of the team.
“I’m proud of Vytas and I’m happy for him to get his career 1000th at home. He’s a good kid,” Slocum said.
Canfield High graduate Mike Podolsky saw two minutes of action and hit a 3-pointer.