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YSU men preparing to host CSU
By Joe Catullo Jr.
YOUNGSTOWN
It was just the third conference game of the season on Tuesday for the Youngstown State men’s basketball team at UIC.
Yet, it was already a must-win scenario. The Penguins took control early in a second half that changed their fate while the season progresses.
“In the locker room at halftime, we said that the first four minutes of the second half are crucial,” Kendrick Perry said. “That’s when we really wanted to put our stamp on the game. I think that kind of set the tone for the rest of the second half.”
The Penguins won, 75-62, and earned their first conference win as they head into Monday night’s contest with Cleveland State.
“I’m not sure how well we played. We just played hard,” coach Jerry Slocum said.
YSU (10-8, 1-2 in the Horizon League) ranks seventh out of nine teams in the conference while CSU (10-7, 2-1) is third. The Vikings fell to Green Bay on Jan. 2 to open their conference schedule. They head to Beeghly Center winning their past two games over Milwaukee and Detroit.
CSU has generally had good defenses in the past eight years under coach Gary Waters. Early on, it’s been the Vikings’ offense that’s giving teams a hard matchup.
“I think it’s one of the best offensive teams they’ve had since [Norris] Cole left,” Slocum said. “I think what makes them doubly dangerous is the fact that they can score the basketball. This is one of the most offensively gifted teams that I think they’ve had.”
The Vikings rank fourth in the Horizon League with 75.2 points per game with their defense third in scoring defense (68.1) YSU is first with 80.6 points per contest while its defense ranks seventh (73.5).
A chunk of YSU’s defense falls back to turnovers, an area that Slocum said must improve. YSU committed 30 over the last two games.
“We just have to value every position,” Perry said. “We can’t really take possessions off like we have in the past couple of games. Especially coming up in a game like Cleveland State, there’s going to be so many emotions involved that you have to stay even-keeled and not let our emotions get the best of us.”
The Vikings are led by a plethora of shooters. Bryn Forbes ranks seventh in the conference with 15.8 points per game, six spots behind Perry’s league-leading 21.1. Trey Lewis is second on the roster with 13.2 points per game.
Sebastian Douglas ranks second with a 64.9 field goal percentage while Jon Harris is seventh (54) and Anton Grady 10th (51.4). In terms of free-throw percentage, Charlie Lee (87.8) ranks third and Forbes (87.5) is right behind him.
Monday’s contest marks the first of four straight home games for YSU. Six out of its last eight games were on the road. The Penguins won both home games with the lone road victory coming against UIC.
“It’s unique for us to have five days to prepare for Cleveland State,” Slocum said. “I told our kids today the fact that it’s home doesn’t guarantee anything.”