| Rally Comes Up Short as Guins Fall 72-67 to Robert Morris |
| Thursday, December 31 2009 |
| Courtesy of: |
| Youngstown -- Robert Morris went on an 11-2 run to close out the game and counter a 15-point run by Youngstown State in a 72-67 win on Wednesday at Beeghly Center. The Penguins had rallied from a 15-poinit second-half deficit behind an intense defensive effort, but Robert Morris weathered the storm and scored the final seven points of the game to improve to 5-7. YSU, playing its last game of 2009, drops to 5-7. Karon Abraham had 20 points to lead Robert Morris, and Russell Johnson and Dallas Green both had double-doubles. Kelvin Bright scored 14 points to lead YSU, and Sirlester Martin had 12. Ashen Ward added a career-high 11 points. YSU outscored the Colonials 33-17 off turnovers, including 24-3 in the second half. The Penguins committed just four turnovers in the second half while the Colonials had 12. Two of those Penguins turnovers, however, came in the final 40 seconds. Robert Morris held scoring edges of 32-22 in the paint and 20-7 in second-chance points. Robert Morris led 54-39 when YSU went on a 7-1 run to get the margin to single digits for only the second time of the half at 55-46. The Colonials rebounded to go up 60-47, and they led 61-50 on a Velton Jones free throw. That's when YSU scored 15 straight points to take a 65-61 lead on two Bright free throws with 5:22 remaining. Bright started the run with a fast-break dunk, and he had six points during the stretch. Martin's free throw at the 4:10 mark tied the score, and he hit two more from the stripe with 3:34 remaining to give the Penguins their first lead since there were seven minutes remaining in the first half. Dallas Green ended the drought for Robert Morris with a dunk at the 2:50 mark, and Mezie Nwigwe's layup tied the score with 2:24 left. Martin hit a jumper on YSU's next possession to put the Penguins back up 67-65, but that was the Penguins' last bucket. Gary Wallace tied the score on RMU's next trip down the floor, and Abraham gave the Colonials the lead on a make following a steal. Another turnover gave the Colonials the ball back, and Wallace hit a free throw to make the score 70-67. Vytas Sulskis missed a well-defended 3-point attempt with just over 10 seconds remaining, and Robert Morris was able to come up with the loose-ball rebound off of two missed free throws once the Penguins fouled. Abraham hit two free throws with six seconds left for the final margin. The first half was a back-and-forth, physical battle through the first 15 minutes before Robert Morris scored 12 straight points en route to a 38-29 lead at the break. RMU had 10 offensive rebounds in the first 20 minutes, which it turned into an 11-0 edge in second-chance points. The teams combined for 22 turnovers in the opening period - 12 by YSU and 10 by Robert Morris. Robert Morris led 4-0 on a four-point-play by Abraham, but YSU scored five straight points to take its first lead of the half. Neither team led by more than four until Robert Morris went up by five with four minutes left during its 12-point run. YSU led 15-11 on two Sulskis free throws with 10:36 remaining, but Robert Morris scored the next seven points with buckets on three straight possessions to go ahead 18-15. The Colonials held the lead until Eddie D'Haiti's fast-break lay-up at the 7:20 mark, but YSU's 21-20 advantage was short lived as Abraham hit two free throws on Robert Morris' next trip down the floor. Sulskis tied the score at 23 with 5:18 left, but Robert Morris scored 12 straight points over the next 3:30 to go ahead 35-23. During that run, RMU went 4-for-7 from the field and had four offensive boards. Vance Cooksey scored three straight points, and Ward hit his second triple of the half to cut the deficit to six with 20 seconds left. Abraham beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer to extend RMU's lead back to 38-29 at the break. The Penguins will host Cleveland State in their Horizon League home opener on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. It will be the second game of a doubleheader with the YSU women's basketball team. |
| Sirlester Martin Tabbed Horizon League Player of the Week |
| Monday, December 28 2009 |
| Courtesy of: |
| Indianapolis, Ind. – Youngstown State senior forward Sirlester Martin has been named the Horizon League Men’s Basketball Player of the Week for the week ending Dec. 27. A native of Memphis, Tenn., Martin tied his career high with 20 points and pulled down nine rebounds in the Penguins’ 82-69 victory over High Point last Tuesday. He was 10-of-14 from the field, including 7-for-9 in the first half. Martin is averaging 11.5 points per game this season and ranks 10th in the Horizon League with 5.4 rebounds per contest. He also is fifth in field-goal percentage (.491). The last YSU player to garner the award was Kelvin Bright on Jan. 12, 2009. Youngstown State (5-6, 0-3 Horizon League) will play host to Robert Morris (Pa.) Wednesday and then resume League action Saturday when the Penguins host defending champion Cleveland State. |
| Penguins Catch Fire in Second Half to Beat High Point, 82-69 |
| Wednesday, December 23 2009 |
| Courtesy of: |
| Youngstown -- Youngstown State shot 64 percent in the second half and got a career-high 20 points from Sirlester Martin to defeat High Point 82-69 on Tuesday evening at Beeghly Center. The Penguins hit 11 of their first 16 shots of the second half to turn a 36-36 tie into a 59-46 lead on a Martin bucket with just over 10 minutes remaining on the clock. High Point never got closer than nine the rest of the contest. Once High Point tied the score at 36-36 on two free throws from Jairus Simms, YSU scored five straight points and nine of the next 11 to take a 45-38 advantage on a Vance Cooksey bucket. Senior forward Sirlester Martin matched his career high with 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead YSU to the win. Simms' jumper with 12:23 remaining got High Point to within 52-46 with 12:23 remaining, but that's when YSU started to pull away. Ashen Ward and Cooksey hit on back-to-back possessions, Vytas Sulskis made a free throw, and Martin's bucket put YSU up 59-46. Martin's tip with just over two minutes remaining put the Penguins up by 15 for the first time and gave him his 20th point. Six Penguins scored at least seven points, and Martin was one rebound shy of a double-double. Sulskis added 13 points, 10 of which came from the free-throw line, and DeAndre Mays scored 11. Zack Rebillot chipped in with 10 points, tying his career high that he set at Green Bay on Saturday. Daniels scored 18 points and had eight rebounds while Nick Barbour had 15 points to lead High Point. YSU outscored High Point 22-7 off turnovers, holding its turnover total to 13 against the Panthers' 40 minutes of full-court pressure. High Point committed 19 turnovers. The Penguins led by as many as eight in the first half, but they needed two of Martin's 14 first-half points on their last possession to take a 32-31 lead at the break. YSU was 12-for-28 in the first half and 16-for-25 in the second period to finish with a season-high 52.8 percent effort. High Point shot 49 percent but was just 3-for-13 from behind the 3-point arc. High Point jumped out to a 5-1 lead before a Mays 3-pointer at the 16:09 mark gave the Penguins their first lead at 8-6. Mays' trey started a a 12-3 run for YSU that ended with another 3-pointer from Vytas Sulskis, which put the Guins up 17-9 with 13:07 remaining. High Point began to chip away and eventually reclaimed the lead at 23-22 when Daniels hit two free throws with 5:57 remaining. Martin scored the next four points to put YSU up by three, and the Penguins stayed ahead until Daniels hit a layup with just under two minutes remaining in the half. Martin scored YSU's final four points of the half to counter two Corey Law free throws. Martin was 7-for-9 from the field in the opening half, but the rest of the Penguins were a combined 5-for-17. Barbour had nine points to lead High Point, and Daniels had seven rebounds to go with his six points. The Panthers outrebounded the Penguins 19-12 in the first period. Youngstown State will take a break for Christmas and return to host Robert Morris on Wednesday, Dec. 30, at 7:05 p.m. |
| Wisconsin-Green Bay tops Youngstown State, 75-67 |
| Saturday, December 19 2009 |
| Courtesy of: |
| GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP)—Rahmon Fletcher scored 28 points in 28 minutes Saturday to lead Wisconsin-Green Bay past Youngstown State, 75-67. Bryquis Perine scored 15 points for the Phoenix (10-3, 3-0 Horizon), and Randy Berry had 14 points and 11 rebounds. Fletcher made four of his six 3-point attempts and was 10-for-13 from the free-throw line. Vytas Sulskis scored 17 to lead the Penguins (4-6, 0-3). Zack Rebillot had 10 off the bench. Youngstown State’s reserves outscored Wisconsin-Green Bay’s 28-9, and the Penguins held a 30-18 edge in points in the paint, but it wasn’t enough. The Phoenix’s eight-point lead at the end was the largest lead of the game. Youngstown State led 32-29 at halftime. |
| Youngstown State holds off Saint Francis 74-65 |
| Thursday, December 17 2009 |
| Courtesy of: AP Wire |
| LORETTO, Pa. (AP)—DeAndre Mays scored a career-high 27 points to lead Youngstown State to a 74-65 victory over Saint Francis (Pa.) on Wednesday night, snapping the Penguins’ three-game losing streak. Sirlester Martin added 16 points for Youngstown State (4-5), which led by five in the first half and took a 32-30 lead into halftime. A Mays jumper with 15:56 left gave the Penguins another five-point lead at 38-33, but the Red Flash (3-7) used an 11-2 run to lead 44-40 with 12:34 remaining. After the score was tied for the eighth and final time at 48, Youngstown State had a 13-5 spurt to lead 61-53 with 4:46 left. Saint Francis never got closer than five the rest of the way. The Red Flash, who were 0-for-13 from 3-point range Sunday in a 57-35 loss at Drexel, shot 3-for-15 from beyond the arc. Cedric Latimer had 16 points for Saint Francis and Umar Shannon added 14. |
| Mays' Career-High 27 Leads Guins to 74-65 Win at Saint Francis |
| Thursday, December 17 2009 |
| Courtesy of: |
| Loretto, Pa. -- Senior DeAndre Mays scored 17 of his career-high 27 points in the second half and senior Sirlester Martin added 16 to lead the Youngstown State men's basketball team to a 74-65 victory over Saint Francis (Pa.) on Wednesday evening at the DeGol Center. The Penguins improve to 4-5 overall while the Red Flash falls to 3-7. Mays connected on 8-of-18 shots from the field , including two 3-pointers, and made 9-of-11 free throw attempts. Senior DeAndre Mays scored a career-high 27 points and led the Penguins to a 74-65 win over Saint Francis (Pa.). The Penguins, who made 17-of-20 free throws in the second half, owned a four-point edge, 40-36, after two free throws by Mays but the Red Flash used an 8-0 run to gain a four-point lead of their own, 44-40, with 12:34 remaining. A lay up by Zack Rebillot and a 3-pointer by Mays sparked a 14-4 run over the next six minutes to give the Penguins a 54-48 cushion, Sophomore Ashen Ward's three-point play on a put back capped the Penguins run with 6:50 left. The Red Flash sliced the Penguins' lead back down to three, 56-53, with Mays converted another three-point play to extend the advantage back to six, 59-53, at the 5:16 mark. Saint Francis would never get any closer than five points the rest of the way. In the first half, the Guins and Red Flash battled through 13 lead changes and six times. Despite allowing the Red Flash to shoot 52 percent from the field, the Guins were able to take a two-point lead, 32-30, into the locker room after Mays traveled the length of the court for a lay up with two seconds left. The Penguins shot 46.2 percent from the field in the first stanza and were led by Mays' 10 points. Youngstown State concludes its five-game road swing with its third Horizon League game of the month when it visits Green Bay, Saturday, Dec. 19, at 3 p.m. at the Resch Center. |
| Turnovers Prove Costly in Men's Basketball 67-54 Loss at Wright State |
| Sunday, December 6 2009 |
| Courtesy of: |
| Dayton, Ohio -- Senior Sirlester Martin just missed his first double-double of the season with a team-high 16 points and nine rebounds, but the Youngstown State men's basketball team committed 23 turnovers in a 67-54 loss to Horizon League foe Wright State on Saturday evening at the Nutter Center. The Penguins fall to 3-5 overall and 0-2 in the Horizon League while the Raiders improve to 5-2 overall and 2-0 in the league. Senior Sirlester Martin scored a team-high 16 points in a 67-54 loss to Wright State on Saturday night. Junior Vance Cooksey was the only other Penguin to reach double figures with 12 points. After falling behind by eight, 37-29, five minutes into the second half, the Penguins clawed their way back into game, 42-40, with an 11-5 run sparked by a dunk by Eddie D'Haiti at the 13:39 mark. The Penguins capitalized on technical foul on Wright State's Todd Brown and Cooksey and Vytas Sulskis each made two free throws to bring the Penguins within two, 39-37, with 12:04 to go, After a three-point play by Wright State's Cooper Land extended the Raiders' lead back to five, 42-37, Cooksey drilled YSU's first 3-pointer of the game to cut the deficit back to two, 42-40, with 11:33 to go. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Troy Tabler, who scored a career-high 24 points and Ronnie Thomas ballooned Wright State's lead back to eight points, 48-40, at the 9:22 mark. The Penguins would never cut the deficit under five points the rest of the way. In the first half, Youngstown State made its first six shots of the game and jumped out to a 14-5 lead after two consecutive jumpers by Martin at the 13:32 mark. The Raiders responded with a 10-0 run over the next five minutes to take a 15-14 lead with 8:47 to go. The Guins went scoreless for more than six minutes and went without a made field goal for almost 10 minutes in the first half. A free throw by senior Kelvin Bright gave the Penguins a 21-20 edge at the 2:45 mark, but the Raiders outscored the Penguins 8-2 to close out the half and take a 28-23 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Penguins are off for 11 days to prep for finals then take on Saint Francis (Pa.), Wednesday, Dec. 16. at 7 p.m. |
| Thursday, December 3 2009 |
| Courtesy of: AP Wire |
| DETROIT (AP)—Thomas Kennedy had 19 points and six rebounds to lead Detroit past Youngstown State 82-71 Thursday night. Eugene Blue and Xavier Keeling added 15 points each for the Titans (5-2, 1-0 Horizon League), and Woody Payne had 11. DeAndre Mays had 16 points to lead the Youngstown State (3-4, 0-1). Sirlester Martin and Vytas Sulskis added 14 points each for the Penguins. Mays and Martin hit two 3-pointers each. Youngstown couldn’t overcome hot shooting by the Titans, who made 29 of 43 (67 percent) from the field. The Penguins hit 23 of 55 (42 percent). Youngstown grabbed 12 offensive rebounds and outscored Detroit 13-5 in second-chance points. But the baskets were offset by Detroit’s 20-8 advantage in fast-break points. |