| Hot-Shooting Butler Tames Penguins, 78-57 |
| Friday, February 27 2009 |
| Courtesy of: |
| Indianapolis, Ind. -- Junior Sirlester Martin scored a team-high 15 points and led three players scoring in double figures but the Youngstown State men's basketball team could not stop a hot-handed No. 23/24 Butler team in a 78-57 loss on Thursday evening at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Penguins fall to 11-17 overall and 7-10 in the Horizon League. Butler clinched a share of its third straight Horizon League regular-season championship with a 14-3 league mark and an overall record of 24-4. Sophomore Vytas Sulskis and junior Kelvin Bright scored 12 and 10 points, respectively, off the bench. Butler shot an impressive 54.9 percent from the field for the game, including 60.9 percent in the first half. After trailing by 10, 38-28, at the intermission, Martin scored two straight buckets to bring the Penguins within six, 38-32, with 17:32 left in the game. Butler, though, scored the next eight points to balloon its lead to 14, 46-32, at the 15:36 mark. Another jumper and a three-point play by Sulskis cut the Penguins' deficit to nine, 46-37, with 14:18 left, but the Bulldogs went on a 10-0 run to extend their lead to 19 points, 56-37, midway through the second half. The Penguins would only get as close as 14, 56-42, after a DeAndre Mays 3-pointer at the 9:40 mark. In the first half, Butler jumped out to a a quick 11-3 lead within the first five minutes of the contest. Two buckets by Martin, two baskets Sulskis and a 3-pointer by Sulskis trimmed the deficit down to three, 17-14, at the 11:36 mark. A jumper by Martin with 7:34 to go put the Guins down four, 24-20, but the Bulldogs outscored the Guins, 14-8, the rest of the half to take a 10-point edge into the lockerroom at halftime. The Penguins close out the regular season against Valparaiso, Saturday, Feb.. 28. Tipoff is slated for 8:05 p.m. EDT and will be broadcast live on NewsRadio 570 WKBN AM. |
| Penguins Hang On to Earn 68-64 Win Over Saint Peter's |
| Saturday, February 21 2009 |
| Courtesy of: |
| Youngstown -- With the downtown Youngstown playing host to a championship title fight later in the evening the Youngstown State men's basketball team and Saint Peter's (N.J.) proved to be a good undercard as the Penguins were finally able to land the knock-out blow in a 68-64 win at the Beeghly Center on Saturday afternoon. YSU (11-16) led the final 16 minutes of the game, but it was hard to shake the pesky Peacocks (9-18). Prior to that, the game featured seven lead changes and five ties. The go-ahead-for-good basket was a layup by Kelvin Bright that made the contest 40-38 in favor of the Guins. During the final 16 minutes, the Penguins led by as many as eight points, 56-48 at the 6:34 mark, and by as few as one, 47-46 and 49-48, but never relinquished the lead. Saint Peter's was able to get within four on six different occasions in the final four minutes, but the Guins hung on by making some free throws, scoring at the right time and playing good defense. Vytas Sulskis scored a team-high 18 points while DeAndre Mays and Tom Parks each poured in 13. Sirlester Martin led the way with 12 rebounds as the Penguins won the battle of the boards 41-29. The Peacocks had three players reach double figures led by Wesley Jenkins' 19. It was the 11th game this season that the Guins have played that was decided by four points or less. YSU improves to 6-5 in those games. Later tonight Youngstown native Kelly "The Ghost" Pavlik will defend his WBO/WBC Middleweight Boxing title against Marco Antonio Rubio in bout about five minutes from campus. For the game, YSU shot just 37.9 percent making 22-of-58 from the field. From the line, the Guins were 18-of-26 for 69.2 percent. Saint Peter's was 21-of-50 (42 percent) from the field, but shot just 65.2 percent (15-of-23) from the line. The first half featured just two ties and three lead changes, but neither team was able to wrestle control of the game from the other. The Penguins were able to build a 32-30 lead and did not trail for the final 6:58 of the stanza. Saint Peter's led by seven 4:15 into the contest before Mays scored five straight points to trim the deficit to 13-11 just over two minutes later. YSU tied the contest at 18 on a tip-in by Mays at the 7:54 mark. Saint Peter's regained the lead momentarily on a dunk by Ryan Bacon at 20-18. Following the slam, the Penguins scored seven straight points to go ahead 25-20 when Zack Rebillot perfectly executed a back-door pass to Sulskis who stuffed it home for a deuce. YSU led by five at one other time in the first half, 28-23, when Tom Parks drilled a wide open 3-pointer from the corner. Jenkins closed the half with consecutive 3-pointers for the Peacocks to keep the contest tight at the break. Sulskis and Mays combined for 21 of the Guins' 32 first-half tallies. Sulskis had 11 while Mays added 10. For the Peacocks, Jenkins had 15 while Bacon contributed 10 as the duo scored 25 of their team's 30 points. YSU returns to Horizon League action on Thursday night when it visits Butler. Tipoff at Hinkle Fieldhouse is set for 7 p.m. A win by the Penguins over the Bulldogs would secure a first-round home game at the Beeghly Center on March 2. Butler leads Green Bay in the race for the conference championship by one game with two remaining. |
| Penguins' Rally Falls Short to Cleveland State, 58-54 |
| Thursday, February 19 2009 |
| Courtesy of: |
| Cleveland, Ohio -- A valiant second-half effort came up just short as the Youngstown State men's basketball team (10-16, 7-9 Horizon League) dropped a heartbreaker to in-state rival Cleveland State (20-8, 11-5 Horizon League) 58-54 Wednesday night at the Wolstein Center. Sophomore Vytas Sulskis led three players scoring in double figures with 14 points, 12 in the second half, while junior Sirlester Martin posted his fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Senior Jack Liles added 12 points. YSU trailed the entire game but cut the lead to within two with 23 seconds left after trailing by as many as 14 points. A Liles lay up got the Penguins within one possession to cut the lead to three 56-53 with 50 seconds to go. After a loose-ball scramble, the Guins were awarded possession. A technical foul by CSU coach Gary Waters sent Sulskis to the line for two free throw. He connected on one-of-two to put the Penguins within two, 56-54 with 23 ticks left on the clock. Youngstown State retained possesion of the ball but a missed jumper by Kelvin Bright was rebounded by CSU's George Tandy and passed ahead to Cedric Jackson who scored as time expired to give Cleveland State the victory, 58-54. The Penguins got to within six, 43-37, off of two Sulskis free throws with 10:29 left to go in the game. However, the Vikings went on to score the eight of the next nine points to take a 13-point lead, 51-38 with 6:25 remaining. The Penguins would not go away as they went on a 9-0 run that included a Sulskis triple to put the Guins within six, followed by a lay-up by Sulskis to get within four, 51-47 with 4:38 left. For the game the Penguins were 20-47 from the floor, shooting 42.6 percent. Cleveland State went 21-56 from the field, good for 37.5 percent. The Vikings stormed out of the gate to go on a 10-0 run to start the game scoring 15 of the first 17 points before Ashen Ward hit a jumper to cut the deficit to eight at the 16:53 mark. Cleveland State led 34-23 at the half, leading as many as 14 twice in the first half as their defense created offense as the Vikings scored 14 points off of 13 Penguin turnovers. In the first half the Guins were 11-25 from the field, shooting 44 percent. Cleveland State went 12-27 from the floor, shooting 44.4 percent. The Vikings also took advantage of 12 free throw, connecting on eight as the Penguins did not shoot a single foul shot in the opening half. The Penguins return home to face St. Peter's (N.J.) on Saturday, Feb. 21. Tipoff is set for 4:35 at the Beeghly Center. |
| Sulskis’ bucket gives YSU win |
| Sunday, February 15 2009 |
| Courtesy of: AP Wire |
| YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (AP)—Sirlester Martin had 20 points and Vytas Sulskis hit a jumper with one second left to provide the winning basket as Youngstown State beat Wisconsin-Milwaukee 70-68 on Saturday night. The Penguins (10-15, 7-8 Horizon League) trailed 41-36 at the half but took the lead with a 10-0 second-half run. Youngstown State led 67-60 with 3:21 left before the Panthers (14-11, 9-6) went on an 8-0 run to take a 68-67 lead on Avery Smith’s layup with 1:28 remaining. After the Penguins’ Zack Rebillot tied it with a free throw with just under a minute left, the teams traded missed shots until Sulskis hit the game-winner. James Eayrs scored 19 points, Ricky Franklin 14 and Tone Boyle 12 for Milwaukee, which shot 57 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes but just 31 percent in the second half. DeAndre Mays chipped in with 15 points for Youngstown State. |
| Mays Hits For 21 As Guins Hold Off Green Bay, 77-73 |
| Friday, February 13 2009 |
| Courtesy of: |
| Youngstown -- For the second straight game, the Youngstown State men's basketball team built a large lead only to stave off a heated comeback attempt as the Penguins held on to defeat Green Bay, 77-73, on Thursday evening at the Beeghly Center. The Penguins improve to 9-15 overall and 6-8 in the Horizon League while the Phoenix fall to 19-7 overall and 11-3 in the league. Junior DeAndre Mays scored a game-high 21 points while junior Kelvin Bright and sophomore Vytas Sulskis each scored 12 points off the bench. Owning a 16-point halftime edge, 38-22, the Penguins extended their lead to as many as 22, 50-28 after a jumper by Silester Martin at the 14:18 mark. The Guins maintained 20-point advantage, 58-38, with 9:40 to go before the Phoenix began their run. Over the next four minutes, the Phoenix outscored Penguins 13-3 to cut the deficit to 10 points, 61-51, with 5:06 left. The Penguins were able to push their lead back to 12 points with 3:19 remaining after a jumper by Bright. Green Bay, though, continued to rally and cut the Guins' lead tp four, 71-67, after a 3-pointer from Troy Cotton at the 1:05 mark. After a free throw by Bright, Cotton answered with another 3-pointer to bring the Phoenix within two, 72-70, with 42 seconds remaining. Sulskis nailed two free throws and Sirlester Martin made one-of-two charity tosses to extend the YSU lead back to five, 75-70, with 15 seconds to go. After a layup by Bryquis Perine and two missed free throws by the Guins, Ryan Tillema's free throw cut the lead down to two, 75-73, with five seconds to go., YSU senior Zack Rebillot sealed the victory with two free throws with two seconds left. For the game, the Penguins shot 47.9 percent from the field and 50 percent from the 3-point line. YSU used an impressive first-half effort to lead 38-22 at the break. The Penguins shot 52.2 percent from the field making 12-of-23 attempts. Green Bay struggled from the floor converting just 8-of-25 shots (32 percent). The Guins made six 3-pointers to Green Bay's two and had a big advantage at the free-throw line making 8-of-12 attempts. Five players had at least six points for a balanced YSU attack. Liles, Mays and Bright all led the way scoring seven points each. Green Bay led in the early stages before an 18-2 Youngstown State run put it in front 20-6 on a fast-break layup by Bright at the 12:15 mark. The Penguins kept the pressure on leading by 16 at four different times in the open half. YSU led 30-14 on a Liles basket at 6:43 before the Phoenix reeled off seven straight capped by a Rahmon Fletcher 3-pointer to creep within 30-21 at the five-minute mark. However, the Penguins responded by scoring the next five points to build their advantage back up 35-21 on a Liles layup. After a free-throw by Tillema, Sulskis canned a trey with 1:25 left to give YSU its 16-point halftime cushion. The Penguins return to action on Saturday night when they play host to Milwaukee. Tipoff at the Beeghly Center is set for 7:05 p.m. and will be broadcast on NewsRadio 570 AM WKBN. |
| Penguins Hit 12 Three-Pointers, Hold Off Flames Rally for 68-60 Win |
| Sunday, February 8 2009 |
| Courtesy of: |
| Chicago, Ill. -- Youngstown State made 12 3-pointers, built a 21-point first-half lead and staved off a feverish UIC rally to pick up the program's first win at the UIC Pavilion with a 68-60 victory on Saturday evening. With the win, the Penguins improve to 8-15 overall and move into sole possession of sixth place in the Horizon League with a 5-8 league mark. UIC falls to 10-13 overall and 3-10 in the Horizon League. Sophomore Tom Parks tied a career-high with 15 points on five 3-pointers while classmate Vytas Sulskis drilled three treys for 13 points and junior Sirlester Martin added 10 points. After owning a 17-point halftime lead, 44-27, the Penguins allowed the Flames back in the game with a 25-8 run over the first 13 minutes of the second half to knot the game at 52-52 with 7:39 left. The Penguins quickly regained control of the game with 11 straight points capped by back-to-back 3-pointers by Parks to take a 63-52 lead at the 2:49 mark. Sulskis and Martin each hit jumper to spark the spurt followed by a Jack Liles free throw and Parks' two treys. Martin made four straight free throws -two with 58 seconds left and two with 17 seconds remaining - seal the Penguins victory. In the first half, the Guins shot an impressive 54.8 percent from the field (17-of-31) and connected on 10-of-13 3-pointers for 76.8 percent. Through the first eight minutes of the game, the Penguins' largest lead was just five points and the Flames owned its only lead of the game, 18-17, at the 12:34 mark. After a layup by UIC's Josh Mayo tied the game at 20-20 with 11:50 left, the Guins hit six 3-poitners over the next six minutes en route to a 22-1 run for a 42-21 edge at the 5:50 mark. DeAndre Mays, Sulskis, Vance Cooksey and Kelvin Bright each made one triple over the stretch while Parks drilled two. The Flames did not make a field goal over the last 11:50 of the first half and made just seven free throws to close out the half. The Penguins return home to host Green Bay, Thursday, Feb. 12, at 7:05 p.m. at the Beeghly Center. |
| Youngstown beats Loyola 60-49 |
| Friday, February 6 2009 |
| Courtesy of: |
| CHICAGO (AP)—Kelvin Bright had 16 points as Youngstown State outscored Loyola of Chicago for a 60-49 Horizon League victory Thursday. Loyola of Chicago (12-12, 4-8) finished the game with only a 25 percent shooting average, making 17-of-68 attempts. In the second half, the Ramblers hit only 7-of-34 shots from the field for a 21 percent mark. Loyola missed their first 10 field goal attempts in the half. Loyola took advantage of 13 Penguin turnovers to build a 30-24 lead at halftime, but Youngstown (7-15, 4-8) came back to tie the game at 36 with just under 11 minutes left. Bright broke the tie with a short jump shot, and Youngstown went on a 17-2 run to build their largest lead of the night at 53-38 with just under 4 minutes left. Vytas Sulskis backed Bright with 10 points. J.R. Blount led Loyola with 12 points, while Justin Cerasoli and Leon Young contributed 10 apiece. |
| Penguins to Take on Saint Peter's in ESPN Bracketbuster |
| Tuesday, February 3 2009 |
| Courtesy of: |
| Youngstown -- The Youngstown State men's basketball team (6-15, 3-8 Horizon League) will play host to Saint Peter's (N.J.) in the seventh annual ESPN Bracketbuster. The date and time for the contest have yet to be determined. The Penguins and Peacock have met two previous times with Saint Peter's winning both contests during the 1992-93 season. In the last meeting, Saint Peter's defeated the Penguins, 78-67, on Jan. 5, 1993, at the Beeghly Center. In the first meeting, Saint Peter's was victorious, 81-68, Jersey City, N.J. The Penguins will play their first road game in nearly three weeks when they visit Loyola on Thursday night in Chicago. Tipoff at the Gentile Center is set for 8 p.m. and will be carried on NewsRadio 570 WKBN. |
| Penguins Fall To Detroit in Overtime, 68-64 |
| Sunday, February 1 2009 |
| Courtesy of: |
| Youngstown -- The Youngstown State men's basketball team (6-15, 3-8 Horizon League used all it could muster to force overtime against Detroit (6-15, 1-10 Horizon League), but in overtime the TItans were able to get past the Penguins 68-64 on Saturday night at the Beeghly Center. YSU trailed 55-51 with 22 seconds left before rallying to force overtime. However in the extra session, the Titans outscored the Guins 13-9 to snap a 19-game Horizon League road losing streak. In overtime, YSU never led. Detroit scored the opening bucket on a Eulius Stephens layup. After Tom Parks tied the game on two free throws each team missed shots before Detroit's Ryan Janer drained a 3-pointer and the Titans never trailed again. Jack Liles answered Janer's trey with a basket to get the Guins within 60-59. YSU had a chance to go in front following a Jokic miss, but Parks' 3-pointer was long. With 54.8 seconds left, Thomas Kennedy's hanger in the paint put Detroit ahead 62-59. On the Guins' ensuing possession, Vytas Sulskis turned the ball over driving to the hoop and fouled Kennedy. Kennedy drained two free throws with 44.4 seconds left. Sulskis redeemed himself draining a 3-pointer with 31 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 64-62. Woody Payne made two free throws a second later to push the advantage back to four. Sulskis scored on a driving layup with 21.8 seconds remaining to pull the Guins back within two. Payne made one free throw with 19.1 seconds left. YSU had one last chance to tied the game but Sirletester Martin's long 3-point try with 10.8 seconds missed and Payne converted two free throws to seal the win. It was YSU's first overtime contest since February 2006 against Loyola. The Penguins trailed 54-49 with 1:28 left before battling back. Sulskis scored on a layup to get the Guins within three. Stephens made one free throw to make the score 55-51. Sulskis made two free throws with 21.9 to trim the defict to 55-53 and YSU forced a turnover on the inbounds play. Sulskis tied the game with 12.9 seconds to help force overtime. With the loss YSU drops to 6-15 overall and 3-8 in the Horizon League. Detroit improves to 6-15 and 1-10 in the league. Kennedy scored a game-high 24 points for the Titans while Sulskis finished with 15 to lead the Guins. Jack Liles and Parks sparked a come-from-behind first-half effort to give the Guins a 28-27 lead at the break. The two players combined to score 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field. Parks made three 3-pointers while Liles added two free throws. The rest of the team combined to make 3-of-13 shots from the field. YSU came out firing connecting on its first three field goal attempts taking a 6-2 lead. However, the Guins made just one of their next 10 attempts and fell behind 18-10 on Chris Hayes' basket at the 8:41 mark. Vytas Sulskis connected on a layup to get the Guin within 18-12. Hayes followed with a basket to push the lead back to eight. From their, YSU went on a run. Following a Kelvin Bright free throw, Parks drained his first 3-pointer of the night. Liles kept the run going with a 13-footer to bring the Penguins within 20-18. A Hayes free throw made the contest 21-18 in favor of Detroit, but Parks' second 3-pointrer knotted the game at 21. Parks' third 3-pointer of the opening half gave the Guins a 26-25 lead with 2:08 left in the half. Sirlester Martin knocked down a floater from six feet to put YSU ahead 28-25. Detroit's Eulius Stephens cut the deficit to one at the break. Kennedy had a big first half for the Titans scoring 12 points. As a team Detroit shot 50 percent (12-of-24). Both teams combined to make 8-of-21 free-throw attempts. The Penguins will play their first road game in nearly three weeks when they visit Loyola on Thursday night in Chicago. Tipoff at the Gentile Center is set for 8 p.m. and will be carried on NewsRadio 570 WKBN. |