| Contract of Coach John Robic Will Not Be Renewed |
| Thursday, March 3 2005 |
| Courtesy of: |
| Youngstown – Youngstown State Executive Director of Athletics Ron Strollo announced on Thursday, March 3, that the contract of Men’s Basketball Coach John Robic will not be renewed. Robic’s contract is set to expire on April 30. “Coach Robic helped tremendously in making our difficult transition from the Mid-Continent Conference to the Horizon League,” Strollo said. “I would like to thank Coach Robic, and his assistants, for his efforts over the past six seasons. However, we feel a change is necessary for us to become more competitive in the league.” Robic took over the men’s basketball program prior to the 1999-2000 season and spent a total of six campaigns on the Penguins bench. In 2001-02, the Penguins left the Mid-Continent Conference to join the Horizon League. After posting a 12-16 record his first season, Robic guided the Penguins to a 19-11 mark in 2000-01 and a third-place finish in the Mid-Continent Conference. In its first season in the Horizon League in 2001-02, YSU was 5-23. The Penguins were 9-20 in 2002-03, 8-20 in 2003-04 and recently concluded the 2004-05 season with a 5-23 overall mark. Robic finishes his YSU career with a record of 58-113. During his tenure, 16 of 18 student-athletes who exhausted their eligibility, earned, or are on track to earn their degrees from YSU. Twelve have already graduated while four more are set to graduate this May or in December. A national search will begin immediately and a men’s basketball coach search committee will be appointed in the near future, Strollo said. |
| Frantic Comeback Falls Just Short at Loyola, 78-75 |
| Wednesday, March 2 2005 |
| Courtesy of: |
| Chicago, Ill. – Trailing by 16 points with just over four minutes remaining in the game, the Youngstown State men’s basketball team put on a frantic last-moment comeback, but fell just short losing 78-75 to Loyola at the Gentile Center on Tuesday night in the first round of the American Family Insurance Horizon League Tournament. With the loss, the Penguins finish the year with a 5-23 record. Loyola improves to 12-16 and advances to play crosstown rival UIC in the tournament quarterfinals on Friday night in Milwaukee. The Ramblers were cruising in the second half, before the Penguins’ comeback bid started. Behind 72-56 with 4:48 remaining, YSU reeled off nine straight points. Jon Mends began the charge with a fastbreak layup. Derrick Harris followed with a 3-pointer to get within 11 and and a Brian Radakovich free throw chopped another point off at 72-62 with 2:14 remaining. After a Loyola turnover, Harris drilled another three to get the Guins within 72-65 at the 1:33 mark. Both teams traded two made free throws before Harris converted from 3-pointer range again to get YSU within 74-70 with 29 seconds to go. Loyola’s Anthony Smith made one of two free throws with 22.2 seconds left to increase the lead to 75-70. Mends then made two foul shots with 16 seconds remaining cutting the deficit to 75-72. The Ramblers then made one of four throws, but following a YSU turnover, Blake Schlib’s dunk with 7.8 seconds left boosted the advantage to 78-72. Zach Silverman drilled a 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds left as YSU closed within three again. After a Loyola timeout, the Ramblers were able to inbound the ball and run out the clock. For the game Quin Humphrey led the Penguins with 22 points. John Barber scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while Radakovich had 14 in his final collegiate game. Mends ended up with six points, but was credited with 10 assists. Leading the way for Loyola were Schilb and DaJuan Gouard. Gouard scored a game-high 23 points and had seven assists while Schilb scored 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds. The Penguins shot 43.9 percent from the field making 25-of-57 shots, including seven 3-pointers. In the second half, YSU was 16-of-28 from the field hitting at a 57.1 percent clip. Loyola shot 50 percent for the contest making 27-of-54 shots. YSU won the battle of the boards 36-35 thanks in large part to a 18-12 advantage in the second half. In the first half, the Ramblers were able to build their lead with an early run. With the game tied 3-3, Loyola scored 16 of the next 17 points to pull ahead 19-4 at the 10:20 mark. At halftime, the Ramblers led 41-28 before YSU outscored them 47-37 in the second half. |