| Penguins' Season Ends With 72-55 Loss |
| Saturday, March 3 2007 |
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| Fairborn, Ohio -- UW-Green Bay scored the first five points of the second half as part of an 11-1 run and held off Youngstown State as the Penguins' fell 72-55 in the quarterfinals off the Horizon League Championship Friday evening at the Nutter Center. The loss ended YSU's season at a mark of 14-17 while the Phoenix advances to play Wright State tomorrow evening in the semifinals. Keston Roberts scored 18 points to lead YSU while Quin Humphrey battled through a cold to score 12 points. Ryan Tillema scored a game-high 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting while Ryan Evanachko scored 17 points and had eight assists for UWGB. The Phoenix took a 14-point lead on a Tillema trey at the 18:51 mark to start the second half, but YSU got within 10 three times before before cutting the margin to eight with 12:29 to go. UW-Green Bay upped the advantage back to 10 on its next possession as part of a 7-0 run with 9:34 remaining. The Penguins got within 10 just once more the rest of the contest. YSU was held to 32.8 percent from the floor and 1-for-17 from behind the arc. UWGB shot 40 percent overall and outrebounded YSU 43-36. Humphrey scored the game's first bucket before UW-Green Bay went on a 7-0 run to take a five-point lead with 16:30 remaining. YSU tied the score at nine and reclaimed the lead on a John Barber jumper at the 13-minute mark. The Penguins led 15-14 before the Phoenix went on a 9-2 to take a 23-17 lead on fast break dunk from Tillema. YSU got within 26-23 before UWGB scored seven straight points to take a 10-point lead. A Humphrey free throw made the margin nine at the break. The Penguins were held to 32.3 percent overall and 11.1 percent from behind the arc while The Phoenix shot 50 percent. Humphrey had 10 in the first half to lead YSU while Tillema had 10 on 4-for-4 shooting. The loss concluded the Penguins' most successful year since joining the Horizon League. YSU tallied seven league wins, and had its most total victories since the 2000-01 season. Humphrey finished his career with 1,707 points to finish eighth on YSU's all-time scoring list. |
| Guins Move On To Quarterfinals Against Phoenix |
| Friday, March 2 2007 |
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| The fifth-seeded Youngstown State men’s basketball team continues postseason play with its school-record 31st game of the year on Friday night against fourth-seed UW-Green Bay. Tipoff for the Horizon League Tournament quarterfinal game is set for 8 p.m. on Friday at the Nutter Center in Dayton following the UIC-Loyola contest. YSU (14-16) won its first round game on Tuesday night beating Detroit 82-80 at the Beeghly Center. The Penguins led by 19 points in the first half in large part because of a 25-point effort by Keston Roberts, who finished with 31. However, the final eight-plus minutes would be pressure packed. Eventually, the Penguins were able to hang on for the two-point win despite a Brandon Bell 3-point attempt with 0.4 seconds remaining that clanged off the rim from 75 feet. It was YSU’s first postseason win since March 2003. UW-Green Bay (17-14) blitzed No. 9 seed Cleveland State 78-59 in their first round game on Tuesday night. Freshman Troy Cotton scored a game-high 19 points, including making five 3-pointers. The Phoenix shot 65.2 percent in the second half to turn a four-point halftime cushion into an impressive 78-59 victory. The Guins are advancing to the HL Tournament quarterfinals for just the second time since joining the conference in 2001-02. YSU lost to third-seed UIC 79-59 on March 7, 2003 at the U.S. Cellular Arena in Milwaukee in its only trip to the quarters. This is the third time Youngstown State and UW-Green Bay have tangled in the postseason. The teams have split the two meetings with YSU winning in Green Bay 65-61 in the programs last postseason tussle. UWGB won both meetings with YSU this season. The Guins shot 32.8 percent in the first meeting and 27.7 in the most recent outing. Opening Tips... • The last time YSU won two postseason games in the same year was during the 1998 Mid-Con Tournament. The Guins are 2-5 all-time in HL tournament games and 9-17 in conference tournament action. • Quin Humphrey and Keston Roberts will be starting their school record 31st game of the season. • Humphrey has scored 1,695 points in his career ranking eighth in school history in scoring. His total is the second highest of any player for YSU as a Division I program trailing only Reggie Kemp (1,820). He has also grabbed 666 rebounds, dished out 249 assists and has 136 steals. • Roberts has scored 877 points in just 58 career games. He has scored in double figures 25 times this year and 45 in his career, including a career-best 31 vs. Detroit. • Head Coach Jerry Slocum is one of just 47 NCAA coaches to earn at least 600 career victories. Slocum picked up win number 600 against Wright State on Feb. 22. • Humphrey has scored in double figures in 52 of 57 games since the start of last year. • Byron Davis has dished out 53 assists in the last 10 games. Davis has scored 77 points the last eight contests. He had a career-high eight rebounds against Detroit. • Jack Liles has grabbed 76 rebounds in the past 10 contests. He has had at least eight rebounds in seven of the past 12 games. He scored 13 points on Tuesday vs. Detroit • In the two games against UW-Green Bay, YSU shot a combined 30.1 percent (37-of-123) from the field and 50 percent (16-of-32) from the free-throw line. YSU made 5-of-34 3-point attempts (14.7 percent). • YSU is 9-0 when leading at halftime, 9-0 when shooting 50 percent, 10-2 when scoring 70-or-more points and 7-1 in games decided by five points or less. The All-Time Series The Penguins have lost three straight contests to UW-Green Bay since a 95-70 win in Youngstown on Jan. 5, 2006 and trail the overall series 15-4. In the 19 all-time meetings, the Penguins have reached the 70-point mark against UWGB just three times - winning twice. When scoring at least 65 against the Phoenix, YSU is 4-3, but has never won when tallying 64-or-less (0-12). Postseason History The Penguins improved to 2-1 all-time in home conference tournament games following the barnburner against Detroit. YSU beat Troy 90-83 in the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament in 1995 and lost 71-68 to Tennessee Tech in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament in 1986. All-time, the Penguins are 9-17 in conference tournament games. YSU was 3-8 in the OVC, was 4-7 in the Mid-Con and is 1-5 in the HL. YSU has played Loyola (twice), Butler, UIC, Detroit and UW-Green Bay (twice) in league postseason action. Since the 1999 Mid-Conference Tournament, the Penguins have won just two conference tournament games out of their last 10 contests. This Year Against UWGB Feb. 8 | Resch Center • Jack Liles’ third double-double of the season couldn’t offset a cold shooting performance for Youngstown State in a 55-46 loss to UW-Green Bay. Liles finished with 14 points on a 6-of-14 shooting, 13 rebounds and five blocks, but the Penguins shot a season-low 27.7 percent from the floor and 15 percent from 3-point range (3-20). The Phoenix shot just 35.6 percent (21-of-59) but were able to earn the victory. Trailing 42-37 with 9:46 remaining, the Phoenix went on a 7-0 run to build its largest lead of the game before Keston Roberts broke the scoring ice with 3:13 left. Jan. 11 | Beeghly Center • A good defensive effort wasn’t enough as Youngstown State lost 59-49 to UW-Green Bay. The Penguins shot 32.8 percent in the contest making 19-of-58 attempts, including 2-of-14 3-pointers. YSU also struggled from the free-throw line making 9-of-20 shots (45 percent). UWGB shot 43.4 percent from the floor (23-of-53) and made eight 3-pointers. Quin Humphrey scored 17 points on 8-of-25 shooting. Humphrey also grabbed nine rebounds while taking a career high in attempts. In the first half, YSU led 10-7 but a 15-2 Phoenix run became the difference. UWGB led by as many as 16 points in the first half and held a 36-23 halftime lead. Roberts Finds a Rhythm Senior guard Keston Roberts is nearing 500 points for the season. Roberts has scored 486 points this year after scoring 391 in 2005-06. He has scored 877 in his two-year career. Earlier this year he became the first Penguin since Dave Zeigler in 1979-80 to score 20-plus points in six straight games during the same season. Zeigler had an impressive 12-game 20-plus point streak that campaign. He has made multiple 3-pointers 14 times. Roberts has scored 378 of his nearly 500 points in the last 20 games. He has scored in double figures in 12 of his last 14 games. In four career games versus UWGB he has scored 53 points, including 23 this season. Humphrey Plays At High Level Quin Humphrey will leave YSU as one of the top Division I players in school history. Humphrey ranks second in all-time scoring among Division I players trailing only Reggie Kemp (1,820 points). Overall, Humphrey ranks first in minutes played, second in 3-pointers attempted, third in made 3-pointers, third in steals, eighth in blocked shots and 11th in rebounds. In the past 14 contests he has scored 283 points and led the team in scoring 10 times. He had a career-high 37, including eight 3-pointers, against UIC on Feb. 3 while scoring 36 and adding eight more 3-pointers on Feb. 14 against Detroit. He had 35 against Wright State on Feb. 22. In his 113-game career, he has scored in double figures 82 times. In his last 86 games, he has scored in double figures 78 times. He has gone over the 20-point mark on 29 occasions, including 13 this year. In eight career contests against the Phoenix he has scored 84 points, including a high of 31 last year. In the two meetings this season he has scored 23 points, but converted just 10-of-38 attempts from the field. Humphrey, Roberts Over 400 Guards Quin Humphrey and Keston Roberts are the first pair of Guins to score more than 400 points in the same season since Reggie Kemp and Tim Jackson in 1989-90. Humphrey has 572 points while Roberts has 486. It is only the eighth time since 1960-61 a pair of Penguins have gone over 400 in a season. If Beeghly Is A Rocking... The Penguins won five straight home games and six of their last seven at the Beeghly Center this year. YSU posted a 10-4 mark, the first 10-win season at home since 2000-01 (10-2). On only two other occasions since 1986-87 have the Guins won at least 10 home games - 11 in 1994-95 and 10 in 1997-98. YSU Holds FT Shooting Edge The Penguins have attempted 144 more free throws and made 119 more than their opponents this season. YSU averages 19.7 foul shots per game. In 22 games, the Penguins have attempted more free throws than their opponent. Last year the Guins averaged 17 free-throw attempts. Youngstown State has made 409 free throws, while its opponents have attempted 446. In 2005-06, YSU attempted 486 and this year is at 590. YSU had attempted more than 575 free throws the previous five seasons before last year. Key Numbers Are 40 and 70 Twelve times the Guins have held an opponent to under 40 percent shooting in a contest and 11 of the contests have been victories. On Feb. 22, Wright State shot 25.5 percent, the lowest against the Guins since Western Michigan in November 2000. Conversely when an opponent makes more than 40 percent, YSU has won three times. The Guins are 10-2 when scoring at least 70 points, including five straight wins. The Guins are 5-0 when scoring more than 80 points (Slippery Rock, UW-Milwaukee, UIC and Detroit - twice). Wins Piling Up YSU has won 14 games for the first time since a 19-win campaign in 2000-01. In Horizon League action, the Guins had never won more than four conference games in a single year until before setting a school mark with seven this year. YSU won three league games in the month of February for the first time since 2000-01. The Guins have won five games this month for the first time in six years. YSU is 5-2 currently this February. Guins are Second-Half Team YSU has outscored its opponents in the second half in 17 of the last 25 games. During the last 24 contests, the Guins have outscored their opponents by 109 points. For the year, the Guins have outscored opponents 1,081-974 in the second half. Five Players Do The Scoring Quin Humphrey, Keston Roberts, Byron Davis, John Barber and Jack Liles have each scored over 200 points this season. Combined, the group of five has scored 1,755 points for the Guins this year. Overall, YSU has scored 1,992 points, which means 88.1 percent of the scoring goes through those five players. In league games they scored 930 of 1,018 (91.4 percent). Humphrey Named All-League Quin Humphrey is the first player in school history to be a two-time first-team all-conference selection. Previously Anthony Hunt was the only two-time selection garnering second-team Mid-Continent honors in 1996-97 and first-team accolades in 1997-98. QUINtastic At Home Quin Humphrey was amazing at home the last five games. In scoring 147 points, he is averaging 39.4 a contest. He is 49-of-77 (63.6 percent) from the field, 26-of-41 (63.4 percent) from 3-point range and 23-of-31 (74.2 percent) from the line. Davis Assuming Point Role Byron Davis has showed he can score and distribute the ball this season. He has scored in double figures on 11 occasions and dished out at least five assists on 13 occasions, including a career-high eight against UIC on Feb. 3. On Tuesday, he had eight points, eight boards and six assists. Liles a Force Down Low Jack Liles has had an impressive 18-game run scoring 150 points and grabbing 144 rebounds. For the year he has had at least seven rebounds in 14 contests while scoring in double figures 11 times. He also has tallied three double-doubles. Up Next The winner of the Youngstown State-UW-Green Bay contest advances to the tournament semifinals to play Wright State on Friday night at 7 p.m. at the Nutter Center. The Raiders finished the season with a 21-9 mark and earned a share of the Horizon League crown at 13-3. |