Basketball Falls to Akron

[IAA Fan]

Akron, Ohio -- Sophomore Darius Quisenberry scored a team-high 17 points but the Youngstown State men's basketball team dropped an 82-60 decision to Akron on Thursday night at the James A. Rhodes Arena.

With the loss, the Penguins fall to 2-3 while the Zips improve to 4-1.

Akron had four players reach double figures led by Loren Christian Jackson and Tyler Cheese, who each had 19 points.

The Penguins could never find their rhythm on the offensive end connecting on just 32.4 percent from the field, 21.1 percent from 3-point range and 57.1 percent from the free-throw line.

Akron, on the other hand, made 13 3-pointers and shot 48.4 percent from the field and 40.6 percent from 3-point range.

The Zips, who led the entire game, jumped out to a 10-2 lead and held a 17-7 advantage with 13:48 left to go in the first half. A layup by Jamir Thomas and a 3-pointer by Tyler Foster cut the lead to five, 17-12, but the Zips used a 13-5 run to push their advantage to 13, 30-17, at the 6:31 mark of the first half. Youngstown State never cut the lead below double digits the rest of the game.

The Penguins visit USC-Upstate, Saturday, Nov. 23, at 2 p.m. to close out the Global Sports Shootout.


Team Stats

Field Goals
Youngstown State:  (22-68)
Akron: (31-64)

Field Goal %
Youngstown State: 32.4%
Akron: 48.4%

Rebounds
Youngstown State: 42
Akron: 40

Assists
Youngstown State: 7
Akron: 14

Turnovers
Youngstown State: 13
Akron: 12

Pts off Turnovers
Youngstown State: 7
Akron: 17

2nd Chance Pts
Youngstown State: 14
Akron: 11

Pts in the Paint
Youngstown State: 32
Akron: 32

Fastbreak Pts
Youngstown State: 6
Akron: 15

Bench Pts
Youngstown State: 31
Akron: 31

[jbags]

When will this program turn around? How many players and coaches have to breeze through? I loved the hiring of Calhoun but have we really improved? Quisenberry is the best young guard since Perry and Naz plays as hard as anyone but it never seems to get better. I watch programs like UMBC and Rob Morris make the NCAA's while we languish year after year with no end in sight.  I just don't get it.

[chezmustache]

     Agree all.

     We have essentially played four games and been blown out twice.  We were supposed to be better than this, were we not?  The reasons are always the same, poor shooting percentage, inability to shoot free throws, weak coaching, and high turnover rate.  Interestingly, it has been rarely a failure to rebound.

     The last time we were good was in the final years of the ROSELLI era and during the Mike RICE regime (where there were other issues).  We hovered near the top 100 (Sagarin ratings) during several of those seasons. 

     Akron, Kent State, and Cleveland State have all made runs since 2000.  They function in the same environment we do.  An even better example is the YSU women who have been good on a consistent basis under the past two head coaches.  They shoot a better free through percentage than the men.     

     Why can't we get better performance from the men?

     One would think we would be good out of dumb luck once in a while.

[mudclods]

I'm just blown away by the poor shooting. I get it happens often when you play against top teams as that's always seemed to happen each year to YSU, I understand there's nights when shots don't fall, and I get a player getting in a shooting slump, but it's really getting concerning after 5 games when it's multiple players and guys that should be able to score the ball. 

Morgan is shooting under 29% from the field & just over 17% from 3.

Akuckie is nearly identical at 29 & 20. He's only 4-7 from the line.

Simmons is only 25% from the field & 27 from 3.

Cathcart is only 18% from 3.

Naz is under 47% from the foul line

Covington is 31 from the field & 14 from 3

These numbers are horrific