YSU Penguin Athletics > YSU Penguin Athletics
Youngstown State beats Cleveland State 73-67
ysuindy:
Damian Eargle scored 20 points to lead three Youngstown State players in double figures and push the Penguins to a 73-67 win over host Cleveland State in men's college basketball before 3,513 fans on New Year;s Eve at the Wolstein Center.
Eargle was joined by DuShawn Brooks with 17 and Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph High graduate Ashen Ward who scored 15 as the Penguins broke a 4-game losing string, improved to 2-1 in Horizon League play and 7-6 overall.
Cleveland State, which had won two in a row and seven of eight, fell to 2-1 in league play and 12-3 overall with the loss.
The Penguins led by as many as 12 in the first half before Cleveland State's Jeremy Montgomery hit three straight 3-pointers in the last 2:24 of the opening 20 minutes to help the Vikings to a 31-29 lead at intermission.
But Youngstown State, with its first win over Cleveland State after losing the five previous meetings and eight of nine, bounced back, scoring on eight consecutive possessions in the second half to take a 52-44 edge with 10:47 left on a jumper by Josh Chojnacki.
Cleveland State, which lost starting guard Trey Harmon to a possible concussion with 14:27 left in the second half, rallied behind a 10-2 run that included 3-pointers by Tim Kamczyc and Montgomery along with a shot clock-beating jumper by Kamczyc to trail 59-58 with 4:31 remaining.
But the Penguins got a jumper from Eargle for a 61-58 lead with 3:50 left and never let Cleveland State to get any closer the rest of the afternoon by hitting seven of 10 free throws in the final 1:16.
"We had an advantage in the league race by winning two on the road but we gave it back today with a loss at home," said Cleveland State head coach Gary Waters. "It's crucial that you win your home games in this league. It's so tough to win on the road."
Waters knows what went wrong in the Vikings's first league setback.
"We had a nice crowd (3,513) and we didn't give them what they deserved. We have to get back to basics and get it right defensively."
The Penguins used a 58% shooting day from the field with Eargle leading the way by hitting 8-for-11 from the field on his way to 20 points.
Youngstown State hit 25-of-43 field goal tries and went 8-for-16 from behind the arc, led by Brooks and Ward who each went 3-for-5.
"It's a big win," said Ward, a 6-3 senior who played his high school basketball just east of the Cleveland State campus at VASJ. "We lost four in a row and we're better than that. We were were up for the challenge. We are an unselfish team. We don't care who gets the shot as long as it's a good shot."
With the win, Youngstown State coach Jerry Slocum's team is one of seven with one loss in Horizon League play.
Cleveland State and Milwaukee entered New Year's Eve as the only two unbeatens in league play but Butler edged Milwaukee, 54-50 in another Saturday afternoon game to give the Panthers their first league loss after three wins.
"You can't give away possessions against Cleveland State and today we executed for the full 40 minutes," said Slocum.
Cleveland State got a game-high 21 points from Montgomery who was 6-for-8 from behind the 3-point arc while D'Aundray Brown added another 20 that included 2-for-2 on 3-pointers and 4-for-4 from the line.
The 73 points for YSU were the most allowed this season by the Vikings, who earlier suffered a 70-55 loss at South Florida.
"We didn't play Cleveland State basketball," added Waters. "We made it an offensive game and we have to make it a defensive game to win. We scored our 65 points today but that was not enough. Give Youngstown State credit. They shot the ball very, very well."
The Vikings also shot well, especially from behind the 3-point line, hitting 10-of-21 with Montgomery leading the way on 6-of-8, tying a career-high with his six successful tries.
The Cleveland State loss snapped a 17-game win steak for the Vikings against Ohio opponents. The last loss for Cleveland State to an Ohio school was a 72-59 setback to Ohio State on Dec. 22, 2009.
Youngstown State's win at the Wolstein Center snapped a 5-game slide on visits to Cleveland, winning a 68-63 decision over the Vikings on Jan. 28, 2006.
Cleveland State, now 4-1 on its home floor, remains home for its next two, facing Illinois-Chicago on Jan. 5 and hosting Loyola on Jan. 7 at the Wolstein Center.
Youngstown State, the Horizon League travel partner of the Vikings, will entertain Loyola on Jan. 5 and face Illinois-Chicago on Jan. 7 at the Beeghly Center.
The Vikings and Penguins meet again Jan. 28 in Youngstown
Continue reading on Examiner.com Youngstown State upends Cleveland State on New Year's Eve, 73-67 - Cleveland Cleveland State Vikings | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/cleveland-state-vikings-in-cleveland/youngstown-state-upends-cleveland-state-on-new-year-s-eve-73-67#ixzz1iJG7x112
ysuindy:
From the Plain Dealer's Terry Pluto
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Forty-one points, 20 rebounds and nine assists.
That's what it took for Cleveland State to beat Youngstown State in the final game between these two teams last season. For Norris Cole, it was one of the greatest boxscore lines ever: 41-20-9. It also was a strong hint that the senior guard could be a valuable part of an NBA team.
Just ask the Miami Heat, where Cole comes off the bench and is averaging 11.0 points and shooting 45 percent in his first four pro games.
But no more Cole was just part of the reason that Gary Waters feared Saturday's game with Youngstown State. "They start five guys, and all five can score," said the Cleveland State coach. "And they knew it took Norris having that great game to beat them. They were ready for us."
CSU was not prepared for the Penguins, who upset CSU, 73-67, at Wolstein Center. It was YSU's second victory in three Horizon League games, matching CSU (12-3) in conference records.
Youngstown State was sizzling from the field, shooting 58 percent -- 8-of-16 on 3-pointers. This against a team that ranked No. 8 in the country in defensive 3-point field goal percentage (25 percent). The Vikings were outrebounded (29-24) by a smaller team and seemed baffled by the different zone defenses employed by the Penguins.
"Flat" was the operative word from CSU after the game. Flat-footed defense. Flat-footed rebounding. Flat emotionally against a team fired up to knock off a local rival.
Consider that Warren Harding product Damian Eagle scored 20 points with 10 rebounds, while Ashen Ward (Villa Angela/St. Joseph) had 12 of his 15 points in the second half.
Waters has some issues. Starting center Aaron Pogue is hobbled by thigh injury, and in the second half, starting guard Tre Harmon suffered a concussion.
"But we just didn't play well," he said. "There is only one way for us to play -- it's win with defense."
This is an experienced CSU team that starts four seniors and a junior. But it lacks a future NBA first-rounder such as Cole. Nor does it have a reliable scorer, as D'Aundary Brown leads the team at 12.4 per game. Next is Harmon at 11.4. Saturday, Jeremy Montgomery delivered 21 points, Brown scored 20. So offense wasn't the problem. At least, that would have been true had CSU held Youngstown under 60 points, Waters' goal for his team in each game.
YSU's 73 points was the most Cleveland State has allowed all year.
"We had a good crowd [3,513] and they gave us energy," said Waters. "We didn't give them the performance they deserved."
In many ways, it's amazing the Vikings are 12-3. They have been winning while shooting only 43 percent from the field. They have knocked off Vanderbilt, Kent State, Akron, Toledo and Wright State despite a huge deficit in free throws attempted (339-206). They also are being outrebounded, and the key to their victories is forcing nearly 20 turnovers a game.
But not Saturday, as Youngstown lost the ball only 15 times.
Long after the game was over, Waters let out a long sigh. His team is 58-13 at home since the start of the 2007-08 season. That's part of the reason he called this "a crushing loss."
"Now, we start over," he said. "We go back to the basics. Back to defense. Back being the team that can't rely on someone like Norris Cole to bail us out in a game like this -- because he's gone."
http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/blog/index.ssf/2011/12/without_a_star_leading_the_way.html
ysuindy:
Another cheap shot from YSU hater and MAC worshipping PD honk Elton Alexander. What a piece of work this guy is - 20 years of shots at YSU while worshipping at the Kent and Akron altar
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Facing the bottom of the Horizon League barrel in Youngstown State, the Cleveland State Vikings dove in and rarely surfaced, suffering a stinging 73-67 loss Saturday afternoon before 3,513 in the Wolstein Center.
Senior Ashen Ward, a 6-3 swingman out of Villa Angela-St. Joseph, delivered nine of his 15 points down the stretch to keep the Penguins on top in a game they led much of the way. The Vikings did nothing they traditionally do against opponents more highly regarded than YSU, and paid for it dearly.
Adding to CSU's woes was the loss of senior guard Trevon Harmon to a concussion early in the second half. His availability is day-to-day.
CSU entered the game holding the opposition to 26.7 percent 3-point shooting. The Penguins made 50 percent (8-of-16). The Vikings average forcing 19.2 turnovers. The Penguins committed 15, and only three came in the final 3:36, when CSU was within 61-58. Before Saturday, only one team had reached 70 points against the Vikings. Now it's two.
While this is only the third loss for the Vikings (12-3, 2-1 Horizon) on the season, it's the first setback at home.
"It's a crushing loss, because it is at home," CSU head coach Gary Waters said, noting the Vikings' first two league wins were on the road. "We just gave that advantage back."
The Penguins were the better team for most of the 40 minutes as they calmly handled CSU's defensive pressure. Three players posted double figures, led by Damian Eargle's 20 points. But it was Ward who knocked down a big 3-pointer for a 64-59 YSU lead, then followed with a driving, twisting layup for a 66-59 lead before YSU closed the game out at the line.
Ward's first basket in that run came after CSU's Charlie Lee kicked the ball off his foot and out of bounds. Ward's second came after Jeremy Montgomery did the same thing.
"Two unnecessary turnovers," Waters said.
The Penguins (7-6, 2-1) snapped a four-game winning streak, and are tied for first place in the HL standings.
"These guys are a sneak-up team," said CSU's Montgomery, whose 21 points and torrid 3-point shooting in the first half gave CSU a 31-29 lead at halftime. "We took those guys for granted and came out on the wrong side."
Youngstown State built a 19-7 lead as the Penguins limited their turnovers early. Then Montgomery went to work.
The first 3-pointer from the stocky 6-2 senior guard from Chicago tied the game at 20. The second came with a finger pointed at his defender. The third came with three fingers raised to the CSU band, then the fourth came with a scream as he back-pedaled down the court.
YSU took the lead back to start the second half before a Montgomery trey tied it at 40. But Ward answered with a 3-pointer and YSU never trailed again.
http://www.cleveland.com/sports/csu/index.ssf/2011/12/cleveland_state_absorbs_a_pain.html
Wick250:
goodnews,
The Vindicator did not even send a sportswriter to the game. That is how much that rag cares about YSU.
Indy,
Didn't that Alexander hack actually pick us in the middle of the pack this season? So, we revert to bottom feeders when we defeat CSU. Nice touch. Horizon League bottom feeders always win two out of three road games.
As Indy noted, let us hope that this team does not rest on its laurels and puke away this start with poor performances at home against UIC and Loyola. Besides the outside shooting yesterday, it was really encouraging to see our players take the ball to the hoop and finish when CSU overextended on defense. How many of us thought they would fold down the stretch? Perhaps the lessons learned from the RMU game took hold.
Before we get carried away, the bench scored only four points and had only four rebounds. Perry, Allen, and Brooks all played 36 minutes or more. They cannot continue to carry that much of the load as we go through the league season. But with no depth, what can you do?
IAA Fan:
I thought there were several really good thing that happened.
1. CSU is not that good of a basketball team. I should say not as good as I thought.
2. With Eargle scoring ...we have a team that is really 5 offensive shooting guards.
3. We had 32-minutes of play off the bench ...getting better each week. Chojnacki was a presence inside for us.
4. 28-rebounds & we cut down on the turn-overs just a bit.
5 Perhaps the biggest ...24-points in the paint.
6. Slocum planned and called a very good game. This is why think we will do well in conference. We can put up numbers. CSU tried to out-shoot us ...I thought they were going to get it right at the end but they kept trying for threes & the rebounds came way back. The Slocum moved everyone back & we were in position late. Then we had a really bad turn-over and thought we lost the game. We were up by one & Ward dropped a 3-pointer.
7. When CSU turns up the defense they foul constantly.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version