The Youngstown State men's basketball team recently concluded its 2011-12 season which was highlighted by record-breaking accomplishments on the individual, team and conference level.
The following is a list of achievements during the 2011-12 men's basketball campaign:
The Penguins finished the season with an overall record of 16-15 and a 10-8 mark in the Horizon League. The 16 wins are the most since 2000-01 and the overall record marks the first winning season since the same year.
The Guins' eight-win improvement in the Horizon League marks the best one-year turnaround since the league went to 10 teams and the second-best in league history. YSU also lost three other games by a combined seven points.
Head Coach Jerry Slocum moved into fourth place on the school's all-time wins list with 74. He enters 2012-13 needing just two more victories to move into third and five more to move into second place.
YSU set a Horizon League mark with five different players earning the league's player-of-the-week award. Senior DuShawn Brooks (Dec. 5), junior Damian Eargle (Jan. 2), senior Ashen Ward (Jan. 9), junior Blake Allen (Jan. 23) and sophomore Kendrick Perry (Feb. 6) all won the award this season.
For the second straight season, the Penguins set the school's single-season 3-point record with 270 made 3-pointers. The old record of 235 was set in 2010-11. They also tied the mark for most 3-point attempts of 708, which was set in 2010-11.
The Guins won 10 home games for the first time since 2006-07 and won six road games, including four in league play.
The 2,095 points scored marks the third straight season the Guins have scored at least 2,000 points and is the highest season-point total since the 2000-01.
The Guins' 164 blocks ranks as the second-highest single-season total in school history. The school record is 166 set in 1982-83.
Nationally, the Penguins ranked among the best in several categories. YSU ranked 12th with 8.7 3-pointers made per game, 14th with 5.3 blocks per game, 23rd with just 11.2 turnovers per game and 34th with a .381 3-point percentage.
Their 201 steals marks just the eighth time in school history that the Guins recorded at least 200 steals in a season.
For the first time in school history, four players finished with at least 50 3-pointers made. Blake Allen had 91, Kendrick Perry made 54, Ashen Ward made 53 and ior DuShawn Brooks had 50.
Sophomore Kendrick Perry was named to the All-Horizon League First-Team. He is just the second YSU player to receive the honor and the first sophomore in school history to earn first-team all-conference accolades. The only other player to earn First-Team All-Horizon League was Quin Humphrey in 2005-06 and 2006-07.
Junior Blake Allen ranked 16th nationally with 2.9 3-pointers made per game and with a .429 3-point percentage.
Kendrick Perry led the league in scoring (16.8 ppg) and steals (2.4) in conference play, becoming just the fifth player in Horizon League history to accomplish that feat.
Kendrick Perry also led the Horizon League in overall-games scoring with 16.8 points per game.
Junior Damian Eargle set the Horizon League single-season blocks records for all games and league-games only. Eargle finished with 116 blocks, including 65 in Horizon League play.
Blake Allen led the Horizon League with 91 3-pointers made and 2.9 3-pointers made per game. His 91 3-pointers also ranks second on the YSU single-season list, just one shy of the record of 92 set by Craig Haese in 2000-01.
Blake Allen's 3-point percentage of .429 ranks seventh on the YSU single-season list.
Damian Eargle led the Horizon League and ranked third in the country with 3.7 blocks per game.
Kendrick Perry set the YSU single-season record for steals with 74 and also ranked 15th nationally with 2.4 steals per game.
Senior Ashen Ward turned in a career-best season averaging 10 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Ward also made a career-high 53 3-pointers and finished his career with 150, which ranks fifth all-time.
Senior DuShawn Brooks .420 3-point percentage ranks 10th on the YSU single-season list.
Kendrick Perry's 521 points is the most scored since Quin Humphrey's 584 in 2006-07 and the most by a sophomore since Reggie Kemp scored 564 in 1989-90.
The Penguins won a postseason game for the third time since joining the Horizon League. YSU defeated Green Bay, 77-60, in the first round of the tournament at the Beeghly Center. It marked the third home tournament game in the last six years. The Penguins also beat Valparaiso and Detroit, who both advanced to the Horizon League Tournament title game.
