The Youngstown State men's basketball team visits SEC-member Georgia in the 2012 Progressive Legends Classic in a nationally-televised broadcast on ESPNU, Monday, Nov. 12. Tipoff is set for 7:02 p.m. at the Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Ga. The game can also be heard on 570 WKBN-AM.
Last Time Out
• Youngstown State opened the 2012-13 campaign with an 80-73 win over George Washington on Nov. 10 in Washington, D.C.
• Five players scored in double figures led by senior
Blake Allen and freshman
Bobby Hain who both scored 19 points.
• Hain also posted the first double-double in his collegiate debut with a team-high 11 rebounds.
• Sophomore
DJ Cole scored a career-high 12 points and senior
Damian Eargle and sophomore
Shawn Amiker added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
• The 10 points was also a career high for Amiker.
Up Next
• The Penguins host Saint Francis (Pa.), Friday, Nov. 16, at 7:05 p.m. at the Beeghly Center in the 2012-13 home opener.
The Georgia Series
• This is the first meeting between Youngstown State and Georgia.
Scouting Georgia
• The Bulldogs are 1-0 entering the game against the Penguins after knocking off Jacksonville, 68-62, on Nov. 9 at Stegeman Coliseum.
• Sophomore Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led the Bulldogs with a game-high 17 points while Nemanja Djurisic posted a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Penguins vs. The SEC
• This is just the fourth time Youngstown State has played a team from the Southeastern Conference.
• The Penguins are 0-3 against SEC foes.
• YSU lost the Auburn, 78-52, in 1983-84.
• Alabaman defeated the Penguins, 88-69, in 1984-95.
• YSU fell to South Carolina, 92-78, in 1988-89.
Slocum Among Elite
• Youngstown State Head Coach Jerry Slocum ranks among the best in the history of college basketball.
• Slocum currently ranks 40th all-time with 656 career victories. He also ranks fifth among active Division I head coaches in career wins.
Slocum Now Tied for Third
• With the win at George Washington on Nov. 10, Head Coach Jerry Slocum picked up his 75th win at Youngstown State.
• He now ranks tied for third on the YSU career victory list with Mike Rice (1983-87).
• Slocum needs just four more victories to move into second all-time at Youngstown State.
A Win Will
• Improve YSU to 2-0 on the year.
• Mark YSU's second road victory of the season.
• Mark the third straight season YSU began the year 2-0.
• Mark the program's first win over Georgia.
• Mark YSU's first win over an SEC opponent.
• Mark Head Coach Jerry Slocum's 657th career victory and his 76th at Youngstown State.
• Mark YSU's 1,010th victory in the program's history.
Five For Fighting
• Against George Washington, YSU placed five players scoring in double figures.
• Senior Blake Allen and freshman Bobby Hain each had 19 while sophomore DJ Cole had 12. • Senior Damian Eargle had 11 and sophomore Shawn Amiker posted 10 points.
• It also marks the second time in the last three games the Penguins had five players score in double figures.
Hain Shines in Debut
• Freshman Bobby Hain made turned in an impressive performance in his college debut at George Washington.
• Hain posted a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
• He was 7-of-9 from the field, including a 3-pointer.
• Hain scored 16 of his points in the first half, including a stretch of seven straight for the Penguins.
Amiker, Cole Go for Career Highs
• Sophomores Shawn Amiker and DJ Cole each posted career scoring highs in win against George Washington on Nov. 10.
• Cole poured in 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field with three assists.
• Amiker scored 10 points with five rebounds in 29 minutes.
• Amiker also made his first career start against GW.
Blake's Take
• Senior Blake Allen is continuing his pursuit of the YSU all-time 3-point record.
• Against GW, Allen connected on 4-of-8 3-point attempts and tied for the team lead with 19 points against the Colonials.
• Allen now has 142 career 3-pointers and needs just 57 more to break the record of 198 set by Craig Haese (Haze) from 1997-2001.
• Allen needs just two more to move into sixth all-time.
Bench Play
• The YSU bench accounted for 31 of the Penguins' 80 points in the win over George Washington.
• Bobby Hain had 19 and DJ Cole posted 12 points.
• Last season, a reserved scored at least 10 points on just one occasion.
Penguins Picked Fourth
• Youngstown State was picked to finish fourth in the Horizon League in a poll of the League's Head Coaches, SIDs and select media.
• It is the highest preseason ranking for the Penguins since joining the Horizon League in 2001-02.
• YSU was never picked higher than seventh.
Perry Preseason First-Team
• Junior
Kendrick Perry was named to the Horizon League Preseason First-Team.
• He is the first player since Quin Humphrey in 2006-07 to receive preseason league accolades.
• Perry led the league in scoring last year with 16.8 points per game.
Eargle Preseason Second-Team
• Senior Damian Eargle was selected to the Horizon League Preseason Second-Team.
• Eargle led the league in blocks (3.7), ranked third in rebounding (7.5) and 15th in scoring.
KP NABC All-District 2nd-Team
• Junior Kendrick Perry was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District 12 Second-Team last season.
Three for 1,000
• Seniors Blake Allen and Damian Eargle and junior Kendrick Perry each have a legitimate chance at scoring 1,000 points in their careers at YSU.
• Perry needs 207 more while Eargle is 306 away and Allen needs 372 more.
• Eargle, however, needs just 38 more points for 1,000 in his entire college career. He scored 268 points as a freshman at UNC-Greensboro in 2008-09.
First Winning Season in 11 Years
• The Penguins finished last 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.
Best Turnaround
• 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.
Back-to-Back Records
• 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.
• Over the last 62 games, YSU has made 511 3-pointers, including six against George Washington.
Home Improvement
• The Guins won 10 home games for the first time since 2006-07 and won six road games, including four in league play.
2K-Club
• The 2,095 points scored marked the third straight season the Guins have scored at least 2,000 points and is the highest season-point total since the 2000-01.
Block Party
• The Guins' 164 blocks ranked as the second-highest single-season total in school history.
• The school record is 166 set in 1982-83.
KP First-Team All-League
Junior Kendrick Perry was named to the All-Horizon League First-Team last season. Below are some tidbits on Perry:
• Led HL in scoring in all games (16.8) and league games only (16.8 ppg).
• Led league in steals in conference games (2.4).
• Just the fifth player to lead the Horizon League in scoring and steals in the same season.
• Tied for league lead with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.9.
• Ranked second in steals (2.4) in all games.
• Ranked fourth in assists per game (3.9).
• Was the first sophomore in school history to earn first-team all-conference honors.
• First YSU player since Quin Humphrey (2006-07 and 2005-06) to be named first-team all-league.
Eargle Named All-Defensive Team
Senior forward Damian Eargle was voted to the Horizon League All-Defensive Team. Below are some notes on Eargle's season:
• Set the Horizon League single-season blocks record for all games with 116 and league-games only with 65.
• Owns the Horizon League career record for blocks in conference play at 122.
• Ranks third nationally with 3.9 blocks per game.
Four for 50
• For the first time in school history, four players made at least 50 3-pointers in the same season.
• Senior Blake Allen led the team with 91 while Kendrick Perry has 54 and former Penguins Ashen Ward and DuShawn Brooks made 53 and 50, respectively.
KP Sets Single-Season Steals Mark
• With a steal against Detroit on March 2, 2012, sophomore Kendrick Perry set the school single-season steals mark.
• He had 74 steals last season. The old record of 64 was set by Marlon Williamson in 2002-03.
KP Most Points Since 2006-07
• With 521 points last season, sophomore Kendrick Perry has scored the most points in a single-season since Quin Humphrey scored 584 in 2006-07.
• Perry, who led the league in scoring at 16.8 points per game, scored at least 20 points in seven of the last 11 games.
• He was the first player since Humphrey to score 500 points and the first sophomore since Reggie Kemp to reach that mark in 1989-90.
