Penguin News
• Tipoff is set for 7:45 p.m. and the game can be heard on 570 WKBN-AM and iHeartRadio.
• The game is part of a YSU women's and men's basketball doubleheader and can be viewed on the Horizon League Network.
Last Time Out
• The Penguins dropped their second straight contest after a 66-60 defeat at Cleveland State on Tuesday evening.
• Freshman Bobby Hain led the Penguins with 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor.
• Senior Blake Allen scored 14 points and connected on three 3-pointers with seven rebounds.
• Junior Kamren Belin added 11 points.
Up Next
• The Penguins continue their homestand when they host UIC, Sunday, Feb. 10, at 2:05 p.m. at the Beeghly Center.
• The game can be heard on 570 WKBN-AM and iHeartRadio.
• Fans can also watch the contest on the Horizon League Network.
The Loyol Series
• This is the 29th meeting between Youngstown State and Loyola in a series that dates back to 1956.
• The all-time series is tied at 14-14, and the Penguins have won three straight and five of the last eight contests.
• In the last meeting, the Penguins erased a 14-point second-half deficit to come away with a 68-66 win at Gentile Arena
Scouting Loyola
• Loyola is 13-10 overall and 3-7 in the Horizon League.
• The Ramblers have lost two straight and are coming off a 62-59 loss at Wright State on Feb. 4.
• Senior Ben Averkamp leads the Ramblers with 15.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.
• Averkamp is the only player averaging in double figures, but sophomore Christian Thomas is just under at 9.9 points per game.
A Win Will
• Improve YSU to 14-10 overall on the year.
• Improve YSU to 6-5 in the Horizon League.
• Mark YSU's 15th win over Loyola.
• Mark YSU's fourth consecutive win over the Ramblers.
• Mark YSU's eighth home win of the season.
• Mark Head Coach Jerry Slocum's 669th career victory and his 88th at Youngstown State.
• Mark YSU's 1,022nd victory in the program's history.
Last Time at Loyola
• The Penguins trailed Loyola by 14 points in the second half but rallied for a 68-66 victory at Gentile Arena.
• Junior Kendrick Perry hit a fade-away jumper with four seconds left in regulation for the game winner.
• Senior Damian Eargle led the Penguins with 20 points and six blocks.
• Perry had 18 points with four rebounds and three assists.
• Junior Kamren Belin made three 3-pointers en route to 13 points.
Allen Nearing 3's Mark
• With three 3-pointers against Cleveland State, senior Blake Allen is within two of tying the YSU career 3-point record.
• Allen has made 196 career 3's in three years and needs three more to break the record of 198.
• The record of 198 was set by Craig Haese from 1997-2001, in four seasons.
• Allen ranks second in the Horizon League with 58 3-pointers and 2.5 3-pointers made per game.
Eargle Nearing 1,000 at YSU
• The 1,000-point countdown for senior Damian Eargle has officially started.
• Eargle needs just 31 more points to become the 34th player in school history to score 1,000 points.
• Eargle has scored 969 points, including 286 this season, in his three-year career at Youngstown State.
• Including his 268 points at UNCG in 2008-09, Eargle has scored 1,237 points in his collegiate career.
• He would become the only player in school history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 250 blocks.
Belin Newcomer of the Week, Again
• For the second straight week, junior Kamren Belin has been named the Horizon League Newcomer of the Week.
• Belin set a career high with six 3-pointers en route to a 19-point effort against Detroit on Feb. 1.
• He also added seven rebounds in a losing cause.
• Belin helped the Penguins topple Valparaiso, finishing with an efficient 16 points on Jan. 30.
• For the week, Belin was 9-for-15 from 3-point range.
• In conference play, Belin is averaging 13.1 points per game, hitting 44 percent of his attempts from beyond the 3-point arc.
The Youngstown State women's basketball will complete the first half of Horizon League play on Thursday evening with a battle for second place against Detroit. Tipoff against the Titans is set for 5:15 p.m., and the game will be the first part of a doubleheader with the YSU men's team. The contest will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN, iHeartRadio and the Horizon League Network.
The Penguins will enter Thursday's game on a four-game winning streak and owners of a 15-5 overall record and a 5-2 mark in league play. YSU is off to its best start since 1997-98 with 15 wins in its first 20 games, and it is 5-2 in Horizon League play for the first time since joining the conference in 2001-02. Further, with at least 10 games remaining (nine in league play), YSU already has its most wins since 1999-2000 and its most conference wins since 2007-08.
YSU went 2-0 on its five-day road trip to UIC and Wright State last week, beating the Flames 67-54 and the Raiders 66-47. The Penguins used big runs in both games to pull away for the wins. They ended the first half against UIC on a 19-6 run, and YSU went on runs of 10-0 and 13-0 early in the second half at Wright State. Senior Brandi Brown had double-doubles in both contests, running her consecutive streak to five games and her career total to 51. She also reached 1,800 career points and 1,100 career rebounds in Sunday's contest. Only one other player in both YSU (Wanda Grant) and Horizon League history (Traci Edwards, Milwaukee) has reached those milestones.
Detroit has won five straight games to improve to 5-2 in Horizon League play and 12-7 overall. The Titans lead the conference in scoring offense with 72.2 points per game, and five players average at least nine points. Sophomore Shareta Brown leads the conference with 22.7 points per game and a 59.6 shooting percentage. Brown and Yar Shayok rank third and fourth in the league in rebounds per game, which has Detroit a league-best plus-6.2 in rebounding margin for the season.
Tickets And Promotions
Tickets for Thursday's doubleheader are available for purchase on YSUsports.com or in person, at the Stambaugh Stadium ticket office until Thursday at 5 p.m. or at the Beeghly Center ticket office starting Thursday at 4:15 p.m. For more information on tickets, call (330) 941-1978. All fans in attendance Thursday will receive a YSU Basketball Key Chain, courtesy of Medical Mutual of Ohio and MyYTV. There is also a student tailgate party with free pizza from 6:30-7:30 p.m., and the first 500 YSU students in attendance will receive a free T-shirt, courtesy of Cleveland Clinic Star Imaging, Bottom Dollar Food, Farmers National Bank and Eagle Wear.
#YSUWBB Summary
- YSU is in its 38th season in 2012-13 and its third under head coach Bob Boldon.
- The Penguins already have their most wins in a season since 1999-2000.
- The Penguins are averaging 8.6 3-pointers per game this season, which is ranks seventh in the country. They averaged 9.2 3-pointers per game last season.
- YSU is plus-9.4 in scoring margin this season. That's a 12.3-point improvement from last season and a 35.2-point improvement from three years ago.
- YSU is averaging 65.7 points this season, up 1.1 points from last season. It's the best scoring average since 2001-02.
- Opponents are scoring 56.2 points per game against YSU, the lowest since 1978-79. They averaged 67.5 points last year.
