Men's Basketball: Penguins Seek Windy City Sweep With Saturday Visit to UIC

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Feb. 6, 2009

Men's Basketball: Penguins Seek Windy City Sweep With Saturday Visit to UIC

    The Youngstown State men’s basketball team (7-15, 4-8 Horizon League) looks to pick up its second straight Horizon League road victory when it visits UIC (10-12, 3-9 Horizon League), Saturday, Feb. 7, at the UIC Pavilion.
    Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m. and the game will also be broadcast live on NewsRadio 570 WKBN AM.
    Youngstown State used a stifling defense and shot 54.2 percent from the field in the second half en route to a 60-49 victory over Loyola on Thursday evening at the Joseph J. Gentile Center.
    Junior Kelvin Bright scored a game-high 16 points to lead the Penguins while sophomore Vytas Sulskis added 10 points, Junior DeAndre Mays scored nine points with six rebounds and and five assists.
    Bright leads the team with 13 points per game while DeAndre Mays owns a scoring average of 10.7 points per game. Junior Sirlester Martin, who averages 9.1 points per game, leads the team and ranks second in the Horizon League with 7.4 rebounds per game.
    UIC enters the game on a four-game losing streak after falling to Cleveland State, 66-63, on Thursday. The Flames led by as many as 11 points in the second half but CSU’s Jeremy Montgomery’s 3-pointer with 27 seconds left lifted the Vikings past the Flames.
    The Flames have also lost five of their last six games and nine of their last 11.
    Senior Josh Mayo leads the Flames in scoring with 16.4 points per game while Scott VanderMeer and Robo Kreps each average 11.4 points per game and Tori Boyd averages 10.1 points per game.
    This is the 22nd meeting between Youngstown State and UIC in the all-time series that dates back to 1993. The Flames own an 18-3 advantage in the all-time series but the Penguins have won three of the last five contests, including an 80-70 win on Jan. 8 at the Beeghly Center. YSU has never won at the UIC Pavilion.
    The Penguins return home to host Green Bay, Thursday, Feb. 12, at 8 p.m. at the Beeghly Center.

A Win Will
• Improve YSU to 8-15 overall and 5-8 in the Horizon League.
• Mark YSU’s first-ever win at UIC.
• Mark YSU’s second straight win over UIC.
• Mark YSU’s fourth road win of the season and the third road league win.
• Be the first time YSU has won back-to-back road league games since 1998.
• Mark Head Coach Jerry Slocum’s 618th career victory and his 38th at Youngstown State.
• YSU’s 972nd victory in the program’s history.

Slocum In Select Company
Youngstown State Head Coach Jerry Slocum is in some pretty elite company. Slocum, who has 617 career wins, is one of seven active Division I head coaches with more than 600 career victories and ranks seventh among that group.

Last Times Holding Foes Under 20 in a Half
Youngstown State held Loyola to just 19 points in the second half on Feb. 5. The last time YSU allowed under 20 points in a half (2nd) was 19 by Wright State Feb. 9, 2008. The last time we allowed under 20 points in a half (1st) on the road was 19 by Butler Jan. 19, 2005. The last time we allowed under 20 points in a second half on the road was 19 by Green Bay Jan. 28, 2002

Scouting UIC
UIC enters the game on a four-game losing streak after falling to Cleveland State, 66-63, on Thursday. The Flames led by as many as 11 points in the second half but CSU’s Jeremy Montgomery’s 3-pointer with 27 seconds left lifted the Vikings past the Flames. The Flames have also lost five of their last six games and nine of their last 11. Senior Josh Mayo leads the Flames in scoring with 16.4 points per game while Scott VanderMeer and Robo Kreps each average 11.4 points per game and Tori Boyd averages 10.1 points per game.

Last Time Out
Youngstown State used a stifling defense and shot 54.2 percent from the field in the second half en route to a 60-49 victory over Loyola on Thursday evening at the Joseph J. Gentile Center. Junior Kelvin Bright scored a game-high 16 points to lead the Penguins while sophomore Vytas Sulskis added 10 points, Junior DeAndre Mays scored nine points with six rebounds and and five assists.

Up Next... Green Bay
The Penguins return home to host Green Bay, Thursday, Feb. 12, at 7:05 p.m. at the Beeghly Center The contest will be broadcast on NewsRadio 570 AM WKBN.

The UIC Series
This is the 22nd meeting between Youngstown State and UIC in the all-time series that dates back to 1993. The Flames own an 18-3 advantage in the all-time series but the Penguins have won three of the last five contests, including an 80-70 win on Jan. 8 at the Beeghly Center. YSU has never won at the UIC Pavilion.

Last Time Against UIC
    Junior guard Kelvin Bright scored a game-high 23 points and junior forward Dallas Blocker contributed a career-high 11 points as Youngstown State overcame a 13-point first-half deficit to beat UIC 80-70 on Jan. 8 at the Beeghly Center.
    The Penguins, who trailed 38-25 with 1:53 left in the first half, outscored the Flames 55-32 the rest of the contest to win for the third time in four games.
    Bright helped key an impressive turnaround after the Guins had fallen behind by 13 late in the first.
    Bright scored the final six points of the half for the Penguins to steal some momentum from the red-hot Flames who shot 54.8 percent in the first 20 minutes.

Guins Step Up Defense
The Penguins allowed a season-low 49 points against Loyola on Feb. 5 at the Gentile Center. It also marks just the third time since YSU joined Division I that the Penguins allowed under 50 points in a road victory. The last time was a 43-41 win at IUPUI on Jan. 6, 2001. The first time was a 52-48 win over Akron on Feb. 26, 1983.

Blocker Living Up to Name
Junior Dallas Blocker has been giving opponents fits over the last three games. Blocker has rejected seven shots during that time, including a career-high three against Loyola on Thursday and three against Wright State on Jan. 29.

Sulskis Returns to Double Figures
After not scoring in double figures in nine straight games, sophomore Vytas Sulskis displayed his scoring prowess again over the last two contests. Sulskis scored 10 points against Loyola on Thursday and led the Penguins with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor against Detroit on Jan. 31. He has scored in double figures in eight games this season and 20 times in his career.

February Road Win Rare
With thie 60-49 win at Loyola on Saturday, the Penguins picked up its first road win in the month of February since a 75-69 win at UMKC on Feb. 17, 2001.

Rebillot Crashes Glass
In just 11 minutes played against Loyola, Zack Rebillot hauled down a career-high six rebounds against the Ramblers. His previous career high was four against Kent State (12/15/08) and High Point (12/19).

Blocker Sets New Career High
Junior Dallas Blocker posted a solid outing against Wright State on Jan. 29. The Topeka, Kan., native scored a career-high 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor and made four free throws. He also grabbed three boards and blocked a career-high three shots.

Mays Hits For Career High
Junior DeAndre Mays scored a career-high 22 points in the Penguins’ 78-61 loss to Green Bay on Jan. 17. The Dallas, Texas, native connected on 7-of-21 shooting from the field and 7-of-10 from the free-throw line.

Bright Garners Player of the Week Honors
Junior guard Kelvin Bright was named the Horizon League’s Men’s Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 12. He averaged 22.5 points per game while shooting 45.5 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free-throw line. Bright scored a game-high 23 points on 6-of-15 shooting from the field, including three 3-pointers, in YSU’s 80-70 win over UIC on Jan. 8. He also connected on 8-of-9 from the free-throw line. Against Loyola on Jan. 10, Bright posted 22 points on 9-of-18 shooting from the floor and made 4-of-6 from the charity stripe.

Liles Still Streakin’
Youngstown State senior Jack Liles has played in 104 consecutive games, dating back to the 2005-06 season. Liles, who has played in 110 career games, needs 209 points to become the first player in school history to reach 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocks in a career. Liles also ranks third all-time with 107 career blocked shots. He also has 532 career rebounds.