Penguins Seek Third Straight Win In Critical League Game at Wright State

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Jan. 2, 2009

Penguins Seek Third Straight Win In Critical League Game at Wright State
    The Youngstown State men’s basketball team (4-8, 1-2 Horizon League) is in search of its third straight win and its fourth in the last five games when it visits Horizon League foe Wright State, Saturday, Jan. 3.
    Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. at the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio. The game will be broadcast live on NewsRadio 570 WKBN AM.
    The Penguins are coming off a hard-fought 80-78 victory over Horizon League member Detroit on Thursday. The Penguins trailed by as many as 14 points only to build a nine-point lead and staved off a late Titan comecack.
    Junior DeAndre Mays tied a career high with 19 points and junior Kelvin Bright added 17 points to lead the Penguins.
Bright leads the Penguins with 14.6 points per game while sophomore Vytas Sulskis is second on the squad with 11.6 points per game. Junior Sirlester Martin leads the team and ranks second in the Horizon League with 7.8 rebounds per game.
    Wright State enters the game with a 7-7 overall record and a 1-2 mark in the Horizon League. The Raiders have won their last five contests and seven of their last eight games, including a 71-62 Horizon League win over Cleveland State on Dec. 30.
Cory Cooperwood leads the team in scoring with 10.6 points per game and is the only active Raider averaging in double figures.
    This is the 37th meeting between Youngstown State and Wright State with the Raiders owing a 27-9 advantage in the all-time series.
    Wright State has won the last two games and 10 of the last 11 contests against the Penguins. Youngstown State has not won at the Nutter Center since Dec. 17, 1994.
    The Penguins return home to host UIC in a YSU men’s and women’s basketball doubleheader, Thursday, Jan. 8. Tipoff is set for 7:35 p.m. at the Beeghly Center in Youngstown, Ohio, and will be broadcast on NewsRadio 570 AM WKBN.

Scouting Wright State
    Wright State enters the game with a 7-7 overall record and a 1-2 mark in the Horizon League. The Raiders have won their last five contests and seven of their last eight games, including a 71-62 Horizon League win over Cleveland State on Dec. 30.
Cory Cooperwood leads the team in scoring with 10.6 points per game and is the only active Raider averaging in double figures.
    The Raiders will also be playing without all-league performer Vaughn Duggins, who had surgery, Dec. 4, on his right hand. Duggins was leading the Raiders in scoring with 11.6 points per game.
    The Raiders are the hottest team in the winning their last five games and seven of their last eight contests. Wright State also lost their first six games of the season.

Last Time Out
The Penguins are coming off a hard-fought 80-78 victory over Horizon League member Detroit on Thursday. The Penguins trailed by as many as 14 points only to build a nine-point lead and staved off a late Titan comecack.
Junior DeAndre Mays tied a career high with 19 points and junior Kelvin Bright added 17 points to lead the Penguins.

Up Next... UIC
The Penguins return home to host UIC in a YSU men’s and women’s basketball doubleheader, Thursday, Jan. 8. Tipoff is set for 7:35 p.m. at the Beeghly Center in Youngstown, Ohio, and will be broadcast on NewsRadio 570 AM WKBN.

The Wright State Series
    This is the 37th meeting between Youngstown State and Wright State with the Raiders owing a 27-9 advantage in the all-time series.
    Wright State has won the last two games and 10 of the last 11 contests against the Penguins. Youngstown State has not won at the Nutter Center since Dec. 17, 1994.

Guins Top Scoring Team in Horizon
Youngstown State has become the top scoring team in the Horizon League after posting at least 80 points in each of the last three games. The Guins are averaging a league-best 70.9 points per game and lead UIC (70.6 ppg) by 0.3 points per game.

Mays Ties Career High
Junior DeAndre turned in one of the overall performances in his YSU career against Detroit on Thursday. Mays tied a career high with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field. The Dallas, Texas, native scored 12 of his 19 points in the second half on 5-of-7 shooting.

Bright Continues to Shine
Over the last seven games, junior Kelvin Bright has been almost unstoppable. During that span, Bright is averaging 17.6 points per game while 43.9 percent from the field and 38.2 percent from behind the 3-point arc. The Silver Spring, Md., native scored 21 points against Kent State (Dec. 15) on 8-of-13 shooting from the field, including three 3-pointers. Bright also became the second YSU player this season to score 20-or-more points in consecutive games. He scored a career-high 27 points against Butler on Dec. 6.

Liles Posts Another Double-Double
Senior Jack Liles posted his second double-double in the last three games and picked up his third of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds in YSU’s 81-60 win over Lock Haven on Monday evening. Over the last three games, Liles is averaging 11.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game and shooting 46.9 percent from the field.

80 is Magic Number
The Penguins are coming off three consecutive 80-point games after scoring 80 points against Detroit on Thursday, 81 points against Lock Haven on Dec. 29 and 80 against Charlotte on Dec. 21. The last time the Guins scored at least 80 points in three consecutive games was in 2005-06 against Green Bay (W, 95-70) on Jan. 5 and Loyola (W, 84-76) on Jan. 2 and UIC (L, 84-85) on Dec. 31, 2005.

Bright Enjoying Horizon League Play
In the first three games in Horizon League play, junior Kelvin Bright has been impressive. Against Horizon League foes, the Silver Spring, Md., native is averaging 19 points per game while shooting 54.3 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from the 3-point line. Bright score 13 points against Valparaiso (Dec. 4), 27 against Butler (Dec. 6) and 17 against Detroit (Jan. 1).

Sulksis Nets Third 20-Point Performance
Sophomore Vytas Sulskis nabbed his third 20-point performance of the season when he scored a game-high 20 points against Charlotte on Dec. 21. Sulskis also hit a career-best five 3-pointers against the 49ers. Sulskis also scored at least 20 points against Robert Morris (24) on Nov. 25 and Saint Francis (Pa.) (22) on Dec. 1.

Liles Net Second Double-Double
Senior Jack Liles turned in his best performance of the season when posted his second double-double of the season with 14 points and 13 rebounds in a 64-61 win over High Point on Dec. 19. Liles connected on 6-of-12 from the field and grabbed seven offensive rebounds. He also tallied a blocked shot and a steal.

Cooksey Impressive Against Kent State
Sophomore Vance Cooksey turned in the best performance of his career against Kent State on Dec. 15. The Chicago, Ill., native scored a career-high 24 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the floor and 7-of-11 from the free-throw line. Cooksey’s eight made field goals also set a career high. He also dished out five assists.

Liles Still Streakin’
Youngstown State senior Jack Liles has played in 94 consecutive games, dating back to the 2005-06 season. Liles, who has played in 100 career games, needs 287 points, 22 rebounds and six blocks 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 94 career blocked shots.

Guins Second in Rebounding
As a team, Youngstown State ranks second in the league in rebounding with 37.1 rebounds per game. The Guins also lead the league in offensive rebounds with 14.3 offensive rebounds per game. The Penguins rank tied for fifth in the circuit in defensive rebounds with 22.8 defensive rebounds per game.

Tis The Season
Through the first 12 games of the season, Youngstown State has been one of the most generous team in the Horizon League. The Penguins rank second in the circuit with 14.6 assists per game. DeAndre Mays ranks fifth in the league with 4.0 assists per game.