The Youngstown State men's basketball team seeks to pick up its first win of 2013 and in Horizon League play when it visits Loyola on Saturday, Jan. 5. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. EDT and the game can be heard on 570 WKBN-AM and IHeartRadio.
Last Time Out
• The Penguins dropped a tough decision to UIC, 65-60, on Jan. 2 in their Horizon League opener.
• Junior Kendrick Perry scored a team-high 19 point with nine rebounds.
• Senior Blake Allen posted the second double-double of his career with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
• Junior Kamren Belin scored 11 points and sophomore DJ Cole added 10 points with three assists and three steals.
Up Next
• The Penguins return home to take on Detroit in their first Horizon League home game on Thursday, Jan. 10.
• Tipoff is at 7:05 p.m. at the Beeghly Center.
The Loyola Series
• This is the 28th meeting between Youngstown State and Loyola in a series that dates back to 1956.
• Loyola owns a slim 14-13 advantage in the all-time series.
• Youngstown State has won the last two meetings, winning 68-64 in overtime at the Beeghly Center on Jan. 5, 2012, and 80-63 at Gentile Arena on Feb. 5, 2012.
• The Penguins have won just four times at Gentile Arena.
Scouting Loyola
• Loyola is currently 10-3 overall and 1-0 in the Horizon League.
• The Ramblers are coming off a 63-54 win over preseason favorite Valparaiso on Jan. 2.
. The Ramblers are 5-0 at home and have won four straight games.
• Leading the Ramblers is senior Ben Averkamp with 15.7 points per game.
• Newcomer Culley Payne is averaging 8.8 points per contest and leads the team with 4.7 assists per game.
KP Moving Up
• With 19 points against UIC on Jan. 2, junior Kendrick Perry moved into 29th place on the YSU all-time scoring list.
• He needs three more to move into 28th place and seven more for 27th place.
• Perry needs 81 more to become the 22nd player in school history to score 1,100 points in a career.
A Win Will
• Improve YSU to 9-6 overall on the year.
• Improve YSU to 1-1 in the Horizon League.
• Mark YSU's fifth road win of the season.
• Mark YSU's 14th win over Loyola.
• Mark the second straight season YSU began league play 1-1.
• Mark the eighth time YSU has started league play with a 1-1 record.
• Mark Head Coach Jerry Slocum's 664th career victory and his 83rd at Youngstown State.
• Mark YSU's 1,017th victory in the program's history.
Allen Second With 180
• With four 3-pointers against UIC, senior Blake Allen became just the second player in school history with 180 career 3-pointers.
• Allen has made 180 career 3's and needs 19 more to break the record of 198.
• The record of 198 was set by Craig Haese from 1997-2001.
• Allen leads the Horizon League with three 3-pointers made per game.
More Millennium Man
• Kendrick Perry is just the 16th YSU player to score at least 1,000 points before his senior year.
• He became the 14th player to reach the mark during his junior season.
• Perry is just the sixth Division I junior to score 1,000 points at YSU.
• He is also become just the 15th player since YSU joined Division I to score at least 1,000 career points.
• The last player to accomplish the feat was Vytas Sulskis (2007-11).
• The last junior to reach 1,000 points was Quin Humphrey in 2005-06.
Allen Gets Second Double-Double
• More know for his 3-point shooting prowess, senior Blake Allen recorded the second double-double of the season and his career against UIC on Jan. 2.
• Allen scored 12 points on four 3's and snagged 10 boards against the Flames.
• It also marked the third time in his career that he posted at least 10 rebounds.
Two More Searching for 1,000
• With junior Kendrick Perry becoming the 33rd YSU player to score 1,000 points, seniors Blake Allen and Damian Eargle are trying to become the 34th and 35th players to match that feat.
• Eargle needs 153 more points while and Allen is 221 away.
• Eargle has scored 1,111 points in his college career, but 268 were at UNC-Greensboro.
• The last time two YSU players scored 1,000 career points in the same season was in 2000-01 when Desmond Harrison and Craig Haese reached the plateau.
Eargle's Block Party
• Senior Damian Eargle already owns the YSU and Horizon League career blocks records with 254.
• Eargle has recorded a block in 16 straight games dating back to last season.
• He has also blocked at least one shot in 44 of the last 45 games.
• In his 75-game career at YSU, Eargle has tallied a block in 70 contests.
• Eargle also leads the Horizon League with 124 career blocks in league-games only.
KP Named to Cousy Watch List
• Junior Kendrick Perry was named to the Watch List for the 2013 Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year Award.
• Perry is one of 80 nominees and leads the Penguins with 16.4 points and 4.6 assists per game.
• Perry ranks sixth all-time with 307 career assists.
KP Second With 1,000, 300, 130
• Junior Kendrick Perry became just the second player in school history to post 1,000 points, 300 assists and 130 steals in a career.
• The only other YSU player to accomplish that feat was Bruce Timko from 1982-86.
• Perry has 1,019 career points, 307 assists and 136 steals.
• With 14 more steals, Perry will become the only player in school history with 1,000 points, 300 assists and 150 steals.
Allen Leads Horizon League
• Senior Blake Allen is tied for the Horizon League lead with 3.0 3-pointers made per game.
• Allen is also tied with a league-best 42 3-pointers made.
• Allen also leads the league with a 3.5 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• He has 42 assists and just 12 turnovers in 13 games.
• The Tampa, Fla., native is averaging 3.2 assists and 0.9 turnovers per game.
Efficient Guins
• Youngstown State has three players ranked in the top 10 in the Horizon League when it comes to field-goal percentage.
• Sophomore Shawn Amiker leads the team and ranks second in the circuit with a .531 field-goal percentage.
• Freshman Bobby Hain is third in the league at .512.
• Senior Damian Eargle ranks ninth with a .467 field-goal percentage.
Eargle Reaches 1,000 Points
• With 17 points against James Madison on Nov. 20, senior Damian Eargle scored the 1,000th point in his collegiate career.
• Eargle has scored 847 points at Youngstown State and had 268 in 2008-09 at UNC-Greensboro for a total of 1,115.
• He needs 153 more to become a 1,000-point scorer at YSU.
Perry Among League Leaders
• Junior Kendrick Perry is having an all-league caliber season.
• Perry ranks third in the Horizon League in scoring with 16.4 points per game.
• He also fifth with 4.7 assists per game and ranks fifth with a .842 free-throw percentage.
• Perry is fourth in the Horizon League with 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• He is also tied for fourth with 1.6 steals per game.
Eargle Defensive Production
• Senior Damian Eargle is playing like a defensive player-of-the-year candidate.
• Eargle ranks sixth nationally and leads the Horizon League with 3.5 blocks per game.
• The Youngstown, Ohio, native is second in the league with 7.0 rebounds per game.
• Eargle is tied for 10th in the league with 1.3 steals per game.
• Against Bowling Green on Dec. 1, Eargle grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds, including 14 defensive boards.
Takin' Care of Business
• The YSU trio of guards of Blake Allen, DJ Cole and Kendrick Perry take care of the ball well.
• Combined, the three have dished out 147 assists compared to just 65 turnovers.
• That works out to an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.3.
• Allen leads the league at 3.5, Perry is fourth at 2.3 and Cole is eighth at 1.6.
