The Youngstown State men’s basketball team (2-1) overcame a slow start and eventually found their way to a 115-53 blowout of the Penn State-Shenango Nittany Lions (1-2) on Monday evening at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center.
PSU-Shenango head coach Michael Wernicki, who spent 12 seasons as YSU’s associate head coach (2006-18) under both Jerry Slocum and Jerrod Calhoun, had his Nittany Lions squad ready to go as they had the lead five different times through the first 7:34 of the contest. Junior Darius Williams scored seven of PSU-Shenango’s first 14 points before a three by fellow junior Jordan Dotson gave the Lions a 17-14 advantage at the 12:26 mark of the first stanza, but YSU then went on a 9-0 run courtesy of a three from sixth-year grad student Cam Polak, a three-point play from junior Tae Blackshear, and another triple by freshman Jaiden Haynes. As a result, YSU never gave up the lead again and had the 43-34 advantage at the intermission.
In the first half, Youngstown State shot just 34.2 percent (13-for-38) from the field and an abysmal 23.5 percent (4-of-17) from downtown after blowing their first 10 three-point tries.
“Give Penn State-Shenango a lot of credit for how that first half went,” head coach Ethan Faulkner said after the game. “I think Coach Wernicki, a guy that’s been around this program a lot, obviously has spent a lot of time here as an assistant coach, and even when he was a high school coach in the area. Him [Wernicki], and I, and Coach Calhoun spent a lot of time together talking ball, and he was at a lot of our practices, a good ball coach, had his team ready to go.”
However, YSU opened the second half with a bang, scoring 15 unanswered points to go up 58-34 with 16:45 left. Then, the Penguins scored 29 of the next 34 points run over the next 8:57 to go up 93-41.
In the second half, YSU shot 65.8 percent (25-for-38) from the field and made 57.1 percent (8-for-14) of their threes on their way to outscoring PSU-Shenango 72-14 through the final 20 minutes.
Overall, YSU shot an outstanding 87.5 percent (27-of-31) at the charity stripe, 50 percent (38-of-76) on field goals, and 38.7 (12-of-31) on triples. They also dished out 24 assists on 38 made buckets, outrebounded the Nittany Lions 56-28, and committed half as many turnovers (12) than PSU-Shenango (24). All 12 Penguin players saw the floor and scored.
“We did not have our team ready to go,” Faulkner stated regarding his team’s slow first-half start. “I was really disappointed in our effort and our mindset and our attention to detail. Obviously, got some things corrected at halftime and played with better energy and effort, and the game played out from there. But we gotta be much, much better to start the game.”
The Penguin bench scored 71 of the team’s 115 points. Senior Imanuel Zorgvol led the way with 18 points (7-of-8 FG), 14 each from Haynes and Polak, 12 apiece from Blackshear and senior Cris Carroll (the reigning Horizon League Player of the Week), 11 for Houston Christian transfer Bryson Dawkins and 10 from redshirt senior Jason Nelson. Charlotte transfer Rich Rolf contributed with seven points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while Elon transfer Drew King filled up the statsheet again with five points, eight boards, six dimes, and three steals. Nelson, Haynes, and Lake Erie transfer Derrick Anderson all recorded four steals each.
“Everything felt good,” Haynes said after his 14-point, four-steal effort in just his third NCAA game. “Like I always say, it’s a blessing. Ever since I was a kid, I always thought about being here. No matter if I score 20 points or score none, I always thought about playing Division I basketball being where I can play in front of other little kids and showing them that it’s possible. It just felt really good.”
Penn State-Shenango shot 32.4 percent (22-of-68) from the field, 25.9 percent (7-of-25) on threes, and 50 percent from the foul line (2-of-4). They were led by junior Kevon Washington’s 16 points, while Dotson had 13 points off the bench. Williams finished just short of a double-double with nine points and nine assists.
Penguins by the numbers
- 72 points in the second half, fourth-most points scored in a half in school history
- 62-point margin of victory, tied for the sixth-highest in school history
- 20 steals, sixth-most single game total in school history and the most since November 14, 2017 when they set the school record of 37 against Division III opponent Franciscan University
Up next: Youngstown State will visit Atlantic-10 opponent St. Bonaventure Bonnies on Saturday, November 15 for a 4:00ET tipoff at the Reilly Center in Olean, NY.
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