By Zach Flesch / The Jambar
The Youngstown State University men’s basketball team wrapped up a busy opening stretch of the 2025-26 season with a pair of wins and a narrow road loss after contests against Grand Canyon University, The Pennsylvania State University in Shenango and St. Bonaventure University.
YSU opened the run with a statement victory on the road, knocking off GCU on Nov. 7 with a 90-81 victory. In the 2024-25 season, GCU went 26-8 overall and made it to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament. The Antelopes also went into the game with a 15-game win streak at home.
Senior Imanuel Zorgvol delivered a career-high 18 points on seven-of-nine shooting with four blocks, as four Penguins led in double figures. Senior Cris Carroll and junior Tae Blackshear scored 14 apiece, while junior Drew King nearly posted a triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
Three days later, Youngstown State delivered a 115-53 win over Penn State Shenango in the team’s home opener at Zidian Family Arena inside Beeghly Center.
Seven Penguins reached double figures, including another 18-point effort from Zorgvol and a breakout 14-point game from freshman Jaiden Haynes, who hit four 3-pointers and collected four steals.
YSU erupted by scoring 72 points in the second half — the fourth-highest total in a half in program history. The team made its first 10 shots after halftime and outscored the Lions by 72-19 across the final 20 minutes. The Penguins also recorded 20 steals — their most since 2017.
After the win, Haynes said although the team started slow in the first half, both he and his teammates knew they needed to have a stronger second half to pull away.
“Before Faulkner came in, we kind of knew what he was going to say. We felt it in ourselves that we didn’t give our best effort, but our guys picked it up and made the right adjustments,” Haynes said.
The three-game stretch concluded with a tightly contested 84-80 loss at St. Bonaventure on Nov. 15. Senior Vlad Salaridze returned from injury after missing the first three games and chipped in with 13 points. Junior Rich Rolf led YSU with 14 points, while Carroll added 13.
With the game tied 80-80 in the final minute, a Bonnies’ jumper with 28 seconds left proved decisive before YSU’s final 3-point attempt came up short. The Penguins hit seven 3-pointers in the first half and led multiple times, but an SBU run late in the period and a cold offensive stretch in the second half put the game in favor of the Bonnies.
Following the loss, Head Coach Ethan Faulkner said he’s still optimistic about the team moving forward.
“The great optimism about our team is that we can play a game and make that many mistakes, particularly on the defensive end of the floor, and still have a chance to win the game,” Faulkner said.
Youngstown State traveled to face the University of Toledo on Nov. 19 at Savage Arena. Statistics and scores are available on ysusports.com.
The Penguins stay on the road for the 2025 Jacksonville Classic against the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Georgia Southern University from Nov. 23-24 in Jacksonville, Florida.
