YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - The IUPUI basketball team will embark on a two-game road trip this weekend, beginning at Youngstown State (11-5, 3-2 HL) on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 7) at 2:00 p.m.. YSU comes in having won four of its past five games, including a 78-56 rout of Robert Morris on Thursday night. 

IUPUI (3-12, 0-4 HL) is still seeking a first Horizon League victory after dropping a pair of hard fought contests at home this week. An undermanned IUPUI squad fell to Northern Kentucky on Saturday by a 55-42 score and then was dumped by Wright State, 82-68, on Monday. Graduate transfer Chris Osten led the Jags with 15 points on 7-of-7 shooting against Wright State and sophomore Jlynn Counter came off the bench with 13 points. Both Vincent Brady II (11 pts, 5 reb) and Daylan Hamilton (10 pts, 3 stl) also finished in double-digits and freshman Amhad Jarrard hit all four of his shots in an eight-point effort. 

YSU swept the regular season series between the two schools a season ago. 

QUOTABLE
"I thought we did a good job offensively today. I thought we moved the ball and made some things happen offensively. Defensively, we didn't get enough stops. Credit to Wright State, they took care of the basketball and made plays offensively. We missed some open shots in some critical situations where I thought we could get some momentum and get a run going. Those hurt when you get a key stop and then don't capitalize at the other end," head coach Matt Crenshaw said after the 82-68 loss to Wright State on Monday. 

SCOUTING YOUNGSTOWN STATE
YSU is 11-5 on the season and 6-2 at home and leads the Horizon League in scoring (83.7 ppg) by a wide margin. The Penguins also lead the league in three-point shooting (38.1%) and free throw shooting (78.4%) and are third in rebound margin at +4.31 boards per game. Dwayne Cohill is third in the league in scoring at 18.4 points per game and Malek Green is eighth at 14.3 points per contest. Adrian Nelson checks in at 11.6 points and 9.5 boards per game. In league play, Cohill is averaging 24.4 points per game and shooting 61.4 percent from the floor while YSU is scoring a league-high 79 points per game. 

UP NEXT
IUPUI will cap the two-game trip at Robert Morris on Monday (Jan. 9) at 7:00 p.m.. That game will be broadcast on ESPN+. 

Tidbits heading into today's game (click here for full game notes (.pdf))
    THREE TIMES
    IUPUI freshman Vincent Brady II has now won the #HLMBB Freshman of the Week Award three times this season, including this past week. Brady, a 6-foot-4 guard, is second on the team in scoring (10.0 ppg) and leads the squad in minutes played (29.7 mpg) and threes made (25).  

    FRESH DUBS
    It would appear that Brady will be hovering around double-digits in scoring all season long as he's hit for double-digits in eight of IUPUI's last nine games after failing to do so in the season's first seven games. 
    The Dec. 5 Green Bay game was his 4th straight game of 15 points or more, becoming the first IUPUI freshman to have at least four straight games of 15 points or more since Alex Young in '08. 
    Freshmen scoring in double-digits has been a rarity for the IUPUI program - below is a list of all the rookies who averaged 10-or-more a game in their rookie campaigns. Only Young and Hill do so at the NCAA Division I level.
    Alex Young - 10.8 ppg (2008-09)
    George Hill - 10.7 ppg (2004-05)
    Chad Pate - 14.0 ppg (1991-92)
    Aldray Gibson - 14.7 ppg (1983-84)
    Eric McKay - 12.8 ppg (1981-82)
    Ron Angevine - 10.6 ppg (1979-80)

    INJURY BUG
    IUPUI has yet to have its full roster available this season as Bryce Monroe has been limited to just four games on the year and freshman DJ Jackson missed nearly eight weeks to an injury. Monroe is out indefinitely, hoping to potentially return in February.   
    In addition, Jonah Carrasco, Jlynn Counter, Cooper Dewitt, Amhad Jarrard, Armon Jarrard and Marlon Taylor have each missed at least one game due to injury or illness.
    Only three players - Chris Osten, Vincent Brady II and Daylan Hamilton - have appeared in all 15 games this season and only Osten has started all 15 times. 

    SOLID AS A ROC
    Prior to a recent injury, sophomore Jlynn Counter, known as Roc, had a fantastic two-game Indiana Classic just before Christmas, averaging 25.0 points in the two contests. He had a career-high 27 points (10-19 FG, 7-7 FT) and five rebounds against Southern Indiana on Dec. 19 and followed up with 23 points (9-13 FG, 1-1 3's, 4-4 FT) in the Dec. 20 win over Texas A&M Commerce. 
    Given the recent output, he's climbed to No. 13 in the Horizon League in scoring (13.3 ppg) and sixth in field goal percentage (48.7%) among qualified players. His three against TAMU Commerce was his first of the season, coming in his 15th attempt. 

    MAGIC MARLON
    Last Saturday (Dec. 31) against Northern Kentucky, Marlon Taylor took full advantage of a rare opportunity for extended action. Coming into the game, Taylor had exactly seven points and eight rebounds in his collegiate career, which began as a walk-on at Indiana State in 2018. He had made 16 prior appearances for the Jaguars and actually took two years away from basketball from 2020-2022. Suffice it to say, he likely wasn't on the scouting report. 
    With virtually have the active roster sidelined with injuries, Taylor was awarded 26 minutes of action and responded with a career-high eight points (4-8 FG), nine rebounds and two assists. For the season, the South Bend-native now has 13 points and 13 boards in his 65 minutes of work. 

    FRESHIES    
    Of the seven Horizon League Freshman of the Week Awards this season, three have gone to IUPUI players as Vincent Brady II is a two-time recipient and Armon Jarrard is the reigning honoree. 
    Jarrard came off the bench to average 10.5 points and 2.0 rebounds in the two-game Indiana Classic, including a career-high 16 points (4-7 FG, 2-3 3's, 6-7 FT) against Southern Indiana. 
    IUPUI has relied on freshmen since the start of the season with Brady and the Jarrard twins being fixtures in the rotation. A fourth rookie, DJ Jackson, also came in with high expectations, but suffered an injury at the start of the season, and returned to game action on Dec. 31. 
    Here's a look at how the four have performed so far this season.     
Vincent Brady: 29.7 mpg (leads team), 10.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 25 3's made (leads team)
Amhad Jarrard: 21.6 mpg (5th on the team), 6.0 ppg, 1.4 apg, 7 steals
Armon Jarrard: 17.5 mpg (7th on the team), 4.3 ppg, 7 3's made (2nd on the team), 15 steals
DJ Jackson (4 games): 15.8 mpg, 3.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg

    FRESH STARTERS
    IUPUI had three freshmen in the starting lineup in the opener as Vincent Brady II, Amhad Jarrard and Armon Jarrard all got the starting nod. The trio, all of whom are Indianapolis natives, combined on four points, five boards and an assist in the opener at Iowa State. 
    A fourth freshman, DJ Jackson, made his first collegiate start on Dec. 31 against NKU. 

    TIGHTEN UP
    Against Texas A&M Commerce, IUPUI tightened up to an eight-man rotation by both necessity and success. Daylan Hamilton earned his second straight start and chipped in a career-high 14 points (5-10 FG, 4-7 FT) and four assists. Boston Stanton III, also making a second straight start, had four points and a career-high seven rebounds. 
    The only three that saw time off the bench were Armon Jarrard (5 pts), Jonah Carrasco (3 pts, 3 reb) and Cooper Dewitt (season-high 17 min). 

    4K
    IUPUI hosted its annual NCAA Readers Become Leaders game on Dec. 12 against Spalding University and had a program best 4,114 fans in attendance. The game attracted roughly 3,500 3rd graders from Central Indiana and stressed the importance of creating reading habits at a young age. The 4,114 fans easily surpassed the previous record for an IUPUI home game - 3,327 against Indiana State inside Conseco Fieldhouse on Dec. 23, 2008. 
    The previous record for an IUPUI game inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum was 3,159 in the inaugural game against Indiana State on Nov. 14, 2014. 

    THE MONROE EFFECT
    After missing the first three games of the season to injury, junior transfer Bryce Monroe came in and made a major impact in the Jaguars' lineup. In his four appearances, Monroe led the team in scoring (12.0 ppg) and assists (3.8 apg), despite suffering an injury in his third game back. More importantly, the team as a whole has improved its output. Without Monroe in the lineup, the Jags averaged just 53.4 points per game and scored 65.0 points per game with him available.
    The San Diego-transfer had a monster game at New Orleans on Nov. 24, pumping in 29 points (13-20 FG, 3-6 3's) and seven assists - both of which are the most by an IUPUI player this season. However, Monroe was injured during the New Orleans trip and is currently sidelined indefinitely.  

    OSTEN POWERS
    Graduate transfer Chris Osten is shooting an absurd 63 percent from the floor this season with 14 of his 55 field goals being dunks.
    Coming into this season, he had scored in double-digits just one time in his Division I career
in stops at both Arizona State and Northern Illinois, and never had a double-double. However,
in just 10 games this season, Osten has hit double-figures five times and registered three
double-doubles. He had season-highs of 15 points (6-9 FG, 3-4 FT) and 12 boards at Chicago
State on Nov. 14 and later had back-to-back 14-point, 10-rebound double-doubles against
Denver (Nov. 23) and New Orleans (Nov. 24).

    BOOK WORMS
    The Jaguars put together a 3.03 team grade point average during the fall semester with 12 members of the team earning a 3.0 or better. Junior John Egbuta was most impressive with a perfect 4.0 mark during the fall.