Youngstown State at Wright State: What to know about Saturday’s game

Wright State freshman Malachi Smith during a game vs. Oakland earlier this season at the Nutter Center. Keith Cole/CONTRIBUTED

Wright State freshman Malachi Smith during a game vs. Oakland earlier this season at the Nutter Center. Keith Cole/CONTRIBUTED

Who: Youngstown State (12-17, 8-8) at Wright State (17-11, 11-4)

When: 3 p.m. Saturday

TV: ESPN3

Radio: 106.5-FM

Series: Wright State leads 46-12

Coaches: Scott Nagy is 62-33 in his third year at Wright State and 472-273 in 24 years overall. Jerrod Calhoun is 20-41 in his second season at Youngstown State.

Probable Wright State starters

Mark Hughes, 6-4, Sr., G, 9.5

Cole Gentry, 5-10, Jr., G, 12.4

Alan Vest, 6-3, Sr., G, 5.0

Loudon Love, 6-9, So., F, 15.1

Parker Ernsthausen, 6-11, Sr., C, 5.0

Probable Youngstown State starters

Jalani Simmons, 6-5, Fr., G, 8.1

Darius Quisenberry, 6-1, Fr., G, 13.4

Garrett Covington, 6-5, So., G, 10.8

Naz Bohannon, 6-6, So., F, 7.4

Noe Anabir, 6-8, Sr., F, 3.5

About Wright State: Seniors Hughes, Ernsthausen, Vest and sub Adam Giles will be honored in a ceremony after the game. … The Raiders are 11-3 since Nagy made a lineup switch and turned Bill Wampler into the team's sixth man. He's averaging 15.0 points. … They won the first meeting with Youngstown State on the road, 80-74, on Jan. 17 as freshman Malachi Smith had a breakout-game with 17 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals in 23 minutes off the bench. He's averaged 9.0 points since that game and has scored in double figures in three of the last four outings. The Raiders were leading only 70-69 after Simmons made a jumper with 4:29 to go, but the Penguins didn't score again until the 1:06 mark.

About Youngstown State: The Penguins had their six-game winning streak snapped at Northern Kentucky on Thursday, but they put up a fight. They took a 64-63 lead with 3:26 left, but the Norse, led by Drew McDonald's 27 points and 12 rebounds, outscored the visitors, 13-5, the rest of the way for a 76-69 victory. Bohannon had a career-high 17 points and eight rebounds. He's second in the league in rebounding with an 8.5 average. … Their six-game winning streak was their longest since 1997-98, four years before they joined the Horizon League. … Quisenberry, a Wayne High School grad, was named freshman of the week Monday for the third straight week. He had a career-high 37 points in a win over UIC. He's already set the YSU freshman scoring record in the Division I era (since 1981). … The Penguins have set their all-time mark for 3-pointers with 278 (9.6 per game). They're in the top 15 nationally in 3's attempted and made. … They lead the league in offensive rebounding and are second in rebound margin per game at plus-4.6. NKU is first at plus-4.7 and Wright State third at plus 3.3.

Coach's view: "They're playing really well. They're very well coached. They're young and energetic and playing with a ton of confidence right now," Nagy said.

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