Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes. Youngstown State sophomore Shemar Rathan-Mayes is fouled while driving to the hoop during the second half of the Penguins’ contest with Cleveland State last season.

YOUNGSTOWN — Jerrod Calhoun is frank in his assessment of how things are going for Youngstown State.

The Penguins (9-7, 3-3 Horizon League) have lost three of their last four games since the new year, including back-to-back defeats last week against Purdue Fort Wayne (71-61) and Cleveland State (86-80 in overtime), the latter of which YSU led at halftime and throughout much of the second half.

“I think last week (was) a lot of frustration. If you said to me, ‘What’s one word to describe, to sum up those two games?’ There’s a lot of frustration,” YSU’s head coach acknowledged. “But at the end of the day, that’s sports.”

Now, as the Penguins seek to get back on track, they’ll welcome Northern Kentucky (5-8, 1-3) to the Beeghly Center tonight and Wright State (8-7, 5-1) on Saturday night.

“Good opportunity to bounce back,” Calhoun assessed of the upcoming slate, which closes out YSU’s homestand.

In the Norse, YSU is getting a team that hasn’t played since Jan. 1, a 61-55 loss to Milwaukee. NKU’s lone league win so far is a 79-74 decision against Green Bay back on Dec. 30. Youngstown State hasn’t defeated NKU at the Beeghly Center since 2017.

But, Calhoun cautions, NKU is better than its record reflects. NKU’s 3-point percentage of .338 is third in the Horizon, and three Norse players average in double figures: Trevon Faulkner (13.2 ppg), Marques Warrick (12.9 ppg) and Sam Vinson (10.2 ppg). Adrian Nelson, meanwhile, averages 8.3 rebounds per game.

NKU also averages a Horizon-leading 13.8 offensive rebounds per game, a stat of concern for YSU, given how offensive boards torpedoed the Penguins’ efforts of upsetting Cleveland State.

Wright State, meanwhile, enters on a six-game win streak which includes a victory over NC State from the ACC. The Raiders’ league wins are against Purdue Fort Wayne, Milwaukee, Green Bay, UIC and IUPUI, and their lone Horizon loss was to Cleveland State on Dec. 4.

The Raiders visit Robert Morris tonight before visiting the Beeghly Center at 7 p.m. Saturday.

The two-headed frontcourt monster of Tanner Holden and Grant Basile guides the Raiders, averaging 20 and 17.5 points per game, respectively. That slots them third and fourth in the entire Horizon League. Trey Calvin isn’t far behind, ranking 13th at 13.9 points per game.

The pair of teams have contrasting styles, Calhoun notes.

“(NKU) plays four guards. They spread you out, they drive you, they shoot threes,” the coach said. “Then Wright State, they want to throw the ball close. They get a lot of post-up opportunities with Holden, and obviously Grant Basile is one of the better bigs in our league. That’s all in the paint area.”

Another concern for YSU, given it was outscored in the paint by CSU, 48-22, and lately has struggled with finishing at the rim.

That and turnovers are needed areas of improvement, Calhoun says.

“We’re turning the ball over at a high rate, but we’re not turning our opponents over at a high rate,” he said. “So what that correlates to is possessions in the game. You put so much pressure on your defense with not valuing the ball, and we’ve told our kids this.”

Indeed, YSU’s -0.38 turnover margin is seventh in the Horizon.

As for the paint area, Calhoun added, “We’re not shooting a real good percentage around the rim. We get to the rim, and we’re missing a lot of easy ones. We got to concentrate, we got to put an emphasis on that, and then we got to protect the paint.”

Calhoun also provided an update on Luke Chicone, who suffered a broken hand and missed YSU’s game with Cleveland State. Calhoun said the team is hoping the freshman guard can return in three weeks, and that Chicone’s hand is in a stabilizer right now.

In the meantime, Shemar Rathan-Mayes, Dwayne Cohill and Daniel Ogoro are going to split Chicone’s minutes by committee, Calhoun added.

“It’s certainly a loss, there’s no doubt about it. … He was not playing like a freshman,” Calhoun said.

This stretch represents a critical juncture in YSU’s season, as the Penguins jostle for positioning for the Horizon League tournament. Youngstown State currently is fifth in the conference standings, and the league’s top four teams receive a first-round bye in the postseason tournament in addition to hosting a quarterfinal.

After closing out this homestand, YSU faces PFW and CSU again, but on the road.

It really comes down to every single game being really, really critical for positioning. I looked at our schedule when it came out, and I said these six games are going to be really an indicator of where we’ll be at,” Calhoun said. “We’re not that far off; we’re just a couple possessions away from being at the top of the league. So I’m proud of our guys for staying the course, sticking together through some tough times.”

jwhetzel@tribtoday.com