Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes. YSU fifth-year guard Brett Thompson goes up for a layup on Thursday against Bethany (WV).

YOUNGSTOWN — With 12 new players on Youngstown State’s roster coming into this season, it was always going to take time for the Penguins to acclimate themselves to one another.

They were all playing in a new city, for new coaches, at a new school, with new teammates.

While they had the chance to play three games in Spain during the summer, as well as two scrimmages during preseason, those experiences are no substitute for live Division I game experience.

The Penguins opened the season with back-to-back road losses to strong opposition, falling to Louisiana and Michigan. But since then, YSU has won eight of its last nine games, including five straight in the last couple weeks.

It may have taken a little bit of time, but the Penguins are finally starting to find their groove and establish their identity as a team.

“I think anytime you’re in practice or you’re in scrimmages, it’s totally different than the game,” head coach Jerrod Calhoun said during a press conference Wednesday. “I think this team needed to get some game reps, (and) get out there and compete with each other. We’ve hit a good stride here. We knew all along it would take a little bit of time — it did last year as well. Our schedule this year was obviously a lot tougher early. So, we’ve settled down and I think guys are starting to understand their role, play good basketball and get good chemistry. So we just gotta keep getting better.”

Coming off a road loss to Dayton on Nov. 24, the Penguins returned home to the Beeghly Center to open conference play against Horizon League rival Cleveland State. The Penguins soundly trounced the Vikings by 25 points, all while putting up their second-highest point total of the season.

It was in that game that Calhoun said he finally started to see his team realize its potential, and since then, YSU has won three straight road games against Robert Morris, Ohio and Western Michigan.

“I think they’re more connected on and off the court,” Calhoun said. “When you’re away from Youngstown for quite a bit, as we were, we spent a lot of time with each other — whether it’s in the hotel, walkthroughs or in different venues — it’s just the 15 players, coaches and managers and that’s about it.”

As long as they can be, those road trips allowed the Penguins to build chemistry and camaraderie.

“We’re starting to figure it out a little bit more,” fifth-year forward Ziggy Reid said. “We’re starting to get in more of a groove with each other, knowing each other’s strength’s, weaknesses and things like that.”

Just last week, YSU spent as much as 18-20 hours together on a bus getting to and from games, according to Calhoun.

“Those are things that I think maybe go a little unnoticed to media, fans and maybe sometimes even parents. We spend a lot of time with each other, and as you spend time with each other, you get to know each other a little bit more,” Calhoun said. “When you have so many new players, you have to get that time together. So I would just say we’re in sync right now. There’s that cohesiveness off the court, which is translating on the court.”

One of the keys for the Penguins during their recent stretch has been their defense. Reid said defense is something that’s been a significant emphasis for the team.

YSU is giving up 70.3 points per game this season, but during its now-five game winning streak, the Penguins have held opponents to just 67.2 points per game.

“I think we’re as good of a defensive team as anybody out there,” Calhoun said. “That’s been our calling card — switching up our defenses, playing man and playing zone.”

The offense, however, still remains a work in progress. Even though YSU scored 107 points Thursday night against Bethany (WV), Calhoun feels like the team isn’t quite making the right passes or reads in the system.

The Penguins are getting better — their scoring average is now 78.9 points per game — but the goal is to get the offense back to where it was last season when YSU was the fifth-best scoring offensive team in the country, averaging 81.9 points per game.

“You have to have a philosophy offensively — we over me,” Calhoun said. “Last year they really bought into it. This team’s about halfway there. (But still) a long way to go.”

nmadhavan@tribtoday.com