Better showing, but still a setback

Youngstown State had a bad stretch in the second half of an 84-79 loss to Western Illinois.
STAFF/WIRE REPORT
MACOMB, Ill. -- Despite playing one of their best games of the season, the Youngstown State men's basketball team lost for the eighth time in 10 games, 84-79 to Western Illinois Sunday.
The Penguins (2-8) have lost all seven of the games they have played on the road this year, including four against former Mid-Continent Conference opponents.
YSU will return home on Wednesday to play Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the opening game of the Horizon League season at 7 p.m. at Beeghly Center.
The Penguins gave their best season effort against Western Illinois (7-4), but one cold spell midway through the second half in which the Leathernecks reeled off 16 unanswered points proved to the deciding factor in the game.
"I very proud of how hard we played today up against a very difficult situation," YSU coach John Robic said. "We didn't stop playing and we still had a chance to win right up until the final seconds."
"We got better today," Robic said. "That was about as hard as we've played all season. Now we have to make use of this effort."
Scoring leaders: The Penguins put four players in double figures, led by senior Ryan Patton with 20 points. Sophomore TeJay Anderson added 18 points and nine rebounds and freshman Jimmy Moore had 14 points. Sophomore Marlon "Smoke" Williamson had a career-high 11 points.
The contest was the finale of the Penguins' four-game agreement with the Mid-Continent Conference to be allowed to exit the conference early and join the Horizon League. YSU played all four games on the road and lost all four.
Western Illinois was led by senior Brian Williams, who finished with 19 points, and senior Cory Fosdyck, who scored 18.
The Penguins shot 40.4 percent from the floor (23-of-57) and was 52 percent (13-of-25) in the second half.
The Penguins trailed throughout most of the first half but trailed only 36-29 at the intermission.
YSU went on an 11-2 run to start the second half, taking a 40-38 lead on Patton's 3-point goal with just over 17 minutes remaining.
The Penguins led 46-42 with 14:30 remaining and had possession after a Patton steal. But they committed a turnover of their own and that started the momentum swing in Western Illinois' favor.
Turning point: The Leathernecks scored the next 16 points for a 58-46 lead with just over 11 minutes remaining.
Youngstown State battled back; Patton hit two more 3-point goals to spark a 12-2 run as the Penguins closed to 60-58 with just over eight minutes to go.
Patton sank a pair of free throws with 7:15 remaining to pull YSU to within one point, 61-60, but that was as close as the Penguins would get.
Fosdyck and Quentin Mitchell combined for three 3-point goals as the Leathernecks led by nine points, 74-65 with 2:15 remaining.
The Penguins made one last run, closing to 80-76 on a 3-pointer by Patton with 26.8 seconds remaining. Western Illinois, which made nine free throws over the final 1:30, led 82-76 with 8.6 seconds remaining before Williamson sank a 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds remaining. Williams was fouled immediately on the inbounds pass and made both shots to finish the scoring.