YSU HOOPS Teams look to bring an end to skids

The men have lost 17 straight on the road and the women have dropped two in a row overall.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- Youngstown State's basketball teams will return to action Wednesday night.
The men (4-2) will be traveling to Duquesne University, trying to end a 17-game road losing streak in a 7:30 p.m. tip-off at the Palumbo Center in Pittsburgh.
The YSU women (2-5) are at home against Buffalo, where the Penguins will try to snap a two-game losing streak in the 7 p.m. start at Beeghly Center.
Coach John Robic's men's team hasn't won on the road since Feb. 17, 2001 at the University of Missouri-Kansas City in the team's final season in the Mid-Continent Conference.
YSU has won two straight, both at home against Buffalo 63-48 and Shawnee State 84-69. The Penguins are 4-0 at Beeghly Center and 0-2 on the road.
Dukes' slate tough
Against Duquesne, the Penguins will be going up against a team that carries a 1-5 record, but the Dukes have played a rugged schedule.
Two of their losses were to No. 5-ranked Pitt in the season opener, 82-67, and No. 11-ranked Maryland 89-39. Their lone win came against West Virginia, 86-82.
"Duquesne has played a good schedule and they are a very big team, the biggest we've faced this year," Robic said.
The Dukes starting lineup goes 6-foot-10, 6-9, 6-8, 6-7 and 6-4 and they have another 6-10 senior and 6-9 junior on the bench.
"They've been off for 12 days and they'll be ready to play on Wednesday," added Robic.
Robic has been using all 11 players on his roster in just about every game.
"But that's not going to happen all season," he said. "I figure we'll be using eight or nine players once the league begins.
The Penguins travel to UMKC Saturday and play host to Niagara on Dec. 28, prior to opening Horizon League play Dec. 31 at Loyola-Chicago.
Women have struggled
The YSU women have struggled this year, and coach Ed DiGregorio puts most of the blame on inexperience.
"[That] is the reason that we haven't been able to finish off teams this year," he said. "The kids have been playing hard, but now our young ladies have to learn to play hard for a full 40 minutes."
Buffalo (4-1) is coming off back-to-back wins over Howard and Niagara. The latter defeated the Penguins 80-62 in November at Beeghly Center.
The Penguins have been led recently by junior guard Devin Novak, a tremendous shooter, especially from 3-point range. In her last three games she has scored 15, 18 and 19 points, respectively, most recently in Sunday's loss at Kent State.
Junior Jessica Forsythe leads the Penguins in rebounds (7.3 per game), and is second in the Horizon League.
The Penguins travel to Ohio State Friday, and then return home to meet Akron Sunday afternoon at 1.
mollica@vindy.com