YSU MEN'S BASKETBALL Penguins fail to salvage final road game, losing to Detroit



Youngstown State went 0-15 away from Beeghly Center after Monday's 63-52 loss.
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DETROIT, Mich. -- Youngstown State tried to salvage at least one road victory this season.
The Penguins couldn't answer Detroit's second-half run and fell to the Titans, 63-52, in their final road game of the regular season on Monday night in Calihan Hall.
Youngstown State (3-22, 1-14) extended a pair of dubious streaks; it was the Penguins' 13th straight loss overall and left them 0-15 for the season away from Beeghly Center. It marked the first time since 1992 that YSU went winless on the road.
The Penguins led 39-38 with 11 minutes, 30 seconds remaining in the game, and shortly after the score was tied at 40. From there, Detroit (16-11, 10-5) went on a 13-2 run. The teams evenly split the game's final 20 points.
During Detroit's rally the Penguins missed five shots and committed four turnovers. YSU got to within seven points, 55-48, with four minutes remaining, but no closer.
"I told the kids that we gave this game away," said YSU coach John Robic. "Detroit didn't beat us; we beat us.
"I told them at halftime that Detroit was going to make a run at us sometime this half and we had to be ready to answer," said YSU coach John Robic. "But we didn't answer, we broke and that was the difference.
Second half woes: The Penguins shot 46 percent from the floor (11-of-24) to take a 31-29 halftime lead. But, in the second half, YSU was just 7-for-30 (23 percent).
Detroit, which has won 10 of its last 13 games and was playing its third game in five days, shot only 36 percent in the first half, but was 13-of-29 in the second half.
Neither team did well from 3-point range; the Penguins were 6-of-26 and the Titans were 3-of-14.
"We stayed with them and fought hard and we even shot the ball well in the first half, but we got away from what we were doing in the second half," Robic said.
Senior Ryan Patton led the Penguins with 19 points, including 15 in the first half. He was the only Penguin in double figures and is 12 points shy of 1,000 for his career.
Sophomore TeJay Anderson scored eight points off the bench and had a team- and season-high 12 rebounds.
Junior Terrell Riggs and senior Greg Grays each scored 16 points for the Titans, while Willie Green and Marc Mazur each scored 11. Mazur also had a career-high 17 rebounds, recording his fourth double-double in the last 10 games.
"I told this group after the game that you have to be prepared each and every game," Robic said. "A couple of them weren't tonight.
"We're really not that far away, but what we need is a couple more good players. We need depth and support off the bench. Detroit used 12 players; we only have nine."
At home Thursday: The Penguins return home Thursday night for their final Horizon League regular season game against UW-Green Bay at 7:35 p.m. The YSU women will play UW-Milwaukee in the first game at 5:15 p.m.
"They didn't play like a last place team," said Mazur of the Penguins. "We've got to have toughness and desire against everybody the rest of the way. Nobody is going to back down in this league."