MEN'S BASKETBALL Road weary YSU falls to Pitt

The Penguins managed to stay with No. 20 Pitt before losing, 57-42.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
PITTSBURGH -- Youngstown State men's basketball team still hasn't won on the road this season, but the Penguins proved they could play with the big boys here Saturday night.
After a horrible first-half shooting performance, the Penguins battled with No. 20-ranked and undefeated Pitt for 40 minutes before finally bowing to the Panthers 57-42 before nearly 10,000 fans at the Petersen Events Center.
The Penguins (2-5), who fell to 0-5 on the road, could have given the Panthers a run for their money had they been able to capitalize on their shooting performance.
YSU, which shot 25 percent in the first half and trailed only by nine points, 25-16, shot better in the second half at 40.9 percent, but so did the Panthers, who shot over 52 percent.
"We proved tonight that we are better than our 2-5 record," said YSU coach Jon Robic. "We came and competed and that was our No. 1 goal.
"I'm disappointed we didn't win the game, but I'm happy with the way we competed," he said. "Pitt was bigger, stronger and better than we are, but our kids hung in there with them.
"We play in a pretty good league, but that's the best team we'll play all season long," Robic added.
27th straight home win
Pitt (7-0) improved to 21-0 all-time in the Petersen Events Center, and has won 27 straight home games overall. The Panthers probably had too much strength for the Penguins, but YSU never backed down an inch.
YSU hung right with the Panthers on the boards, 31-30 and committed the same number of turnovers, 14.
Senior Adam Baumann led the Penguins and was the game's top scorer with 16 points, although he was the only player in double figures for YSU. He also had eight rebounds.
"We knew that the boards were going to be a key for us tonight. We had to hit them hard and we did," Baumann said. "We didn't shoot very well in the first half, but give them credit, every shot we took was contested."
Senior TeJay Anderson and junior Doug Underwood each added six points for the Penguins, who were held to their lowest point total of the year. However, the 57 points by the Panthers were the fewest the Penguins have allowed this year.
Pitt had three players in double figures led by Chevon Troutman with 14, while Julius Page added 11 and Jaron Brown had 10.
Biggest margin
The Panthers scored the first six points of the second half for a 31-16 lead, while their biggest margin was 19 points 49-30 with 7:45 remaining, but YSU finished with a 12-7 run to reach the final margin.
The Penguins played as well as they were able to physically in the first half, but it was their shooting that kept them from totally outplaying the Panthers.
YSU opened the game making just one of their first 10 shots from the field, and hit on just 7-for-28 in the first half (25 percent).
Even missing their first six shots and nine of their first 10, the Penguins trailed just 6-3 through the first six minutesp partially because the Panthers were shooting just as poorly, making just two of their first nine shots. Pitt rebounded to hit 10-for-25 for the half (40 percent).
Baumann led the Penguins early, scoring the team's first five points and eight of their 16 at halftime.
Penguins held on
Pitt threatened to break open the game when it went on a 10-2 run to pull to a 23-10 advantage, but the Penguins hung on and cut the lead to 25-16 at intermission.
"We knew the only way we could keep the game close was to slow down the tempo," said Robic, "and we did a pretty good job of that most of the way.
"Pitt is so athletic and so well coached and you just have to feel good about competing with them for a game," he said.
YSU returns home for three straight games, beginning on Thursday night when they play host to Wright State in the Horizon League opener at 7 p.m. at Beeghly Center.
mollica@vindy.com