YSU BASKETBALL Reserves help lead Penguins to victory

YSU's bench outscored UMKC's bench, 41-1.
By GREG GULAS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- Youngstown State men's basketball coach John Robic never entertained the thought of his team being swept on the current three-game home stand.
His non-starters made sure it wouldn't happen.
Sophomore Derrick Harris came off the bench to score a team-high 15 points, while Khari McQueen added 11 as the Penguins' bench outscored the University of Missouri-Kansas City bench, 41-1, en route to a 73-65 victory Monday at Beeghly Center.
UMKC and YSU formerly were rivals in the Mid-Continent Conference.
"We hit some big shots and controlled the tempo of the game in the second half," Robic stated. "I am very happy with our effort tonight.
"We knew that Michael Watson would get his points for the Kangaroos, but our defense did an excellent job on everyone else. This is definitely a big win for us as we head into the holiday break."
If it weren't for Watson, the Kangaroos would have been in trouble offensively from the get-go.
All Watson did was score 21 of his game-high 36 points in the first half to lead his team to a 36-35 halftime advantage. His first five buckets came from beyond the arc as the 'Roos canned 12 of 21 field goals and 5 of 8 from 3-point land.
When the Penguins held Watson scoreless for the first 14:47 of the second half, they produced a 62-45 advantage that all but eliminated the fight in UMKC.
Strong shooting
YSU, meanwhile, enjoyed its own success from the field, canning 15 of 24 field goal attempts (62.5 percent) in the first half to erase the Kangaroos' early 24-l6 advantage.
Watson scored 15 of UMKC's first 20 points as the Kangaroos built a 20-11 advantage. His final 3-pointer at the 13:48 mark keyed a 9-0 run.
A conventional three-point play by McQueen and a Harris 3-pointer cut the UMKC lead to 24-19 at the 11:59 mark of the opening half.
Harris then hit a lay-up and when McQueen added a tip at 8:50, that made the score 27-23 in favor of the Kangaroos. McQueen's jumper in the lane at 8:20 cut the UMKC lead to two at 27-25 before the game's third media timeout of the opening half.
Watson's two free throws with 5:00 remaining made it 34-28 in favor of UMKC, but Harris scored five of the Penguins' last seven first half points to pare the lead to one point, 36-35.
But the Penguins started quickly in the second half. TeJay Anderson's lay-up at 18:36 gave YSU a 39-37 advantage and a lead it would not relinquish the rest of the way.
McQueen's slam dunk at 16:52 gave the Penguins a 41-38 lead. YSU scored 25 of the first 32 points after intermission to forge a 60-43 advantage.
"We were asked by coach to step our defense up a notch in the second half," Harris said. "We guarded Watson as a team, not any one individual. We know our roles. When we get into the game, we know exactly what is expected of us."
Watson's three-point play with 5:13 remaining cut the Penguin lead to 62-48. He then scored 12 of the Kangaroos' last 17 points but they were too little too late. YSU had one if its best nights of the season offensively, canning 28 of 51 field goal attempts (54.9 percent) while holding UMKC to 22 of 53 (41.5 percent).
Anderson had a game-high 10 rebounds as YSU held a 35-30 edge. Mike English had nine rebounds for UMKC.
The Penguins will return to action on Jan. 3 when they travel to Loyola of Chicago for their second Horizon League game of the season.