Penguins' late rally topples Kent, 62-56

Sophomore Jack Liles led the YSU effort with his first career double-double.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
KENT -- Youngstown State basketball coach Jerry Slocum got an early Christmas present, bought, wrapped and delivered by the Penguins.
YSU, playing its best overall game of the season, rallied past Kent State 62-56 Friday night before 3,117 at the M.A.C. Center.
The Penguins (6-7) completed a rugged four-game road trip with a 3-1 record and won for the first time at Kent since an 87-85 win in 1956.
"We've been on a four-game road trip and to win three of the four is so outstanding," said Slocum. "This was a good win for our program and I'm sure it will have our kids believing in themselves even more."
The Penguins, who have been lacking for inside support to go with their solid guard play, finally got some from 6-foot-8 sophomore Jack Liles.
The Odenton, Md., native came up with his first career double-double, scoring 13 points and pulling down 11 rebounds, and was outstanding in the second half as he dominated the boards on both ends of the court.
"Jack Liles was the difference in this game," Slocum said. "We've been lacking for inside support this year, but he came through in the clutch tonight."
Roberts leads way with 22
Senior Kenston Roberts continued to have a hot hand as he led the Penguins in scoring with a game-high 22 points and also added eight rebounds.
Senior Quin Humphrey, who struggled in the first half, came back and added 14 points and eight rebounds as the Penguins beat the Golden Flashes on the boards 38-32 and had 10 offensive rebounds.
"We just came in here and wanted this game a little more than they did," said Roberts. "We're playing much better and we have more confidence in ourselves."
Liles took his effort in stride.
"We've been working hard every day in practice, tonight things started to go our way inside where in the past they haven't," Liles said.
Shot well in second half
YSU shot 51.7 percent in the second half and finished at 43.5 for the game, while the Flashes had a dismal second half, hitting just 11-of-33 attempts for 33.3 percent and shot 37.5 percent for the night. Just three days earlier the Flashes took No. 6-ranked Duke right to the wire before falling, 79-72.
Kent (5-5) was led by Omni Smith with 15 points while Mike Scott and Julian Sullinger each added 11.
YSU jumped out to a 6-0 lead to open the contest, but then went cold from the field as Kent came back to regain the lead 7-6 and led the rest of the way until less than two minutes remained in the contest.
The Penguins trailed by 11 points, 29-18 with 2:07 remaining in the first half and were behind 31-22 at intermission.
Liles scored the first bucket of the second half and YSU then went on a 11-2 run to deadlock the game at 33-33 with 15:25 remaining. Roberts had six of the 11 points in the run.
The Flashes then regained control behind the shooting of Smith, who hit a pair of 3-point goals and another bucket to give Kent a 43-37 advantage with 10:40 left in the game.
Liles leads rally
Liles score five straight points to bring the Penguins to within four at 50-46.
Kent scored its final field goal with 7:20 remaining in the game on a 3-pointer by Rodriguez Sherman.
The Penguins then scored 11 straight points, first tying the game at 54-54 and then taking the lead for the first time since the opening minutes when Byron Davis hit a jump shot with 1:57 left to put YSU up 56-54.
The Penguins ran their lead to 60-54 on a pair of free throws by Humphrey with 13.3 seconds remaining and got two more from Roberts and even Smith's two final uncontested buckets didn't make a difference in the outcome.
YSU will now return home for a Horizon League contest next Saturday against Loyola in a 4:25 tip-off at Beeghly Center. The game will be part of a doubleheader as the YSU women will meet Butler in the opening game at 2:05 p.m.
mollica@vindy.com