Adams gives boost to YSU

The 6-11 senior had nine points in a season-high 17 minutes against CSU.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CLEVELAND -- Youngstown State's 6-foot-11 senior Mike Adams hasn't played more than five minutes in any game this season.
But on Saturday afternoon Adams played 17 key minutes, including the final 10 minutes of the contest, as he helped the Penguins pull out a 68-63 victory over Cleveland State in a Horizon League game at the Wolstein Center.
Adams scored nine points and pulled down eight rebounds and also had two steals and three blocked shots, all of them career bests.
But Adams wasn't the only one to highlight the victory. Junior Quin Humphrey scorched the basket for the first 30 minutes and finished with a game-high 27 points and just missed another double-double with nine rebounds.
"It was a key win for us," said YSU coach Jerry Slocum as the Penguins improved to 7-12 overall and 4-5 in the Horizon League. "[Cleveland State] manhandled us pretty good at home."
Extra boost
Slocum couldn't say enough about Adams' play.
"Mike played tremendous tonight," he said. "Because of his size he's a presence in there, but there's no doubt that he really helped us."
Adams, who had averaged only 4.6 minutes per game and scored just three points this year, felt good about his effort.
"It's all about stepping up," he said. "I didn't know how much I was going to play today so I just got out on the floor and tried to execute the best I could.
"The longer I was out there the more confidence I had in myself and then it came down to me wanting it more than they did," he said.
When Adams came in with 10 minutes remaining in the second half the Penguins held a 51-50 advantage.
He scored off a missed free throw by Humphrey, then made one of two free throws, added another rebound basket to put the Penguins ahead 58-51 with 5:21 remaining and his final basket came at the 3:30 mark to give YSU a 62-57 lead.
But probably his biggest moment came with the Penguins clinging to a 66-63 lead in the final 32 seconds. First, the Jacksonville, Fla. native blocked a shot by Cleveland State's Frashon McGee, then after three more misses by the Vikings, Adams pulled down the rebound and was fouled with 7.1 seconds to go.
He calmly made both shots to wrap up the win.
"Nobody was saying anything to Mike as he stepped to the line," said Humphrey. "He really had the game of his life tonight."
Foul trouble
Adams came off the bench in the second half, after playing seven minutes in the first half, mainly because sophomore Colin LaForme was in foul trouble.
"He came in basically because of his size," said Slocum.
Humphrey, who had 18 of his 27 points in the first half and made 7-of-8 shots, didn't score in the final 12 minutes of the contest.
"Quin came out very aggressively and with a lot of confidence," Slocum said.
Junior Keston Roberts added 16 points, while senior Derrick Harris had seven assists.
The contest was close from start as the score was tied eight times and the lead changed hands 11 times. Neither team led by more than five points and the score was tied at 38 at halftime.
The Vikings (8-11, 4-5) led 50-46 with 13:05 to go on a 3-point shot by Luke Murphy, but didn't score another field goal until 5:02 remained.
Unfortunately for the Penguins, they could only build a 58-51 lead during that dry spell.
The Penguins shot 42.9 percent from the field, but only 32.1 in the second half, but still not as bad as the Vikings, who were just 6-of-32 in the second half (18.8 percent).
Cleveland State outrebounded the Penguins, 43-33, but committed 19 turnovers to the Penguins' 16.
The Penguins visit Wright State Monday at 7:05 p.m. YSU has won two road games in the conference for the first time in five seasons.