YSU snapped a 5-game losing streak beating Slippery Rock 77-63.

YSU snapped a 5-game losing streak beating Slippery Rock 77-63.

By PETE MOLLICA

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State snapped a five-game losing streak Saturday afternoon and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

The Penguins put together a solid second half and finally made their way to the foul line in posting a 77-63 victory over Slippery Rock before 1,913 fans at Beeghly Center.

YSU (4-7) didn’t play very good defense in the first half, but played much better in the second half and also connected on 24-of-30 free throws against The Rock (2-9).

“We defended really well in the second half,” said YSU coach Jerry Slocum. “We did make some shots in the first half that kept us in the game and we finally got to the free throw line.

“We’re still not where we want to be yet, but there is still a lot of good basketball left in this group,” Slocum added.

Senior Byron Davis led the way for the Penguins with 15 points, while John Barber added 13, 11 of them coming in the second half, and freshman Vytas Sulskis made all three of the Penguins’ 3-point goals and finished with 12 points.

The Penguins shot the ball better in the first half, hitting 48.4 percent of their shots, but they also let The Rock shoot the same percentage and the first half ended in a 38-38 deadlock, although Slippery Rock led throughout most of the first 20 minutes.

YSU did get some needed support off the bench as the reserves tallied 23 points and junior guard Mikko Niemi gave the Penguins his best effort scoring six points, but more importantly came up with seven assists to lead the attack.

“We didn’t play defense very well in the first half and it was much better in the second half as the statistics will show,” said Niemi, a native of Kangasala, Finland.

“It just seems like we have to get down before we start playing and when our defense is playing well our offense works so much better,” he added. “We want to push the ball up the floor and it’s tough to do that when you are taking it out of the net.”

The Penguins fell behind 10-6 in the first five minutes, but finally tied the game at 16-16 and took their first lead 18-16 on a layup by Jack Liles off a feed from Niemi. The lead changed hands four more times in the half before freshman Dan Boulder sank a basket in the final seconds to deadlock the game at 38 at intermission.

Sulskis, the freshman from Lithuania, came out early in the second half and hit back-to-back 3-point shots and senior Dwight Holmes added a free throw and the Penguins jumped to a 45-38 lead that they never relinquished.

The Penguins took their biggest lead of the game 59-44 with 6:56 remaining on a fast break layup by Barber, but the final five minutes was nothing more than a free throw shooting contest and the Penguins easily came out on top.

YSU made just one field goal over those final five minutes, but hit 12 of 14 free throws during the span.

Slippery Rock got the lead down to 10 points in the final minute 73-63 on a 3-point shot by Matt Schaefer, but freshman Vance Cooksey and Barber each made a pair of free throws to reach the final margin.

The Penguins open a three-game home stand against Horizon League opponents beginning Jan. 3 against Illinois-Chicago. That game will be part of a doubleheader as the YSU women take on UIC in the opener at 5:15 p.m. and the men square off at 7:35.

The Penguins will follow with home league games against Loyola Jan. 5 and UW-Milwaukee Jan. 7.