YSU men muster win in 'Buster'

Quin Humphrey scored 16 points in the second halfof the 66-61 victory.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- For Youngstown State senior Quin Humphrey, Saturday's ESPN Bracket Buster contest with Eastern Kentucky was all about "protecting our house."
Humphrey and the Penguins played solid defensively in the final three minutes for a 66-61 victory over the Colonels before just under 3,000 fans at Beeghly Center.
YSU (12-15) led from the early moments until the final three minutes when the Colonels (17-10) grabbed only their second lead, 58-56.
That woke up the Penguins, who throttled the EKU offense over those final minutes and got some key points from Humphrey, sophomore Jack Liles and senior Keston Roberts.
"We played great in the last three and one-half minutes of the game today," said YSU coach Jerry Slocum. "We really defended down the stretch."
Stepping up
Humphrey, who was held to just four points in the first half, scored 16 in the second half to lead all scorers with 20 points, while Liles, who continues to improve each game, finished with a career-high 18 points and eight rebounds.
"We just had to protect our house today," said Humphrey. "We knew they were a good 3-point shooting team and we knew at the end we had to shut down that part of their offense."
Eastern Kentucky made 11-of-32 3-point shots in the game, but Adam Leonard missed one they needed in the final seconds that would have tied the score. The ball went halfway into the basket before bounding out.
The Penguins led 64-61 with 9.9 seconds remaining when Eastern's Julian Mascoll was fouled; he missed the front end of a one-on-one, but the ball rebounded out to Leonard, whose off-balance shot went out of bounds to the Penguins.
Humphrey was fouled and sank both free throws to ice the victory.
The contest was a non-league encounter, but Slocum was still pleased with the win.
"Anytime you can get a little streak going in February it's good for your program," Slocum said. "We've got a big week coming up and this win can only help."
Next up
The Penguins are off until Thursday when they play host to Horizon League leader Wright State at 7:05 p.m. at Beeghly Center. It will be the final regular season home game and three seniors (Humphrey, Roberts and Dwight Holmes) will be recognized.
YSU closes out the regular season next Saturday at Cleveland State.
"What you are seeing is a maturing process of this basketball team," Slocum said.
Eastern Kentucky led 5-4 early, but YSU scored eight straight points, including four by Liles, to take a 12-6 advantage.
The Penguins led by as many as 10 points in the first half (25-15) following a jumper by John Barber, but a trio of 3-pointers pulled the Colonels to within 29-24 at the intermission.
The Colonels got to within 33-32 early in the second half, but the Penguins kept them from taking the lead and held a 49-41 edge with 9:15 left after Liles' steal led to a Humphrey layup.
Two baskets by Leonard, one a 3-pointer, and another by Darnell Dialls tied the score at 50 with 6:30 left and the contest was tied twice more before the Colonels took only a 58-56 lead on a 3-pointer by Mike Rose with 3:10 remaining.
After Humphrey tied it at 58, Michael Brock hit a long 3 to put EKU ahead 61-58. Four straight free throws, two by Barber and two by Liles, gave YSU a 62-61 lead with 1:12 left to play.
Humphrey stole an inbounds pass with 13 seconds to go and EKU fouled Roberts, who made both shots for a three-point edge.
mollica@vindy.com