Penguins hold off St. Francis, 70-65

Freshman Vance Cooksey’s free throws in the final
seconds iced the win.

VINDICATOR STAFF/WIRE REPORT

LORETTO, Pa. — Senior John Barber continued his strong play and freshman Vance Cooksey made two clutch free throws in the final seconds as Youngstown State men posted a 70-65 victory over St. Francis here Wednesday night.

Barber, who had 19 points in YSU’s last game at Notre Dame, scored 17 points, 13 of them in the second half as the Penguins outbattled the Red Flash down the stretch.

YSU (3-2) won for the first time in seven years here, while the Red Flash suffered its sixth straight defeat, 0-4 at home.

“This is always a tough place to play,” said YSU head coach Jerry Slocum. “We played poorly tonight, but we battled right to the end.”

“Our shot selection was poor in the first half, but our foul shooting was tremendous,” Slocum added.

The contest was a battle the entire second half with three ties and five lead changes.

Senior Byron Davis led the Penguins with a career-high 21 points, while Barber was the only other Penguin in double figures.

The Penguins took the lead for keeps 59-58 with 3:30 remaining in the contest. Barber, who scored six points in that stretch score two straight to put YSU up 61-58 with 2:30 left.

The Red Flash wouldn’t let the Penguins take control and with 13.3 seconds remaining and St. Francis trailing 66-63 Cale Nelson, who led all scorers with 25 points, stepped to the line with three shots, but made only two. St. Francis then fouled Cooksey with 12.2 seconds remaining and the freshman sank both shots and the Red Flash blew its last opportunity. Davis closed out the scoring with two free throws with two seconds left.

Junior guard Mikko Niemi gave the Penguins a big boost when he hit a half-court shot just before the halftime buzzer that gave YSU a 29-27 halftime lead.

“It was huge and it really gave us a lift at halftime,” said Slocum.

The Penguins will remain on the road Saturday when they travel to Richmond, Ky., to meet Eastern Kentucky in a 6 p.m. tip off.