YSU survives Loyola rally

The Penguins show well from the free throw line in the 71-61 win.

By PETE MOLLICA

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State men’s basketball coach Jerry Slocum has been around the game for a long time and knows it’s a lot easier playing from ahead than it is playing from behind.

The Penguins, for the second straight game, came out strong in the first half and built a good lead. Then, when Loyola challenged them in the second half the Penguins shot the lights out at the free throw line and posted a 71-61 Horizon League victory before 2,422 fans at Beeghly Center.

It was the Penguins’ (6-7, 2-1 Horizon) third straight victory, all at home, and it also marked the fifth time in the last six meetings at Beeghly Center the Penguins have beaten the Ramblers (5-9, 1-3).

YSU led 42-24 at halftime, shot 60 percent from the field and was never threatened over the first 20 minutes.

But the Ramblers came out much more aggressive in the second half, while the Penguins shot just 27.8 percent from the field and in the first 10 minutes Loyola had tied up the contest, 47-all.

YSU scored one field goal over those first 10 minutes, and in fact only made five field goals the entire second half, but they finished 17-of-23 at the foul line in the half that enabled them to stay in front of the Ramblers and pull out the victory.

“We played a tremendous first half,” Slocum said. “But I told the kids at halftime that it takes two halves to win and that Loyola was not going to quit in the second half.

“I though our kids showed a lot of character today, it was a great win and I’m really proud of the way they hung in there in the second half,” Slocum added.

Once again the Penguins had a balanced attack with four players in double figures, led by senior Byron Davis with 19 points and senior John Barber with 18. Junior Jack Liles added 12 and freshman Vytas Sulskis contributed 11.

“It is so much easier to play from ahead than from behind,” Slocum said. “Our goal is always to be still in the game by the final media timeout, because that gives us a chance to win and we’ve played pretty well over those final minutes this year.

“We defended well especially during the last five minutes of the game,” he said. “We did what we needed, made our free throws and kept Loyola off the free throw line.”

The Penguins finished 23-of-30 at the line, while the Ramblers were just 4-of-7. Loyola made 27 field goals, seven more than YSU.

The Penguins never trailed in the contest and led by as many as 18 points (34-16) with 4:26 remaining in the half and then again at the intermission.

YSU started the second half making just one of its first eight shots and didn’t make another field goal until 8:24 remained in the game as Loyola came back to tie the score at 47 and still was within two points, 56-54, with 5:35 to play.

Barber, who has been playing outstanding the past two games, then drove for one basket, while Davis came right back on the next possession and connected on a big 3-point shot that lifted the Penguins into a 61-54 lead with 2:40 left. YSU hit 9-of-10 free throws over the final two minutes to lock up the win.

The Penguins will play their fourth straight home game Monday night when they play host to UW-Milwaukee in another Horizon League contest. The starting time for the game has been moved up to 5:35 p.m. to allow fans to get home to watch the Ohio State-LSU national championship football game.

mollica@vindy.com