Barber reaches 1,000, but YSU falls to Vikings

The Penguins suffered their sixth 20-loss season in seven years.

By PETE MOLLICA

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

YOUNGSTOWN — The Youngstown State men’s basketball team finished its Horizon League season exactly the way it started it: losing to Cleveland State.

The Penguins played much better than they did in the first meeting with the Vikings, but still suffered a 65-58 setback in their regular season final before 3,602 fans at Beeghly Center.

With the loss, the Penguins suffered their sixth 20-loss season in the last seven years as they dropped to 9-20, 5-13 in the Horizon League.

On the other hand, Cleveland State (20-11, 12-6) which had 21 losses a year ago, rebounded for its first 20-win season since the 1992-93 campaign.

The Penguins battled to the end and overcame as much as a 12-point second half deficit.

They were within three points, 61-58, with 35 seconds remaining, but the Vikings, who shot terribly from the foul line, made four of six over those final 35 seconds to wrap up the victory.

“They gave us every chance to win the game and our kids competed very hard again tonight, but it still came down to missing free throws and missing wide open 12-foot jump shots down the stretch,” YSU head coach Jerry Slocum said.

The loss offset a senior night performance by senior John Barber, who led the Penguins with 12 points and 10 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season.

With 6:33 remaining in the first half, Barber tipped in a missed shot for his eighth point of the contest that gave him 1,000 career points at Youngstown State.

YSU also had three others in double figures — senior Byron Davis, freshman Vance Cooksey and junior Jack Liles, all with 10 points.

Barber, Davis, Dwight Holmes and George Cotal were all honored before the contest as seniors playing in their final home game.

Cleveland State also put four players in double figures led by J’Nathan Bullock with 17, while Breyohn Watson added 13 and Cedric Jackson and Norris Cole each had 10.

Former Ursuline High standout D’Aundray Brown, a freshman with the Vikings, managed one point and six rebounds in 27 minutes of action.

The Penguins will enter the Horizon League tournament on Tuesday night when they will play at Illinois-Chicago in an opening round game.

The Penguins are the No. 9 seed in the competition and the Flames are the No. 4 seed. The game will be at 8 p.m.

The Penguins came out quickly and jumped to a 7-2 lead on two baskets by Barber, one a 3-pointer, but the Vikings quickly caught up and tied the game at 7-7. That started a 19-4 run for the Vikings which quickly pulled ahead 22-11 and never trailed again.

The Penguins trailed 28-18 at halftime.

Cleveland State scored the opening bucket of the second half to take its biggest lead 30-18, but the Penguins came back. A 3-point shot by Cooksey and a three-point play by Likes followed by a tip-in from Davis pulled YSU to within four points 37-34.

But the Vikings quickly built the lead back up to 10 points 51-41 and still led 59-49 with 2:45 remaining.

With 45 seconds remaining Cooksey hit a basket and 10 seconds later Holmes followed with another to cut the lead to three points 61-58.

The Vikings, who were 2-of-13 from the line over the first 49 minutes, then cashed in on four of six in the final seconds, three by Bullock to put the game away.

mollica@vindy.com