YSU suffers 70-59 defeat

The Penguins were
eliminated from the
Horizon tournament by UIC.

VINDICATOR STAFF/WIRE REPORT

CHICAGO, Ill. — Poor shooting has been the one thing that has plagued the Youngstown State men’s basketball team all season long. The opening round of the Horizon League post-season tournament was no exception.

The Penguins shot just 28 percent in the first half, fell behind by as many as 19 points and couldn’t muster enough of a comeback falling to Illinois-Chicago 70-59 at the UIC Pavilion Tuesday night.

The Penguins, who finished the season 9-21, lost for the 10th straight time at the Pavilion and have never won there.

They also fell to 2-7 in Horizon postseason play.

Illinois-Chicago (17-14) advanced to the tournament quarterfinals Friday where they will play Loyola at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

The Penguins shot 36.1 percent for the contest, 45.7 percent in the second half when they rallied from a 19 point deficit and got to within eight points, but once again couldn’t come up with the big plays at the end when they needed them.

The loss was the eighth straight on the road for the Penguins this season.

Senior Byron Davis closed out his career with the Penguins with 22 points in his final game.

He went over 1,000 points for his career in the first half, a career that began at New Mexico State.

Senior John Barber also finished in double figures with 12 points, all coming in the second half.

The Penguins led only once in the contest, 4-3, on a Davis basket and then the Flames went on a 10-0 run and took command and never relinquished the lead.

The Flames’ biggest lead of the half was 37-21 at intermission.

After the Penguins scored the first four points of the second half, UIC went on an 11-4 run that pulled them into a 48-29 lead with just under 16 minutes remaining.

The Penguins battled back and a five-point spurt by Barber and two more baskets by Davis led a 9-2 run that eventually cut the lead to 57-48 with 3:50 remaining.

After the Penguins cut the lead to eight, 67-59 on a Barber 3-point shot, the Flames, who finished 19-of-24 from the free throw line, then cashed in on three free throws and connected on 9-of-10 charity shots over the final two minutes to wrap up the victory.

The Flames, who shot 46.1 from the field for the game, were led by Robert Bush with 14 points, while Josh Mayo and Stewart Spencer added 13 and 10 respectively.

The Flames also outrebounded the Penguins 44-30 with Scott Vandermeer leading the way with 13.

Barber had eight rebounds to lead the Penguins.