Free throws do in YSU in overtime loss to Detroit

By Pete Mollica

With the game on the line in the final 45 seconds of OT, Detroit made its free throws.

YOUNGSTOWN — Just when Youngstown State men’s basketball coach Jerry Slocum had his team playing tough for 40 minutes, the Penguins needed 45.

YSU (6-15, 3-8 Horizon League) battled evenly with Detroit on Saturday through 40 minutes before dropping a 68-64 decision in overtime before 3,882 fans at Beeghly Center.

YSU sophomore Vytas Sulskis tried to put on a one-man show in the closing two minutes of regulation as he scored the team’s last eight points, including a driving layup with 12.9 seconds remaining to deadlock the contest at 55.

But in the overtime, Detroit (6-15, 1-10) took the lead on a 3-point shot by Ryan Janer with 2:39 remaining and then held off the Penguins by making 6-of-8 free throws in the final 45 seconds to get their first conference victory.

The Penguins, who defeated the Titans 80-78 on New Year’s Day in Detroit, continued their poor shooting at the free throw line. The Penguins hit on just 17-of-27 attempts and were 1-for-8 in the second half. They also shot just 25 percent from 3-point range, making 5-of-20 shots from behind the arc.

Sulskis, who scored 13 of his team-high 15 points in the final two minutes of regulation and overtime. Sophomore Tom Parks added 13 points, while senior Jack Liles had 11 and a team-high seven rebounds. The Penguins lost the battle of the boards 36-32.

The Penguins couldn’t stop Detroit’s Thomas Kennedy, who had a game-high 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field and was 6-for-6 from the charity stripe.

In the overtime, Woody Payne hit 4-of-6 free throws and Kennedy made 2-of-2 plus a bucket.

“I thought we battled well at times,” said Slocum. “We had a lot of good open shots that didn’t go down and again we didn’t shoot well from the foul line.

“I’m disappointed because although we battled, we didn’t play very well,” he added.

Slocum did praise the effort of senior guard Mikko Niemi, who played a season-high 32 minutes and ran the offense very well.

The Penguins started out quickly jumping to a 4-0 lead, but the Titans took the lead on a basket by Eugene Blue, 10-8. Detroit then went on to pull to its biggest margin of the contest 18-10 before the Penguins rallied.

An 8-2 run by the Penguins closed the gap to 20-18 and then Parks hit the first of his three 3-pointers to deadlock the contest at 21-21 with 4:21 left in the half.

Parks hit another 3-pointer with 2:05 left to give the Penguins the lead 26-25 and YSU held on to lead 28-27 at intermission.

The Titans used a 6-0 run early in the second half to pull on top 33-30, but neither team led by more than four points the rest of the way.

Niemi hit a 3-pointer with 10:10 left to give YSU a 43-41 lead, but Detroit regained it on Janer’s first 3-pointer at 4:31 for a 48-45 lead, which they held until Sulskis took over the game in the final two minutes and tied the score on his final shot with 12.9 seconds left.

Sulskis had made two free throws with 21.9 seconds left to pull to within 55-53, and then on the inbounds pass, Kennedy was called for an offensive foul, setting up Sulskis’ tying bucket.

Detroit scored first in overtime on a shot by Eulis Stephens, and after Parks hit two free throws to tie the game again, Janer hit a big 3-pointer and the Titans never trailed again.

YSU now heads out on the road for a pair of contests beginning Thursday night at Loyola in an 8 p.m. tipoff and then Saturday the Penguins play at UIC, also at 8 p.m.

mollica@vindy.com