Tuesday, January 27, 2009
By Pete Mollica
The Penguins couldn’t find the range from the field or at the free throw line.
YOUNGSTOWN — Another poor shooting night and another loss for the Youngstown State men’s basketball team.
Just three days after one of their best performances of the season the Penguins went back to struggling offensively and suffered a 67-53 loss to Akron at Beeghly Center before 2,636 fans.
Unfortunately the Penguins (6-13) were consistent in their shooting, hitting 9-of-26 in the first half (34.6 percent) and 9-of-29 in the second half (31 percent). They added to their problems by making just 12-of-24 at the free throw line.
“Obviously we shot the ball very poorly,” said YSU coach Jerry Slocum. “Our offense tonight was as bad as it could be, we had no consistency at all.”
It was also the second poor shooting night at the free throw line in a row for the Penguins, who made just 15-of-26 in the win over Cleveland State last Friday night.
“When you go to the free throw line and you don’t make them it’s just like adding another turnover to your total,” Slocum said. “We had about 10 extra turnovers tonight.
Still, as bad as the Penguins shot they were still deadlocked with the Zips at 33-33 with just over 15 minutes left in the contest.
One reason is that Akron (11-8) was shooting the ball almost as bad. The Zips finished 22-of-58 for 37.9 percent, including just 10-of-30 in the first half.
They shot better from the foul line, hitting 14-of-20, and they made their final 11 attempts, the last eight coming in the final two minutes.
Junior DeAndre Mays led the Penguins with a solid effort that included 18 points and eight rebounds. Junior Kelvin Bright was the only other Penguin in double figures, getting 11 points, while junior Sirlester Martin contributed a game-high 11 rebounds although he was 1-for-10 from the field and finished with five points.
The Zips were led by Nate Linhart with 15 points and Chris McKnight added 13 points and nine rebounds. Shenango High graduate Steve McNeese added nine points off the bench for the Zips.
Bright, who was 3-of-10 at the charity stripe, missed his first four free throws and six of eight in the first seven minutes, but the Penguins still had the early lead, 10-8 on a basket by Mays with 13:51 left.
The Penguins, on an 8-0 run, built a 19-11 lead capped by Mays’ 3-point goal with 9:10 remaining, but then Akron regained the lead, 21-20, with 5:40 left and built a 29-22 advantage before Tom Parks hit a 3-pointer and Bright added a basket to cut the margin to 29-27 at intermission.
The Penguins tied the contest at 33 with 15:18 remaining on a 3-point shot by Mays, but then things went cold for the Penguins who did not score a field goal over the next six minutes.
During that spell Akron went on a 15-4 run and following back-to-back 3-point goals by Anthony Hitchens and Darryl Roberts, pulled to a 48-37 advantage.
During that span the Penguins were 0-for-10 from the field.
The Penguins shot better the rest of the way, but the Zips matched them basket for basket and then when the Penguins began fouling the Zips were perfect at the charity stripe to put the game away.
Slocum said he doesn’t like to play non-conference games in the middle of the Horizon League schedule.
“I take the blame. They [Akron] needed a game and we scheduled it,” he said.
“Akron is a very physical team,” he added. “They are a team that you could shoot 50 free throws against. They played very good defense against us tonight.”
The Penguins return to Horizon League action with two home contests this week. On Thursday night they will play host to Wright State in a 7:35 tip off and on Saturday night they play host to Detroit at 7:05. Both games will be part of doubleheaders with the YSU women playing in the openers.
mollica@vindy.com