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Cold stretch dooms YSU in 69-55 loss
BASKETBALL AT BEEGHLY CENTER
The Penguins got beat on the boards and the scoreboard by Green Bay.
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PENGUINS GO COLD: Youngstown State’s DeAndre Mays (1) launches a pass over Green Bay Phoenix defenders during Sunday’s game at YSU’s Beeghly Center. After playing a solid first half, the Penguins’ offense went cold, and YSU dropped its fourth-straight game, 69-55.
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Dan Boudler (33) goes to the hoop as Troy Cotton (10) and Randy Berry (23) play defense during their game Sunday afternoon.
By JOE SCALZO
Vindicator sports staff
YOUNGSTOWN — YSU men’s basketball coach Jerry Slocum spoke for 75 seconds following a 69-55 loss to Green Bay on Sunday and used the word “disappointing” four times and “lifelessness” once.
He left out one other word: baffling.
After playing a solid first half that saw them trailing 33-30, the Penguins’ offense went cold during a crucial stretch of the second half to lose their fourth straight game.
“We’re playing as bad of basketball as we’ve played over the last three or four years for me,” said Slocum, who is 48-90 in five seasons with the Penguins. “It’s very disappointing to see us play with lifelessness.
“I take responsibility for that.”
The Penguins (7-12, 2-8 Horizon League) stayed close for the first five minutes of the second half, never trailing by more than four points while doing a good job contesting shots on the defensive end.
Then things fell apart.
The Phoenix used an 8-0 run to turn a 42-40 lead into a 10-point advantage with 12:03 remaining. After a jumper by Ashen Ward and a layup by Dan Boudler got the Penguins within six, 50-44, YSU’s already cold offense dipped below freezing.
The Penguins did not score a field goal over the next 7 minutes, 59 seconds as Green Bay stretched its lead to 66-49 and drained all the drama from the game.
YSU went 0-for-5 over that stretch (Green Bay got the rebound after all five, which was a theme in the game) and four of those misses were from beyond the arc (also a theme).
Add in four missed free throws and two turnovers and you could understand why Slocum was so upset afterward.
“You don’t make shots, you can’t be competitive,” he said. “At one point there, we had missed seven or eight foul shots in a row during that stretch.”
Actually, the seven straight missed free throws stretched from the end of the first half to the middle of the second, but you could see Slocum’s point. The Penguins shot just 7 of 17 from the line in the second half and 18 of 31 for the game.
They also made just 1 of 9 from the 3-point line and were outrebounded 36-22, with their shooting guard (DeAndre Mays) grabbing a team-high five.
“Very disappointing,” Slocum said of the rebounding figures. “That was an emphasis going into the game.”
Until the last 12 minutes, YSU’s defense was actually pretty good. Green Bay (15-7, 7-3) shot just 10 of 27 in the first half. They also kept the Phoenix’s leading scorers in check, holding Rahmon Fletcher to nine points (eight below his average) and Bryquis Perine to seven points (seven below his average).
But the Penguins too often forgot about senior guard Troy Cotton, leaving him alone in the corner to bury open 3-pointers.
Cotton made a career-high seven 3s on 12 attempts and finished with 23 points, just two off his career high.
“In this league you know what people are going to do, what their strengths are,” said Slocum. “I thought in the first half we took away some good things. We did a good job on Fletcher, did a good on Perine.
“Then, you know, Cotton’s a 3-point shooter and you don’t run in to help on the guy. It’s disappointing for me. It’s disappointing for our team.”
Vance Cooksey scored 10 points with four rebounds for YSU and Mays also had 10, albeit on 2 of 12 shooting with four turnovers.
The Penguins play host to North Carolina Central on Wednesday before playing three straight league games on the road beginning Saturday.
Slocum knows his team is struggling but also knows there’s time to recover.
“There’s a lot of basketball still to be played,” he said.
scalzo@vindy.com