43
Ramblers embarrass Penguins
Photo
YSU's Tre Brewer fights with (23) Geoff McCammon for the ball during a game in January 2011. After appearing in all but one of YSU’s games this winter, Brewer decided to transfer to Cal State San Bernardino, a Division II school.
Special to the Vindicator
Photo
YSU's Dan Boulder fights with (23) Geoff McCammon for the ball during their game Saturday afternoon.
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
Youngstown State’s first men’s basketball game of the year started early.
Ended early, too.
Thanks to a New Year’s Day cocktail of slow defensive rotations, missed assignments, passive offense and a complete lack of intensity, the Penguins were embarrassed by visiting Loyola Saturday afternoon, 83-53, in a Horizon League game at Beeghly Center.
“I was very disappointed in our heart and our character,” YSU coach Jerry Slocum said. “It’s one of the longest nights that I’ve had since I’ve been here.”
Well, technically, it was a day game. YSU tried to draw a crowd for the 1 p.m. tip-
off by offering free general admission tickets and free parking. But the few fans who showed up probably felt they overpaid.
Loyola (10-5, 1-3) jumped out to a 12-3 advantage and held a double-digit lead for the final 33 minutes.
It was a baffling performance by the Penguins (6-7, 1-3), who were 6-0 at home and were coming off an emotional 71-69 victory over UIC on Thursday night. Loyola, meanwhile, was blown out by Cleveland State on Thursday and appeared to be an even matchup for the Penguins.
“The second game of doubleheaders in this league is all about heart and character and we did not possess any tonight,” Slocum said. “The inconsistency that we have had all year raised its head and it’s obviously disappointing coming off a hard-fought win Thursday night.
“We’ve got to get back to work.”
Junior DuShawn Brooks was one of YSU’s few bright spots, scoring 13 points — his second-highest total of the season. It was the second straight solid game for Brooks, who has struggled for much of the year after scoring 20 points in the opening win against Samford.
Sophomore Damian Eargle (Warren Harding) added 10 points and five rebounds.
Senior Vytas Sulskis had one of the worst games of his career, scoring just four points in 21 minutes before fouling out. Sulskis entered the game averaging 16.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game but attempted just three shots, turned the ball over twice and grabbed one rebound.
“You don’t do that very often,” Loyola coach Jim Whitesell said of stopping Sulskis. “He just was off a little bit. We kept trying to rotate a fresh guy on him but he’s been playing great. He’s having an all-conference year.
“That [a bad performance] happens about once a year on him. Luckily we caught it.”
Junior Ashen Ward, who scored a career-high 26 on Thursday, had just two against the Ramblers, who had lost three of the last four at Beeghly Center.
Walt Gibler scored 18 points and Ben Averkamp had 17 for Loyola, which shot 61 percent from the field, compared to 31.5 percent for YSU.
“Our games here have literally been donnybrooks right to the end,” Whitesell said. “I think the thing is they didn’t shoot the ball well. We’re fortunate that way.
“You can always say, ‘We played great defense,’ but sometimes you just don’t make the shots.”