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YSU men bounce back to blow out Wilberforce
By Steve WILAJ
Youngstown
Simply put — as Youngstown State men’s basketball coach Jerry Slocum phrased it — it was a “long 48 hours” for the Penguins after Wednesday’s home loss to Kennesaw State.
And that “long 48 hours” included a not-so-pleasant Thursday practice.
“[Slocum] was on us yesterday in practice, saying we needed to step up,” Penguins guard Shaun Stewart said. “We played a lot of defense — did a lot of defensive slides — so that was our main key. We were just really focused for this game.”
In turn, although it wasn’t an ideal performance, YSU bounced back to defeat Wilberforce, 92-71, Friday at Beeghly Center.
“I thought we worked hard yesterday and played harder today,” said Slocum, who was unhappy with Wednesday’s effort. “Still not happy with how we guarded people. Not very happy at all about all the offensive rebounds we gave up. But we did a really good job at the offensive end.”
YSU (8-6) took a 42-29 halftime lead, holding Wilberforce (4-11) to 29-percent shooting. Bobby Hain — who finished with 17 points and 17 rebounds — had 10 points and 10 boards in the first 20 minutes.
YSU then outscored the Bulldogs 50-42 in the second half. Senior forward Shawn Amiker finished with 15 points and six rebounds, Stewart scored 14 points off the bench and Marcus Keene notched 13 points, six assists and five rebounds.
The Penguins shot 52 percent compared to Wilberforce’s 34 percent. However, the NAIA Bulldogs — who cut the YSU lead to 13 points midway through the second half — collected 24 offensive rebounds.
“Any time you have 20 assists and 11 turnovers, I think you’re playing unselfish and moving the ball well,” Slocum said. “But we got a lot of work to do at the defensive end.”
To help that cause, true freshman Cameron Morse made his first start of the season at small forward, finishing with six points, three rebounds and three assists. He replaced Jalon Plummer, who had started 11 straight games. Slocum called it a “pretty good” starting debut.
“We just need to find some production in that spot,” Slocum said. “[Morse] didn’t make any mistakes. You don’t necessarily have to score 15 and do those kinds of things to stay on the floor for us. You just have to guard people and not make mistakes.”
The victory snapped a two-game skid for YSU. Next up is a break for the holidays before the Penguins return to action against Northern Kentucky at 1 p.m. on Dec. 31 at Beeghly Center.
Slocum acknowledged the break is timely for his team, which recently had many players feeling under the weather.
“It’ll be a chance for everybody to kind of clear their heads,” he said. “We got our work cut out for us when we get back. So they’ve got to clear their heads and come back ready and refreshed.”
DEROSA’S DAY
Prior to the game, Lowellville graduate and veteran referee Joe DeRosa was honored and presented with an NCAA 2014 Final Four ring by his family. DeRosa -- one of only two referees to have officiated both an NBA Finals and a Final Four — then refereed the contest with his son, J.B. DeRosa.