YSU’s Slocum misses first chance at 700th win

February 22, 2015 at 12:10a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

Youngstown State men’s basketball coach Jerry Slocum was hoping to get his 700th win on Saturday night.

He got indigestion instead.

Detroit made its first 12 shots and outplayed the Penguins down the stretch, pulling away for an 83-70 victory in Horizon League action at Beeghly Center.

“We just came out on fire,” Titans coach Ray McCallum said. “It wasn’t anything they [the Penguins] didn’t do. We had a flow, we had confidence and we made shots.”

Detroit (13-17, 6-9 Horizon League) shot 80 percent from the field in the first half but committed 13 turnovers, allowing YSU to cut a 15-point deficit to five, 40-35, at halftime.

The Penguins then took their lone lead of the game, 50-49, on a jumper by Shawn Amiker with 14:21 left. That lead lasted all of 23 seconds as Detroit’s Chris Jenkins made a 3-pointer to spark a 18-2 run over the next seven minutes.

“I thought when we took the lead at 50-49, we were back in it,” Slocum said. “Then we went seven straight possessions [without scoring] — four turnovers, two missed shots and two missed free throws. That was your ballgame.”

Detroit’s bench outscored YSU’s 29-20 and McCallum thought his second unit was crucial during that 18-2 run.

“They really did a job on both ends,” he said.

Senior Juwan Howard Jr. scored 22 points to lead the Titans, who shot 68 percent from the field for the game, including 9 of 14 from behind the arc. Jarod Wiliams added 16 points and six rebounds and Paris Bass had 11 points.

Amiker, a senior, was one of the few bright spots for the Penguins (11-18, 2-12), scoring 19 points while shooting 5 of 8 from the floor and 8 of 8 from the free-throw line.

“Shawn has played really well in the last four or five games,” Slocum said.

D.J. Cole added 13 points and three assists before fouling out, while sophomore Marcus Keene finished with 12 points, albeit on 2-of-10 shooting. Junior Bobby Hain also struggled, tying his season low with six points, and starting sophomore Osandai Vaughn went scoreless.

“Very disappointing night,” said Slocum, who earned his 699th victory on Sunday against Wright State. “We missed 13 [of 34] foul shots, we didn’t guard anybody. It was probably one of our worst performances defensively of the year. And guys that we needed to play well, didn’t play well.

“It was very disappointing.”

Slocum, who fell to 699-511 in 40 years of coaching, will have at least three more chances this season to win his 700th, a milestone reached by just 47 other coaches in men’s college basketball history. The first opportunity comes Wednesday night at Oakland.

YSU lost to the Golden Grizzlies 96-80 on Feb. 1 at Beeghly Center.

The Penguins then finish the regular season at home against Milwaukee on Feb. 28. They will likely play on the road in a first-round Horizon League tournament game on Feb. 3. YSU is last in the league standings behind Wright State (3-11) and UIC (3-10).

Sixth-place Detroit isn’t much better but the Titans could be one of the tournament’s sleeper teams. Slocum called them “one of the most talented teams in the league.”

“Obviously, some nights they play to that level and some nights they don’t,” he said. “They came out tonight and played very well.”

McCallum didn’t disagree.

“It’s been Juwan Howard, a senior veteran, and a lot of guys that are learning,” he said. “They’re trying to understand what it takes at this level.”