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YSU’S MOVES MASTER
By Curtis Pulliam
Youngstown
Youngstown State forward Bobby Hain stuck to just one move in the first half but pulled a few more for the finish in Wednesday’s 78-74 win over Northern Kentucky at Beeghly Center.
“The coaches just said to go out there and play my all-around game,” said Hain, a junior. “They said just don’t keep going to the baby hook, you got all the moves and that gave me confidence and I just went out there and did it.”
Hain scored 15 points after the break and the Penguins defense stepped up in the second half.
Hain finished with 22 points, 14 rebounds and five assists. It’s his third straight game with a double-double.
“I kind of got off to a slow start, missing my first two hook shots,” Hain said. “But then I had to get it going and my team got me the ball.”
With the Penguins (9-6) up 58-51 with 10:10 remaining, Hain made his presence felt as he was hitting big shots and blocking shots.
“He’s pretty good, ain’t he?” YSU head coach Jerry Slocum said. “That dude’s pretty good.
Slocum mentioned being upset with Hain before he hit a huge shot making the score 74-69 with 1:48 left.
But Slocum was impressed with Hain’s aggressiveness on the court.
“He’s getting a lot more aggressive,” said Slocum, who earned win No. 697. “He has a lot more confidence, belief in who he is and what makes him so hard to guard is the fact he can step out and make jump shots.”
The Penguins did struggle in the first half defensively but shot 56.7 percent to trail the Norse 41-40 at the break.
“I thought we guarded well in the second half,” Slocum said.
Slocum pointed out that the Norse had 22 points in the first 10 minutes of the game but didn’t hit 22 in the second half until the last media timeout.
“We finally got some stops, I thought we got on the floor and chased rebounds,” Slocum said. “If we make our foul shots, I think it’s a lot easier.”
The Penguins were 16-30 from the line but made four in the final two minutes.
“I thought our guys battled,” Slocum said. “When you’re off as long as we were off, to be able to play like we did and shoot the ball like we did, was really a positive.”
The Penguins shot 56 percent for the game.
Four Youngstown State players scored in double-figures. Shawn Amiker had 10, Marcus Keene had 11 and Osandai Vaughn finished with 10.
“We were basically two or three points away from having six guys in double-figures,” Slocum said. “I thought that was a real positive.
Slocum was happy with Vaughn’s performance in his first start of the season.
“Osandai did a great job on their freshman kid [Tayler Persons],” Slocum said. We held him scoreless for the first eight minutes in the second half and I think that was a big deal for us.”
Chad Jackson led the Norse with 16 points and Persons added 15.
The Penguins move on to Horizon League play starting Friday at the University of Illnois-Chicago.
Hain is ready to sleep for the lengthy bus ride.
“No doubt, it’s going to be good,” said Hain about napping. “It’s going to be a fun and enjoyable bus ride.”