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YSU men fall to Milwaukee to clinch last place
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
In a season filled with bad losses, the Youngstown State men’s basketball team had a pretty good one on Saturday night.
Still counts the same, though.
The Penguins shook off another terrible start to put a scare into visiting Milwaukee in the second half. But the Panthers finished perfect at the free-throw line to hang on for an 82-74 win in a Horizon League game at Beeghly Center.
“We showed some heart,” YSU coach Jerry Slocum said, “but boy, does it hurt.”
With the loss, YSU (11-20, 2-14) clinched last place outright in the league and will play at Detroit on Tuesday in the first round of the Horizon League tournament.
“We’ve got to bring what we did in the second half,” said junior Bobby Hain, who scored 17 points to pass 1,000 for his career. “If we play like that, I feel like we can beat anybody in this league, so that’s the confidence we’ve got to have.”
YSU celebrated Senior Night in front of its biggest (4,382) and best crowd of the season, but Milwaukee spoiled the party by jumping out to a 20-4 lead in the first 5 1/2 minutes.
Then things got worse as the Penguins fell behind by 24 with 2:23 left before halftime.
“The game was lost in the first half,” Slocum said. “I thought we came out and showed very little defensive intensity.
“That’s the third game in a row at home that we started very, very poorly.”
The Penguins made things interesting in the second half, using a 16-2 run to take their only lead of the game, 69-67, with 5:19 left. But Milwaukee held YSU scoreless over the next three minutes to regain control.
YSU got within two, 74-72, on Hain’s three-point play with 2:14 left, but Milwaukee’s Akeem Springs followed with two free throws and YSU’s D.J. Cole airballed a corner 3.
Steve McWhorter then fouled out YSU’s Marcus Keene on a drive into the lane and hit both free throws to make it 78-72 with 1:02 left. Hain answered with a floater on the other end, but YSU was forced to foul Springs, who made both free throws to give Milwaukee an 80-74 lead with 41.9 left.
YSU’s Osandai Vaughn had two 3-point attempts on the ensuing possession, but McWhorter smothered him both times, blocking the second attempt to end any lingering doubt.
McWhorter closed the scoring with two foul shots as Milwaukee finished 22 of 22 from the free-throw line.
“I thought we played with great passion in the second half,” Slocum said. “We gave ourselves a chance to win. Obviously it was a great crowd and I appreciate all the people coming out to the game, but it doesn’t sting any less. It’s been a tough semester.”
Senior Shawn Amiker scored 23 points with seven rebounds in his final home game, while Keene added 21 points and six rebounds for YSU, which has finished last in the Horizon League six times (five outright) since joining the conference in 2001-02.
Hain became the 36th Penguin to pass 1,000 points for his career.
“It’s a great honor to join all the guys that have done it like KP [Kendrick Perry] and Damian Eargle — all those guys who have helped me in the past for my career,” Hain said.