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YSU unable to slow Toledo in home opener
By Tom Williams
YOUNGSTOWN
Jerry Slocum’s pursuit of career victory 700 will have to wait until the weekend.
Maybe longer.
Wednesday at Beeghly Center, Slocum’s Youngstown State men’s basketball team was lackluster in dropping a 100-78 contest to Toledo.
“We didn’t perform well at either end of the floor,” Slocum said. “That’s a very gifted offensive team, very disciplined.
“They are maybe one of the most talented offensive teams that we’re going to see all year,” Slocum said of the Rockets (2-0) of the Mid-American Conference. “They shot the ball extremely well.”
The Rockets shot 56.3 percent (36 of 64).
Nathan Boothe, the Rockets’ 6-foot-10 center, dominated, scoring 26 points and pulling down seven rebounds.
“They’ve got a first-team all-league big and she showed why he was tonight,” Slocum said of Boothe. “He can step out and hit the jump shot, he was really big in the post.”
The Penguins (0-2) led once after Matt Donlan made their first basket, a 3-pointer for a 3-2 lead.
The Rockets cruised after that, quickly opening up a 23-10 edge powered by treys by Boothe, Nick Rogers and Nate Navigato.
Those long-range shots opened up space underneath for Boothe to work. He did anything but rest.
“We started hitting [outside] shots, so they had to close out,” Boothe said. “And it was one-on-one in the zone, in the post.”
The Penguins (0-2) climbed back into the game, cutting Toledo’s lead to 25-20 when Francisco Santiago made a layup midway through the first half. But a Boothe basket and a trey by Stuckey Mosley quickly restored a double-digit lead.
“So as long as they kept making shots, it was more open for me to cut and post up,” Boothe said.
In the first half, the Rockets connected on eight-of-15 3-point attempts to open up a 51-38 lead. They only made two more long-range shots in the second half, but both came early as the advantage grew to 64-47.
The Penguins were outscored in the paint by a 42-22 margin.
“Our bigs didn’t play very good,” Slocum said, quickly adding that “there’s no excuse, though. I take responsibility. We’re not very good defensively and that reflects on me and the job I’m doing.”
Sophomore guard Cameron Morse came off the bench to lead the Penguins with 23 points. Donlan’s 18 points in his first home game included four 3-pointers. Santiago finished with 11 points.
“I think he played well today, maybe one of [our] few highlights,” Slocum said of Morse. “We’re a really young group, I’m not going to sugarcoat that.”
Lack of playing experience is a factor.
“Latin [Davis], ‘Cisco,’ Cam, those guys are finding their way,” Slocum said. “We’re going to have some bumpy roads as we go until we can kind of settle on a rotation and settle on some guys who are just having a good feel for the game.”
Slocum said the recipe to improve is “game-time experience with young people and that reflects your defensive end, too.”
Senior center Bobby Hain scored 20 points in the Penguins’ opener (a 79-70 loss to Kent State last Saturday). Against the Rockets, he was limited to seven point and five rebounds.
Slocum estimated Hain has had maybe 10 days of practice after recovering from an injury while junior center Jorden Kaufman has had two.
“But that’s no excuse,” Slocum said.
The Penguins will hit the road this weekend for three games in Fort Myers, Fla., at the Florida Gulf Coast Tournament. On Saturday, the Penguins will play the host team. Their other games will be against Bowling Green and North Dakota.