Feb. 14, 2008

Men’s Basketball: Penguins Shoot 58 Percent in 89-73 Loss at Butler

    Indianapolis, Ind. – The Youngstown State men’s basketball team shot a season-best 58.3 percent, but ninth-ranked Butler shot 62.3 percent to earn an 89-73 victory over the Penguins on Thursday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

    YSU made 28-of-48 attempts from the field, but the Bulldogs converted 33-of-53 opportunities playing their first home game in almost 20 days. Butler drilled 13-of-20 3-point attempts while the Guins settled for a 5-of-13 night from behind the 3-point arc.

    The Penguins (8-17 overall and 4-11 in the Horizon League) came out strong taking a five-point lead in the first two-and-a-half minutes.

    Butler (23-2 and 12-2) took a 23-14 lead with 10:20 left in the half, but the Guins scored seven straight points as Vytas Sulskis made two free throws, Byron Davis scored on a layin and Sulskis converted a three-point play in the next 2:40 to get the deficit within 23-21.

    However, Butler scored the next seven points and the closest the Penguins could get was seven on Vance Cooksey’s driving basket just 30 seconds later. The Bulldogs owned a 35-27 advantage with 4:07 left in the half and closed on a 15-7 spurt to build a 50-34 halftime lead.

    Both teams were outstanding from the field in the first half. Butler shot 69.2 percent (18-of-26) while the Guins were 13-of-22 (59.1 percent).

    In the second half, Butler built a 75-49 lead with 9:02 left before the Guins were able to get the contest down to 89-73 at the final buzzer.

    Davis scored a game-high 20 points making 9-of-15 attempts. Cooksey finished with a career-high 15 points and Jack Liles added 12 off the bench as well.

    For Butler, Mike Green scored 23 points in 17 minutes to lead the way. A.J. Graves had 15, Matt Howard added 12 and Avery Jukes contributed 11. Overall, 10 Bulldogs scored in the contest.

    YSU now heads to Northern Indiana to play Valparaiso on Saturday night. Tipoff at the ARC is set for 8 p.m. Eastern time.