Youngstown -- Youngstown State used another impressive first-half shooting performance and staved off a furious Loyola comeback for a 71-61 Horizon League victory over the Ramblers on Saturday afternoon at the Beeghly Center.

    Four Penguins reached double figures in scoring led by senior guard Byron Davis' 19 points and senior forward John Barber's 18 points. Junior Jack Liles finished with 12 points while freshman Vytas Sulskis added 11.

    Loyola erased an 18-point halftime deficit scoring 23 of the first 28 points of the second half to tie the game at 47 after a jumper by Justin Cerasoli midway through the stanza.

    A free throw by Liles and two by Sulskis back ahead by three, 50-47, and Cooksey's 3-pointer at the 8:26 mark cushioned the Guins edge to four, 53-49.

    Loyola came within 56-54, but Barber made a lay up just before the shot clock buzzer and Davis drained a 3-pointer  to push the Guins' lead back to 61-54 with 2:48 left.
    From that point, YSU made seven of its final nine free-throw tosses to preserve the win.

    In the first half, the Penguins shot an impressive 60 percent (15-of-25) from the floor, including making seven of their first eight shots, and nailed six 3-pointers. The Penguins were also credited with 14 assists on their 15 made field goals.

    The Guins (6-7 overall and 2-1 in the Horizon League) jumped out to quick 19-6 lead just under six minutes into the game thanks in part to a 12-2 run keyed by a jumper by Davis, 3-pointers by Sulskis and Davis and another jumper by Barber, who scored 11 points in the first half.

    The Ramblers (5-9 and 1-3) cut the lead down to nine points, 23-14, midway through the stanza but a 3-pointer by Davis and a layup by Dwight Holmes extended the Penguins advantage back to 14, 28-14, with 6:49 to go.

    Barber hit his lone 3-pointer of the half with 44 seconds remaining to give the Guins an 18-point, 42-24 halftime edge.

    The Ramblers shot just 37.9 percent in the first half, including 1-of-7 from behind the arc, and committed nine turnovers. For the game, Loyola shot 42.2 percent (27-of-64) and just 16.7 from behind the 3-point arc (3-of-18).
    For the game, the Guins made 20-of-43 shots (46.5 percent) and were 23-of-30 (76.7 percent) from the free-throw line. Loyola attempted just seven foul shots in the game, but outscored YSU 34-12 in the paint.

    The Penguins wrap up a busy stretch of three games in five days playing host to Milwaukee on Monday at the Beeghly Center. Tipoff has been moved to 5:35 p.m.