Dec.
29,
2007
Men's Basketball: Strong
Second-Half Effort Lifts Penguins
Past SRU, 77-63
The Youngstown State men's basketball team used a solid
second-half effort to hold off a
pesky Slippery Rock squad 77-63 on
Saturday afternoon at the Beeghly
Center.
Byron Davis scored 15 points, John Barber had 13 and Vytas
Sulskis finished with 12 to pace the
Penguins. The victory snapped a
five-game losing streak for the
Guins.
After the game was tied 38-38 at halftime, Youngstown State
scored the first nine points of the
second half and was never threatened
the rest of the afternoon. Dan
Boudler's basket gave the Penguins a
52-42 lead with 12:22 remaining and
The Rock was not able to get the
deficit under double figures the
remainder of the game.
In the second half, Slippery Rock
shot just 25.8 percent making
8-of-31 opportunities after a
connecting on 48.4 percent (15-31)
in the opening stanza. Although YSU
shot just 30.3 percent (10-of-33)
from the field in the second half,
it connected on 17-of-22 free-throw
attempts, including a stretch of
going 11-for-12 in the final three
minutes.
For the game, the Penguins (4-7)
converted 39.1 percent of their
opportunities from the field
(25-of-64) while Slippery Rock shot
37.1 percent (23-of-62).
The Guins were strong at the free-throw line making 24-of-30
attempts while the Rock made just
12-of-23.
Also for YSU, junior guard Mikko
Niemi finished with six points, a
career-high seven assists and five
rebounds in a winning effort.
Boudler and Jack Liles each scored
eight points in a winning effort.
Leading the way for Slippery Rock was Ken Ottrix who scored a
game-high 18 points. SRU had four
players finish in double figures.
The win was YSU's 11th straight over
The Rock.
The Penguins begin a key Horizon League stretch playing three
games in five days beginning on
Thursday night at the Beeghly
Center. YSU entertains UIC with the
tipoff set for 7:35 p.m. |
