Nov. 12, 2007

Men's Basketball: Four Reach Double Figures in 83-52 Loss at No. 2 UCLA

    Los Angeles, Calif. -- Four players scored in double figures for the Youngstown State men's basketball team, but second-ranked UCLA proved to be too tough as the Penguins suffered an 83-52 loss to the Bruins on Monday at Pauley Pavilion in the opening round of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic.

    Leading the way for YSU (0-1) was senior forward John Barber who had 12 points. Also reaching double digits were senior Byron Davis who had 11, along with freshmen Vance Cooksey and junior Jack Liles who both chipped in 10 each.

    Cooksey also had five rebounds and three assists in his collegiate debut.

    The Penguins held a brief 5-4 advantage in the contest before UCLA steadily increased its lead throughout the first half. With the contest at 28-18 with just under five minutes remaining in the first half in favor of UCLA, the Bruins scored five straight points to push the cushion up to 15.

    YSU trailed 41-24, but a Cooksey 3-point and a dunk by Davis cut the deficit to 12 before Nikola Dragovic knocked down a trey to make the score 44-29 at halftime.

    The Bruins opened the game up in the second half by opening the frame with a 19-4 run and they never looked back.

    For the game, YSU shot 39.2 percent converting 20-of-51 opportunities from the field. The Guins also made just 8-of-19 free-throw attempts and committed 23 turnovers.

    UCLA shot 46.4 percent converting on 32-of-69 shots. The Bruins won the battle of the boards by a 49-30 margin while committing seven fewer turnovers.

    Leading the way for UCLA was freshman Kevin Love who had a game-high 21 points while Lorenzo Mata-Real finished with 14 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.

    The Penguins conclude action in the Los Angeles Bracket playing Weber State in the consolation game on Tuesday. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time at Pauley Pavilion.