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Jan.
17,
2008
Men's Basketball: Solid Defensive
Effort Not Enough in 67-61 Loss to
Valpo
Youngstown -- The Youngstown State men's basketball team had
three players in double figures and
held Valparaiso to just 36.7 percent
shooting, but it wasn't enough as
the Penguins lost to the Crusaders
67-61 at the Beeghly Center on
Thursday night.
Byron Davis had a game-high 23 points, John Barber added 18
points and Jack Liles contributed 13
in a losing effort. For Valpo,
Brandon McPherson scored 20 points
while Shawn Huff and Bryan Bouchie
both finished with 15.
Valpo improved to 13-5 overall and 4-2 in the Horizon League
while YSU drops to 7-10 and 3-4. The
Crusaders entered the game averaging
74.1 points and was shooting 47
percent from the field for the
season. Valpo shot just 38.6 percent
on Thursday.
Both teams struggled to find their shooting touches in the
first half combining to make
16-of-59 field goal attempts and
4-20 from 3-point range. The
Penguins held a 22-20 edge at the
break despite shooting 32.1 percent.
In the second half, YSU led 31-29 on a basket by Barber, but
Bouchie answered with consecutive
buckets with 14:11 remaining and the
Crusaders never trailed again.
McPherson's 3-pointer and Shawn Huff's basket gave Valpo a 59-51
lead with 1:39 remaining. Davis'
layup cut the deficit to six before
Urule Igbavboa made two free throws
with 58 seconds remaining to make
the score 61-53.
Vytas Sulskis got a friendly roll on a 3-pointer and after a Valpo turnover, Davis drained a
tripe to get the Guins within 61-59
with 23 seconds remaining.
Two Igbavboa free throws pushed the margin to four before
Davis again answered with a layup.
After Jake Diebler made two free
throws, YSU turned the ball over
with 13 seconds remaining and could
get no closer.
For the contest, Valpo was 13-of-17 (76.5 percent) from the
free-throw line while YSU went
5-of-13 (38.5 percent).
The Guins return to action on
Saturday night when they play host
to 12th-ranked Butler. Tipoff at the
Beeghly Center is set for 7:05 p.m. |
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