Jan. 10, 2008

Men's Basketball: Late Run Pushes Wright State Past Penguins, 66-55

    Fairborn, Ohio -- Wright State used a 17-4 run in the final eight minutes of the second half to pull ahead of Youngstown State for a 66-55 victory on Thursday evening at the Nutter Center.
    The Penguins battled back from two seven-point deficits to get within one at 49-48 with 7:39 remaining. Wright State led just 57-52 with three minutes to go before Vaughn Duggins' trey sparked a 9-0 run that sealed the win.
    Duggins hit only three 3-pointers on the night, but all three came at crucial times. The Raiders trailed 24-20 in the first half when the sophomore guard hit treys on back-to-back possessions to spark a 10-0 run that gave WSU a lead it would never lose.
    Byron Davis and John Barber scored 13 points apiece to lead YSU while Jack Liles finished with 10.
    Duggins finished with 16 points while Jordan Pleiman had 14 of his 16 points in the second half for the Raiders.
    The Raiders matched their largest lead at seven with 14:35 remaining, but YSU continued to battle and got within one twice, including the 49-48 margin with 7:39 to go on a Mel Johnson basket. Wright State then scored six straight points to go back up by seven on a Pleiman jumper with 6:14 remaining.
    The Penguins were just 4-of-11 from the free throw line - all in the second half - while Wright State was 15-of-22. YSU was also just 2-for-9 from behind the 3-point arc in the second half.
    YSU battled through a first half that featured four lead changes and six ties and withstood a late run to trail 35-31 at the break.
    Trailing 5-2, the Penguins went on a 7-0 run to take a 9-5 lead, but Wright State regained the lead at 13-11 with 11:55 to go.
    The Penguins reclaimed a 22-20 on a Johnson 3-pointer, and Dwight Holmes hit a jumper with 5:07 left to put YSU up 24-20.
    Wright State was held scoreless for nearly five minutes before Duggins' back-to-back treys sparked a 10-0 run. The Raiders led 35-28 before Byron Davis banked in a 26-footer at the buzzer to make the score 35-31 at halftime.
    Liles was 4-of-6 in the first half for eight points while Davis' buzzer-beater also gave him eight points. The Penguins shot 45.2 percent in the first half and were 3-of-6 from behind the arc, but they did not attempt one free throw.
    Duggins led all scorers with 11 points at halftime and paced Wright State to a 52.2 percent effort in the opening half.

    YSU plays at Detroit on Saturday afternoon. Tipoff for the contest is set for 3:35 p.m. and will be carried on Detroit’s Comcast Local Sports Channel.