Dec. 6, 2008 | Box Score

Late Surge Comes Up Short as Guins Fall 79-71 to Undefeated Butler

    Youngstown -- A frantic comeback in the final five minutes came up short as the Youngstown State men's basketball team fell 79-71 to undefeated Butler on Saturday at the Beeghly Center.
    The Penguins scored on four straight possessions and trimmed a 70-57 deficit down to four with three minutes remaining. YSU had a trey go in-and-out that would have cut the margin to three inside of two minutes, and Butler made 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch.
    The loss drops the Penguins to 1-6 overall and 0-2 in the Horizon League. Butler stays perfect at 7-0 and 2-0.
    Kelvin Bright scored a career-high 27 points and hit 5-for-9 from behind the arc to lead the second-half charge. Sirlester Martin added 12 points and nine rebounds.
    Matt Howard scored a career-high 23 points to lead Butler, which had not given up more than 59 points in any of the first six games. Howard was 13-for-15 from the line as Butler was 20-for-25 as a team.
    The Penguins did not miss from the stripe for the first time since Jan. 5, 2006, making all 17 of their attempts.
    YSU made two runs in the second half after falling behind by as many as 19. After Butler scored 10 straight points to take its largest lead of the game at 52-33, the Penguins answered with a 16-5 run to climb within eight with 9:21 remaining.
    The Penguins were still within nine, 62-53, after Vance Cooksey's bucket at the eight-minute mark, but Butler scored five straight to go up 14 and stayed ahead by double digits for the next four minutes.
    The Penguins then scored on four straight possessions as part of a 9-0 run to climb within 70-66. Martin started the run with a hook shot in the lane, and Bright and Vytas Sulskis followed with fast-break layups. Bright then hit a trey from the left wing with three minutes left to get the Penguins its closest since the 6:44 mark of the first half.
    Bright had another trey go in-and-out with 1:40 remaining that would have cut the margin to three.
    The Penguins outshot the Bulldogs 46 percent to 44.6 percent but committed nine more turnovers, which resulted in a 24-10 edge for Butler in points off turnovers.

    In the first half, YSU shot the ball well, but turnovers played a key role in Butler building a 39-28 halftime lead.

    For the half, both teams shot 47 percent. However, the Bulldogs made 16 field goals to YSU's nine. The Guins were a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.

    Youngstown State committed 14 turnovers, which led to 21 Bulldog points. BU turned the ball over just four times in the first 20 minutes. Also, Butler held a 6-1 edge on the offensive glass scoring 12 second-chance points to YSU's three.
    Mack was the offensive star for the Bulldogs scoring 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 4-of-5 from behind the 3-point arc. The rest of the team went 1-of-7 from 3-point range.
    Bright had 10 points for the Guins connecting on two 3-pointers as the starting five scored all 28 points.
    Youngstown State opened the game with a solid performance in the first 13 minutes trailing 21-20 with 6:55 left in the half.

    After Butler pulled ahead 9-5 in the first six minutes, the Penguins went on a 10-2 run taking 15-11 lead at the 11:30 mark on two free throws by Bright.

    The Bulldogs scored five straight points to go in front 17-15. Jack Liles' jumper tied the game at 17. That would be the final time the contest was tied.

    Butler led 21-20 at the 6:55 mark in the first half when a 3-pointer by Mack spurred a 10-0 run to push the cushion to 31-20 in just over two minutes of action.

    YSU was able to get within 33-28 on 3-pointer by Bright with 2:13 left in the half, before the Bulldogs scored the final six points to end the stanza with an 11-point advantage.

    The Penguins have a layoff for final exams next week before returning to the court on Monday, Dec. 15 at Kent State. YSU beat the Golden Flashes in its last visit to the M.A.C. Center in December 2006.