Feb. 21, 2009 | Box Score

Men's Basketball: Penguins Hang On to Earn 68-64 Win Over Saint Peter's (N.J.)

    Youngstown -- With the downtown Youngstown playing host to a championship title fight later in the evening the Youngstown State men's basketball team and Saint Peter's (N.J.) proved to be a good undercard as the Penguins were finally able to land the knock-out blow in a 68-64 win at the Beeghly Center on Saturday afternoon.

    YSU (11-16) led the final 16 minutes of the game, but it was hard to shake the pesky Peacocks (9-18). Prior to that, the game featured seven lead changes and five ties.
    The go-ahead-for-good basket was a layup by Kelvin Bright that made the contest 40-38 in favor of the Guins.
    During the final 16 minutes, the Penguins led by as many as eight points, 56-48 at the 6:34 mark, and by as few as one, 47-46 and 49-48, but never relinquished the lead.
    Saint Peter's was able to get within four on six different occasions in the final four minutes, but the Guins hung on by making some free throws, scoring at the right time and playing good defense.
    Vytas Sulskis scored a team-high 18 points while DeAndre Mays and Tom Parks each poured in 13. Sirlester Martin led the way with 12 rebounds as the Penguins won the battle of the boards 41-29.
    The Peacocks had three players reach double figures led by Wesley Jenkins' 19.
    It was the 11th game this season that the Guins have played that was decided by four points or less. YSU improves to 6-5 in those games.
   Later tonight Youngstown native Kelly "The Ghost" Pavlik will defend his WBO/WBC Middleweight Boxing title against Marco Antonio Rubio in bout about five minutes from campus.
    For the game, YSU shot just 37.9 percent making 22-of-58 from the field. From the line, the Guins were 18-of-26 for 69.2 percent. Saint Peter's was 21-of-50 (42 percent) from the field, but shot just 65.2 percent (15-of-23) from the line.

    The first half featured just two ties and three lead changes, but neither team was able to wrestle control of the game from the other. The Penguins were able to build a 32-30 lead and did not trail for the final 6:58 of the stanza.

    Saint Peter's led by seven 4:15 into the contest before Mays scored five straight points to trim the deficit to 13-11 just over two minutes later.

    YSU tied the contest at 18 on a tip-in by Mays at the 7:54 mark. Saint Peter's regained the lead momentarily on a dunk by Ryan Bacon at 20-18.
    Following the slam, the Penguins scored seven straight points to go ahead 25-20 when Zack Rebillot perfectly executed a back-door pass to Sulskis who stuffed it home for a deuce.

    YSU led by five at one other time in the first half, 28-23, when Tom Parks drilled a wide open 3-pointer from the corner. Jenkins closed the half with consecutive 3-pointers for the Peacocks to keep the contest tight at the break.
    Sulskis and Mays combined for 21 of the Guins' 32 first-half tallies. Sulskis had 11 while Mays added 10. For the Peacocks, Jenkins had 15 while Bacon contributed 10 as the duo scored 25 of their team's 30 points.
    YSU returns to Horizon League action on Thursday night when it visits Butler. Tipoff at Hinkle Fieldhouse is set for 7 p.m.
    A win by the Penguins over the Bulldogs would secure a first-round home game at the Beeghly Center on March 2. Butler leads Green Bay in the race for the conference championship by one game with two remaining.