Jan. 8, 2009 | Box Score

Men's Basketball: Blocker, Bright Spark Come From Behind Win Over UIC

    Youngstown -- Junior guard Kelvin Bright scored a game-high 23 points and junior forward Dallas Blocker contributed a career-high 11 points as the Youngstown State men's basketball team overcame a 13-point first-half deficit to beat UIC 80-70 on Thursday night at the Beeghly Center.
    The Penguins, who trailed 38-25 with 1:53 left in the first half, outscored the Flames 55-32 the rest of the contest to win for the third time in four games. YSU improves to 5-9 overall and 2-3 in the Horizon League while the Flames are now 8-6 and 1-3.

    Bright helped key an impressive turnaround after the Guins had fallen behind by 13 late in the first.
    He scored the final six points of the half for the Penguins to steal some momentum from the red-hot Flames who shot 54.8 percent in the first 20 minutes.
    UIC led 45-37 at the 16:14 mark before the Guins made their move.
    YSU tied the contest at 50 on a 16-footer by Bright. Mayo, who entered the game averaging 19.5 points, scored five straight to give the Flames a 55-50 advantage at the 8:40 mark.
    But the Penguins didn't wilt and scored the next 11 points to grab the lead and they never looked back. After Jack Liles cut the deficit to 55-54, Vance Cooksey drained a 3-point as the shot clock was about to expire to give YSU its first lead since 11-10.
    Blocker converted a free throw and Bright drained a 3-pointer to make the score 61-55 in favor of the Guins.
    Robo Kreps made 3-point for the Flames, but Sirlester Martin's first points of the game on a three-point play at the 4:31 mark kept UIC at bay.
    The closest the Flames could get following that point was four points.
    In the final six minutes, the Guins were 10-of-10 from the line to helped seal the victory.
    It was the fourth time in five games the Guins had scored at least 80 points and the second straight victory where YSU overcame a double-digit first half deficit to win.
   Cooksey and Liles each finished with 12 points for YSU and as a team the Guins were 22-of-26 from the free-throw line while UIC was 7-of-14. YSU shot 44.8 percent (26-of-58) for the game while the Flames hit 50 percent (29-of-58).

    In the first half, the Penguins led 11-8 at the 16:42 mark on a tip-in by Liles. UIC went ahead 12-11 following a dunk by Scott Vandermeer and a fast-break layup by Rob Eppinger. Following Eppinger's basket, UIC did not trail the remainder of the first half.
    The Flames led by as many as 13 when Vanermeer's tipin extended their advantage to 38-25 with 1:53 left.

    The Guins ended the first half strong scoring the final six points all by Bright. He drained a 3-pointer from the corner with 1:05 left and converted a three-point play with three seconds left.
    For the half, the Guins shot 35.5 percent (11-of-31) while UIC shot a scorching 54.8 percent (17-of-31). From inside the 3-point line the Flames made 15-of-24 attempts.
    Cooksey scored the first two points of the game when UIC received an administrative technical foul for failing to reveal their lineup at the 10-minute mark. The first half featured three ties and three lead changes.
    Mayo led four Flames in double figures with 20 points.

    The Penguins remain home to take on Loyola on Saturday night. Tipoff at the Beeghly Center is set for 7:05 p.m. as the second contest of a doubleheader featuring the YSU women against Green Bay.