Jan. 3, 2009  | Box Score

Wright State Rallies to Knock Off Penguins, 60-59
    Fairborn, Ohio -- Junior DeAndre Mays led three players scoring in double figures with a game-high 15 points but Wright State erased a 13-point halftime deficit to knock off  the Youngstown State men's basketball team, 60-59, on Saturday evening at the Nutter Center.

    The Penguins fall to 4-9 overall and 1-3 in the Horizon League while the Raiders improve to 8-7 overall and 2-2 in the league.

    Senior Jack Liles scored 12 points and junior Sirlester Martin added 10 points.

    Following a Dallas Blocker steal with the game tied, 56-56, sophomore Vytas Sulskis nailed a 3-pointer at the 2:04 mark to to put the Penguins ahead 59-56.

    However, two costly turnovers by the Penguins led to a made jumper by Wright State's John David Gardner with 53 seconds left and two free throws by Todd Brown with 33 seconds to go put the Raiders up one, 60-59.

    The Penguins had two more opportunities for the win but Mays missed a jumper and a 3-pointer as time expired.

    The Penguins led 33-20 at halftime but the Raiders opened the second half with a 13-2 run to get within two points, 35-33, with 15:06 left.

    Two 3-pointers by freshman Ashen Ward extended the Guins advantage back to six, 41-35, at the 13:51 mark.

    The Raiders, who made 14-of-19 free throws in the second half, knotted the game at 44-44 on a Brown free throw and took their third lead of the game, 46-44, at the 10;23 mark.

    The teams batted through seven more ties before Sulskis' 3-pointer.

    In the first half,  the Guins shot 51.7 percent from the field and limited the Raiders to a 30.8 field-goal percentage.

    Trailing 11-10 midway through the stanza, the Guins nine straight points and during a 20-5 run over the next seven minutes to take a 30-16 lead with 2:37 to go.

    Back-to-back 3-pointers by Mays and Ward and a three-point play by Kelvin Bright sparked the the Guins' run.

    A 3-pointer by Todd Brown and a free throw by Gavin Horne moved the Raiders within 10 but Mays drained a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to balloon the Guins lead back to 13, 33-20, at halftime.  
    The Penguins return home to host UIC in a YSU men’s and women’s basketball doubleheader, Thursday, Jan. 8. Tipoff is set for 7:35 p.m. at the Beeghly Center in Youngstown, Ohio, and will be broadcast on NewsRadio 570 AM WKBN.