| Penguins' Second-Half Rally Comes Up Short in 73-68 Opening Round Loss |
| Tuesday, March 3 2009 |
| Courtesy of: |
| Youngstown -- A rollercoaster shooting game dipped at the wrong point for Youngstown State as UIC rallied to defeat the Penguins 73-68 in the opening round of the Horizon League Men's Basketball Championship on Tuesday at Beeghly Center. The Penguins, who trailed by as many as 15 after a slow start to the first half, outscored UIC 43-38 in a second half that climaxed with an 8-0 run that gave YSU its first lead of the game. Just as quick as the Penguins' hot shooting put them ahead 62-58, they missed five straight shots as UIC scored eight straight points and never trailed again. Rob Eppinger, who scored a career-high 20 points to compliment 14 rebounds, hit two free throws to cut the deficit to two, and Vytas Sulskis was called for a questionable charge on YSU's next trip down the floor. Josh Mayo hit a basket to tie the game at 3:26, and UIC hit four straight free throws to go up 66-62. Sulskis hit a 3-pointer with 58 seconds left to cut the margin to one, but Eppinger had a three-point play off an offensive rebound to spark a five-point run in the final minute. Tom Parks hit his fifth trey with six seconds left to cut the deficit to three, but Eppinger added two more free throws for the final tally. UIC moves on to play Cleveland State on Friday in the tournament quarterfinals while YSU's season ends with an 11-19 record. Sulskis finished with 20 points, and Parks had all 15 of his points on 3-pointers. UIC got nine second-chance points in the second half, six of which came in a row with 10 minutes remaining, and the final three came on Eppinger's three-point play with 27 seconds left. The Flames had four players in double figures as Tori Boyd and Robo Kreps had 15, and Mayo had 14. After weathering a poor-shooting first half in which it fought to stay within 10 at halftime, YSU started the second half by hitting 5-for-6 and went on a 14-5 run. The Penguins then missed four straight shots after DeAndre Mays' bucket at the 16:46 mark cut the margin to 40-39, and Mayo hit a 3-pointer to end a 4 1/2-minute field goal drought for the Flames to them back ahead by four. UIC opened up a seven-point, 52-45 lead at 10:31, and YSU scored six straight to get within one for the second time in the half. UIC held again and went ahead 58-54 on three straight put-backs. That's when YSU scored eight straight points on a Parks three, a Sulskis put-back off his own miss and a Kelvin Bright trey. YSU started the second half 13-for-24 but went scoreless for the next 3:40 until Sulskis' trey made it 66-65 with 58 seconds remaining. UIC outscored YSU 30-20 in the paint, but the Penguins held a 35-4 edge in bench points. The Flames were 16-for-18 from the free-throw line in the game and 14-for-15 in the second half. The Penguins battled through a cold-shooting first half in which they were outshot 50 percent to 32.1 percent and trailed by just 10, 35-25, at the break. YSU started 4-for-16, was held without a field goal for 7 1/2 minutes and found itself trailing 28-13 with 6:42 remaining. YSU rebounded to score the next four points and ended the half by scoring six of the final eight points to cut the deficit to 10 at halftime. YSU hit one of its first six shots but trailed just 8-6 on Tom Parks' 3-pointer at the 15:13 mark. Once Sulskis' reverse lay-up made the score 12:10 at the 13:44 mark, UIC scored six straight points as part of a 13-2 run to take its 15-point lead. Boyd hit treys on back-to-back possessions to put give UIC its first double-digit lead at the 10:16 mark, and Jeremy Buttell hit another trey with a second on the shot clock to make the score 28-13. UIC's first 10 points came in the paint, and the Flames held a 16-8 edge in the first half. YSU kept leading scorer Mayo to five points in the half, but he had six of UIC's eight assists. Eppinger and Boyd had nine points apiece for UIC in the opening 20 minutes. |
| DeAndre Mays Named to All-Newcomer Team |
| Tuesday, March 3 2009 |
| Courtesy of: |
| Indianapolis, Ind. -- Junior DeAndre Mays became the third Youngstown State player in four years to be named to the Horizon League All-Newcomer Team, the League announced on Monday. Mays, a native of Dallas, Texas, is averaging 10.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. His 3.4 assists per game rank sixth in the Horizon League while 10.9 points per game rank 20th. He also averaged 11.4 points per game against Horizon League opponents. The other two Penguins named to the Horizon League All-Newcomer Team under Head Coach Jerry Slocum were Vytas Sulskis (2007-08) and Keston Roberts (2005-06). The Penguins host UIC, Tuesday, March 3, in the first round of the Horizon League Tournament at the Beeghly Center. Tipoff is slated for 7:05 p.m. 2008-09 HORIZON LEAGUE AWARDS All-League First Team Matt Howard (So., F), Butler J’Nathan Bullock (Sr., F), Cleveland State Ryan Tillema (Sr., G), Green Bay Gordon Hayward (Fr., F), Butler Josh Mayo (Sr., G), UIC All-League Second Team Cedric Jackson (Sr., G), Cleveland State Todd Brown (Jr., G), Wright State Rahmon Fletcher (So., G), Green Bay Tone Boyle (Jr., G), Milwaukee Urule Igbavboa (Sr., F), Valparaiso All-Newcomer Team Gordon Hayward (Fr., F), Butler Shelvin Mack (Fr., G), Butler Tone Boyle (Jr., G), Milwaukee James Eayrs (Jr., F), Milwaukee DeAndre Mays (Jr., G), Youngstown State All-Defensive Team Cedric Jackson (Sr., G), Cleveland State Terry Evans (Sr., F), Green Bay Matt Howard (So., F), Butler Will Graham (Sr., G), Wright State Player of the Year -- Matt Howard, Butler Newcomer of the Year -- Gordon Hayward, Butler Defensive Player of the Year -- Cedric Jackson, Cleveland State Sixth Man of the Year -- Ryan Tillema, Green Bay Coach of the Year -- Brad Stevens, Butler NOTE: All-League and All-Newcomer awards are voted upon by Horizon League head coaches and sports information directors plus selected media. The All-Defensive awards and Sixth Man of the Year are selected by head coaches only. |
| Athletics Department Announces Tournament Ticket Prices, Ticket Office Hours |
| Sunday, March 1 2009 |
| Courtesy of: |
| Youngstown -- The Youngstown State Athletics Department has announced extended and weekend Ticket Office hours for fans to pick up tickets for the men's basketball team's first-round home tournament game on Tuesday, March 3, at the Beeghly Center. The ticket office will be open: Saturday, Feb. 28, Noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, March 1, Noon to 4 p.m. Monday, March 2, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The cost of tournament tickets include $12 for reserved and $10 for general admission. YSU student tickets are free with a valid ID. Season ticket holders have until 8 p.m. on Monday, March 2, to reserve their seats. For group rates, please call the YSU Ticket Office at (330) 941-1YSU (1978). |
| Valparaiso beats Youngstown State 67-59 |
| Sunday, March 1 2009 |
| Courtesy of: AP Wire |
| VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP)—Howard Little scored 13 points to lead five Crusaders in double figures and Valparaiso used a second-half spurt to beat Youngstown State 67-59 Saturday night in the Horizon League. Urule Igbavboa, Cameron Witt and Michael Rogers had 12 each for Valpo (9-21, 5-13), which trailed 24-20 at the break. Erik Buggs scored 10. Igbavboa had nine rebounds and Rogers had eight for the Crusaders, who were outrebounded 37-27. Sirlester Martin had 13 and DeAndre Mays 11 for Youngstown State (11-18, 7-11) in a game that included six ties and five lead changes. The last tie came at 43 at 8:53, after which the Crusaders went on a 17-6 run to take an 11-point lead. Youngstown State got no closer than five after that. |