Penguins Drop Overtime Battle With Kent State, 85-78

[IAA Fan]

The Youngstown State men's basketball team suffered a disappointing 85-78 overtime loss to Kent State on Wednesday night at the Beeghly Center. The game featured 19 ties and 17 lead changes, the last of which was in favor of the Golden Flashes.

The Penguins drop to 3-4 on the season while Kent State improves to 5-2 on the campaign.

Both teams had opportunities late in regulation to win the game, but could not capitalize.

YSU had a chance to go on top with 1:14 left, but Kamren Belin missed the second of two free-throw attempts. KSU had the first chance to go in front, but Chris Evans' layup rimmed out and was rebounded by Damian Eargle.

The Penguins called timeout with 33 seconds to set up a play that had D.J. Cole find a driving Kendrick Perry, but Perry's four-footer in the lane rimmed out and Kent State's Mark Henninger grabbed the board.

Eargle's long reach helped force overtime as Randal Holt switched on a screen but Eargle stayed in his face and his shot at the buzzer glanced off the rim.

In overtime, the Penguins had two two-point leads, but Kent State went on a mini four-point run to lead 78-74 on an old-fashioned three-point play by Darren Goodson at the 2:21 mark. Two Perry free throws cut the deficit to 78-76, but four straight free throws by the Golden Flashes extended the lead to 82-76 with 22.5 seconds remaining.

For the game, YSU shot 42.2 percent making 27-of-64 attempts while Kent State converted at a 42 percent clip connecting on 29-of-69 shots. In overtime, KSU made 4-of-6 attempts and was 8-of-9 from the free-throw line while YSU was 4-of-9 and 2-of-4.

Perry led all scorers with 26 points and went 10-of-11 from the free-throw line. Eargle had 18 points and 10 rebounds while Blake Allen added 12 points. For Kent State, Chris Evans had 24 points and 10 rebounds while Holt had 21. Melvin Tabb had 15 points off the bench.

YSU led by two following a fast-paced first half. The opening 20 minutes featured eight ties and six lead changes.

The Penguins shot an impressive 48.3 percent from the field making 14-of-29 shots, but were just 1-of-10 from behind the arc. From inside the arc, YSU was 13-of-19 (68.4 percent). Kent State made just 12 of 34 shots, but connected on 5-of-10 3-point attempts.

The Golden Flashes led by four on two occasions, the last time at 26-22 with 6:31 remaining in the stanza.

YSU used an 8-0 run to forge its biggest lead of the opening half. Perry made two free throws, Eargle followed with a 15-footer, Perry converted an old-fashioned three-point play and Bobby Hain's tip back of his own miss put the Guins on top 36-29 with 2:10 remaining.

However, the Golden Flashes scored the final five points on a 3-pointer by Evans and a jumper by Tabb to get within 36-34 at the break.

The Penguins play their second consecutive contest against a Mid-American Conference opponent on Saturday when they visit Bowling Green. Tip-off at the Stroh Center is set for 2 p.m. The contest will air live on 570 WKBN.

[YsuPride]

Our defense was bad in the 2nd half and ot.  Seems like we just ran out of gas at the end.  Does anyone know Slocum's record in games that go into overtime?  It seems we very rarely win ovetime games or close games which is a reflection of the coaching staff.  What was a promising start to the season is now looking dim.   I hope we can turn things around quick because the Horizon league looks loaded this year top to bottom.

[Double ET]

I was at the game. If we could have made one more 3 point shoot or if Eargle did not miss the 2 FTs at the end of the game, we could have won it. As I have said before, if we don't make 3s and FTs, we are in trouble. However, I was encouraged by our ability to get the ball inside the paint more. But, our inside guys have to learn to finish at the basket.

[IAA Fan]

I was able to listen to the game, but some key stats, and thoughts:

1. Kent had 10 turn-overs off of us and scored 18-points off of those.
2. YSU was only 20% in 3's and Kent was an unusual 47.7%. Most of which came from Holt.


Sounded like a good-sized crowd

[southbeach]

We do a very poor job of defending the 3 pt line! We feel compelled to double down on the man in the low post and leave players undefended on the perimeter for the easy three. Not against the double team but you must be conscience of who is being unguarded on the perimeter.

[Double ET]

We had a terrible mismatch between one of our guards and their #5. He was big and physical. We had to double up on him opening it up for 3 point shot. It looked like the coach strategy since Kent is not very good i shooting 3s. Well, they made them and we didn't. We had several wide open lay ups under the basket and our freshmen did not take advantage of that. Eargle played a great game. Some of his shots were amazing (not his typical step back shot). Although missing some shots, Bobby Haines and Weber looked good. Weber was tough on defense. I estimate about 3000 people (with about 200 from Kent in Yellow Shirts) in attendance. Darn, we should have won this game.

[Pita]

Weber will make the grade, rest assured, he has the ability,
I think more playing time, so he can relax and get into it
will help.

I too, was at the game.  Our free shots tho much improved over
last year, still need some practice, it takes alot to be perfect.

I really think our team has so much IMPROVED, that perhaps
we are expecting too much.  Anxious to see what Horizon
league competition will bring.  I think Kent got a little bit
LUCKY with alot of their shots.  Their play was not all the
impressive as far as skill goes....LUCK was a big factor.

ANYWAY....It is an encouraging year for those of us who have done
this for 45 years.

GO PENGUINS

[ysuindy]

http://horizonleaguehoops.com/

Mentioning luck this story from our friends at the HorizonLeagueHoops.com blog highlights that Pomeroy has YSU as the 16th unluckiest team in Division I.

Not to whine about the outcome - the guys have to figure out how to close out games,but the point is there are still a lot of good things happening.  Unfortunately not finishing games like they did at GW is a big one going bad.

It is all about getting ready for the league schedule.  Lots of new guys feeling their way. 

[Pita]

INDY...

Wish you could be here to experience the game.
We are in it for so long, then the bottom drops out.
Coach Slocum can pound his fist on the chair, but
it just doesn't get through to the guys.  don't  want
to put the team down and glorify the Coach, but, geez
were I he....I know I would throw in the sponge, at times,
save and except, I know he needs food on his table like the
rest of us.  He is good IMO.  Our guys just need to be more
CONFIDENT...whom does that come from??? Aging would be
a good contributor to their confidence, but at their age you
just can't tell them that.

[Wick250]

We got worked over on the boards.  That was not surprising as Kent dominated a much bigger and stronger Nebraska front court on Saturday night.  Overall, we played well but just lost.  Games like this are precisely why it was so disappointing to squander the very winnable games against NDSU and James Madison last week.

Several days ago, Indy suggested that some favorable calls from the officials would not hurt.  Well, we never get those.  Take the last minute of regulation.  Down by two, a Kent guard penetrated, made contact with Perry who artistically fell to the floor, then put in the tying hoop.  That was a 50-50 charging call, but the official swallowed his whistle.  On the next possession, Perry penetrated into the paint and missed a shot in traffic.  We have seen fouls called against us on similar plays.  Not here as the official again swallowed his whistle.  You would think that we could get half the close calls at home....but we rarely do.

[ysufan0505]

Nobody puts a body on ANYBODY! Eargle stands there and watches the ball and tries to out jump people. Slocum need sto use the bench more. He needs to coach better, plain and simple. Kent doubled the pick and roll night and only ONCE did they swing it back to the big man. Dumb coaching. And why was the ball in Blake's hands at the end of OT when we were down 2??? No offense to him but please, the ball needs to be in either DJ or KP's hands. Allen is a shooter, not a point guard that can make plays off the dribble. Winnable game and we blew it

[Lets_Talk]

KP played 41 minutes...Eargle played 40..Cole and Belin each played 25+ minutes and made nice contributions off the bench... YSU bench scored 10 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists(5 by Cole) Kent got 27 points, 16 rebounds and 5 assists from their bench... I know some will say these are college kids, and they do not get tired...but, they tire just enough to result in missed FT's, turnover's, shots being just a bit of the mark, being a half step too slow...etc... All are the kind of things that often end up being the difference in games between 2 fairly evenly matched teams... Going to be plenty of close games once HL play starts. This team has the potential to be in the top 3-4, IF they can learn to close out close games, and find at least 1 player besides Cole and Belin that can play significant minutes and make quality contributions.

Also, some great points made by YSU0505 and a few others. Alot of basketball is effort. No excuse at this level for not boxing out properly. And, totally agree about Allen being a SHOOTER. His strength is not running the offense, especially down the stretch in a close game. Can understand the mismatch down low. But, again, at this level, players have been taught over and over and over for several years how to double down in the post, an still be able to get a hand in the face of the shooter...It is basic fundamental TEAM defense in basketball. Help and recover... Rotate. But, it takes effort and a desire to want to contest the shot, not just go with the attitude of said team not being a good outside shooting team.

Lastly, tired of reading about a lack of luck. To quote Seneca "luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity". And, YSU loses too many games of this type, against teams from the HL, plus KENT, Akron, RMU, Duquesne...etc year in and year out to use lack of luck as an excuse.

[IAA Fan]

If we are talking about the very end, and Blake ...I really do not agree on a bad coaching call. We were cold, and coach wanted to win it.  Allen was hot and had just hit a couple of 3's. I think he was told to take the ball, look for 3, and if not take 2-points. It did not go in.

I have to go with Wick here. This one had me worried. I was expecting to be 5-2 going into this game, and we had the team to beat them this year if they indeed were down.

[Double ET]

I really do not want to blame the refs for our lost although they were awful. Allen was fouled on a driving fade away jump shot. The shot went in and the ref disallowed the basket and we got the ball for an in- bound. We did not score on that play. Many Kent charges were not called.

I thought the turning point was at the end of the game when the game was tied. Perry drove down the left side and was trapped. In the last ditch effort, he found Belin on the right side 5 feet from the basket all by himself (it happened right in front of me). Belin was ready to drive in for a easy layup or to get fouled or both to put us  ahead. He never got the chance since coach called a timeout from the bench. The diagrammed play did not work since Allen missed the jump shot.

I still think this team is better than last year. The freshman players are encouraging and are better. Hain and Weber have been impressive. They need more confidence. This will come with more playing time. 

[ysubigred]

http://horizonleaguehoops.com/

Mentioning luck this story from our friends at the HorizonLeagueHoops.com blog highlights that Pomeroy has YSU as the 16th unluckiest team in Division I.

Not to whine about the outcome - the guys have to figure out how to close out games,but the point is there are still a lot of good things happening.  Unfortunately not finishing games like they did at GW is a big one going bad.

It is all about getting ready for the league schedule.  Lots of new guys feeling their way.

+1^^ I've been paying attention a little bit more than most years and I'd say "IF" YSU didn't have bad luck they'd have no luck at all