Youngstown State University
Cleveland State
Four Reach Double Figures As Penguins Hold Off Cleveland State, 64-60
1/23/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Youngstown -- The Youngstown State men's basketball team put together an impressive 40 minutes and defeated Cleveland State, 64-60, much to the delight of a frenzied crowd of 6,249 and an ESPNU nationally-televised audience on Friday night at the Beeghly Center.
It was the largest since Jan. 31, 1987 when 6,339 attended the YSU-Akron game at Beeghly Center.
The Penguins improve to 6-12 overall and 3-6 in the Horizon League while Cleveland State falls to 13-8 overall and 4-5 in the league.
Senior Jack Liles led four players scoring in double figures and tied a season-high with 18 points while junior DeAndre Mays scored 16 points.
Junior Sirlester Martin scored a career-high 15 points with nine rebounds while junior Kelvin Bright added 10 points.
With YSU leading by as many as eight points, 54-46, after a jumper by Mays, Cleveland State's J'Nathan Bullock's 3-point play brought the Vikings within five, 54-49, with 6:31 left in the game.
Norris Cole responded to a Bright jumper and hit a 3-pointer to cut the deficit down to four points, 56-52, at the 5:29 mark.
Two free throws by Bright and a jumper by Mays put the Penguins back up eight, 60-52, with 2:23 left.
The Vikings continued to claw their way back with a jumper by Bullock and two free throws by Cedric Jackson to get back within four, 60-56, with 1:55 to go.
Bullock, who made his first 10 free throws, had a chance to bring the Vikings within two, but missed the front-end of a two shot foul and had to settle for one and cut the lead to three, 60-57, with 41 seconds left.
Liles was fouled with 31 second remaining and made first free throw but missed the second to push the lead back to four, 61-57.
After a steal by Martin, Bright was fouled but missed two foul shots, and Jeremy Montgomery's layup with 4.6 seconds left cut the CSU deficit to back to two, 61-59.
Mays was fouled on an inbounds pass with 4.0 left, and he split the pair to put the Penguins back up three, 62-59.
After a Penguins' foul, Cole made the first of two charity tosses but a lane violation by George Tandy nullified Cole's second attempt.
Liles was fouled an the ensuing inbounds pass and sealed the victory with two free throws with one second remaining.
At halftime, the Guins held a 29-25 lead thanks to some solid defense. Cleveland State made just one of its first 11 shots to start the game as YSU scored 10 of the first 14 points.
The Penguins led by as many as nine twice in the opening half. YSU led 16-7 at the 8:02 mark and led 18-9 with 6:35 remaining in the half.
However, Cleveland State battled back to tie the contest at 23 with 2:44 left on a Jackson basket.
YSU closed the half on a 6-2 run to take a four-point advantage into the break. Jack Liles started the mini run with a layup. Kelvin Bright followed with a free throw, and Sirlester Martin drained a jumper to put the Guins ahead 28-23. After a Renard Fields layup with 24 seconds left, Vance Cooksey closed out the first-half scoring on a free throw with 2.3 seconds left.
In the first half, YSU shot 37.5 percent (12-of-32) while the Vikings were held to 33.3 percent (10-of-30). Martin and Liles combined to score 19 of the Guins' 28 points while Bullock had nine for CSU. Both teams were a combined 0-for-12 from behind the 3-point arc.
The Penguins continue a busy stretch on Monday night when they play host to Mid-American Conference foe Akron. Tipoff at the Beeghly Center is set for 7:05 p.m. YSU returns to conference action when it plays host to Wright State on Thursday and Detroit on Saturday. Both games are part of men's and women's doubleheaders.
