Youngstown State University
8-17, 2-13HL
Valparaiso
14-14, 9-7HL
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valparaiso | 30 | 47 | 77 |
| Youngstown State | 28 | 47 | 75 |
Sulskis, Mays Finish with Double-Doubles As Guins Fall Short
2/13/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Youngstown -- DeAndre Mays and Kelvin Bright had huge second-half efforts and Vytas Sulskis scored a season-best 24 points, but Valparaiso overcame a 72-67 deficit in the final two minutes to come from behind and beat the Penguins 77-75 on Saturday night at the Beeghly Center.
The back-and-forth second half featured eight lead changes and six ties. However for the Penguins, the last lead change went against them as Valpo grabbed a 73-72 on a breakaway slam dunk by Matt Kenney with 50 seconds left.
With 2:07 left in the contest, Sulskis canned two free throws giving the Guins a five-point advantage, their largest of the second half.
Valpo's Brandon Wood answered with a layup 10 seconds later to get within 72-69. On ensuing possession, YSU committed a turnover and Brandon McPherson hit Wood in the clear for a breakaway layup that cut the deficit to 72-71.
YSU had three chances to extend its lead, but could not capitalize. Matt Kenney stole the ball from Mays at midcourt and rammed home a go-ahead dunk with 50 seconds left as the Crusaders grabbed a 73-72 lead.
Kenney added two free throws with 26.4 seconds left to extend the Crusader advantage to 75-72. Mays was fouled and made one of two free throws with 18.6 seconds left to pull the Guins within two. Kenney was fouled again and drained two free throws with 16.6 left boosting the advantage to 77-73.
Bright was fouled with 5.2 ticks left on the clock and sank both attempts cutting the deficit to 77-75. The Penguins fouled McPherson on the inbounds pass with 4.4 seconds remaining. McPherson missed the front end of the one-and-one, but Sulskis' desperation half-court heave as time expired went over the hoop.
Sulskis finished with a season-high in points while grabbing 11 boards for the first double-double of his career. He was 8-of-13 from the field and made four 3-pointers.
Mays finished the contest with 16 points - 14 of which came in the second half - and career-high 10 rebounds. Bright scored 18 on the night, as he also scored 14 in the second half.
For the game, YSU shot 48.2 percent (27-of-56) from the floor while Valpo made 28-of-57 attempts (49.1 percent). The Guins had a strong edge on the boards grabbing 37 to the Crusaders' 26.
Both teams made big runs in an opening half that featured six lead changes, but Valparaiso took a 30-28 lead at the break.
YSU bolted out of the gate to start the contest scoring 17 of the games initial 23 points. Sulskis drained three 3-points in the first five-and-a-half minutes to get the ball rolling. Eddie D'Haiti's layup from a Sulkis assist made the score 15-6 and a fastbreak layup by Kelvin Bright gave the Guins a 17-6 advantage at the 10:19 mark.
The Penguins led 19-10 following a Dallas Blocker bucket at 8:26, but the Crusaders scored 13 consecutive points taking a 23-19 lead at 4:30 on a 3-pointer by Wood. YSU tied the game at 23 and again at 28 before Valpo took the lead into the locker room following a layup by Howard Little with just under a minute left before halftime.
In the opening frame, Sulskis had 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field while going 3-of-4 from behind the 3-point arc. Leading the way for Valpo was Wood, who had a dozen points. The Guins had 10 assists on 12 baskets and both teams combined for 19 turnovers.
Youngstown State returns to the road on Monday night when it plays at Milwaukee. Tipoff for the contest against the Panthers is set for 8 p.m.
