Youngstown State University
8-19
UC Riverside
11-15
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Youngstown State | 27 | 33 | 60 |
| UC Riverside | 36 | 26 | 62 |
Penguins Fall to UC-Riverside at the Buzzer, 62-60
2/20/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Riverside, Calif. -- UC-Riverside's David Chavarria's put-back with 0.3 seconds remaining squelched an 11-point comeback and gave the Highlanders a 62-60 victory over the Youngstown State men's basketball team on Saturday evening at the UCR Student-Recreation Center.
The Penguins fall to 8-19 while the Highlanders improve to 11-15.
Chavarria's game-winning shot came after a missed jumper by teammate Lateef McMullan with three seconds remaining.
Junior Vytas Sulskis, who scored a game-high 18 points, layup with 24 seconds remaining knotted the game at 60-60 and erased a one-time 11-point second half deficit.
UC-Riverside pushed its lead to 38-27 after a jumper by Brandon Dowdy at the 18:17 mark but Penguins rallied to cut the deficit down to four, 43-39, after a 12-5 run over the next six minutes. A 3-pointer by Vance Cooskey, a lay up by Ashen Ward and a three free-throws by Sulsks keyed the Penguins' charge.
The Highlanders were able to extend their lead back to as many as eight points - 47-39 - and seven points three times - 49-42, 54-47 and 56-49 - before the Penguins final surge. Kelvin Bright converted two free throws, DeAndre Mays mady a lay up and a free throw, and two free throws by both Cooksey and Sulskis set up the game-ending dramatics.
In the first half, Ashen Ward began the scoring with a lay up then Riverside scored the next 12 points to take a 12-2 at the 15:12 mark.
The Penguins, who made just one of their first six shot, were able to slice the Highlanders' lead down to six on two occasions and Sulskis led a Penguins charge scoring seven straight points to bring the Penguins within three, 24-21, with 5:11 to go. Sulskis converted a layup, two free throws and drained a 3-pointer during the run.
UC-Riverside outscored the Penguins 12-6 over the last five minutes to take a 36-27 lead into the locker room at the half.
UC-Riverside's Rudy Meo drained two 3-pointers with under a minute-and-a-half remaining to vault the Highlanders from a five-point edge to the nine-point halftime advantage. He connected at the 1:21 mark and with 37 seconds remaining.
The Penguins shot 40 percent from the field in the first half while UC-Riverside connected on 46.9 percent and committed just three turnovers. The Highlanders also scored 11 points off of six Penguins' turnovers.
The Penguins return home to host Wright State, Thursday, Feb. 25, at 7:35 p.m.
