Youngstown State University
8-15, 2-11HL
Valparaiso
17-7, 9-4HL
| Team | 1 | 2 | OT 1 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valparaiso | 33 | 38 | 15 | 86 |
| Youngstown State | 38 | 33 | 7 | 78 |
Guins Force Overtime Before Falling to Valparaiso
2/5/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
- Youngstown State vs. Valparaiso Highlights - Feb. 5, 2011
- Head Coach Jerry Slocum Postgame Press Conference
- Senior Vytas Sulskis Postgame Interview
The Youngstown State men's basketball team forced overtime on Kendrick Perry's shot at the buzzer. But in overtime, the Penguins allowed some missed opportunities to haunt them in a 86-78 loss to Valparaiso on Saturday night at the Beeghly Center.
With the win, Valpo improves to 17-7 overall and 9-4 in the Horizon League while YSU drops to 8-15 and 2-11.
YSU led 63-53 at the 9:09 mark before Valpo went on a 12-2 run tying the contest and setting up a wild five-plus final minutes.
The Penguins owned a 66-65 lead when DuShawn Brooks split a pair of free throws with 5:23 left.
Valpo's Brandon Wood, who scored a game-high 31 points, put the Crusaders in front 68-66 on a 3-pointer a few moments later. Following a YSU turnover, Howard Little converted a layup to give VU a 70-66 leads.
YSU split three trips to the free-throw line to pull closer. Brooks made one-of-two attempts with 4:27 left, Sulskis split a pair from the line at the 2:57 mark and Boulder made one-of-two with 1:30 left.
Trailing 70-69, Sulskis took an inbounds underneath the Valpo hoop from Blake Allen and had the ball rim out with just over six seconds remaining. The Penguins fouled, but Valpo's Ryan Broekhoff split the pair setting up Perry's heroics.
With YSU trailing 71-69, Perry forced overtime when he took the inbounds and drove up the court. He stopped and popped from about 14 feet and the ball rolled in off the rim as the buzzer sounded.
The Penguins allowed Valpo to score just one point in the final five minutes of regulation.
Leading the way offensively for the Penguins was Vytas Sulskis who had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out in overtime. DuShawn Brooks had 15 points as did Perry and Ashen Ward finished the night with 11.
In overtime, YSU opened a 74-71 lead on a 3-pointer by Ward and was in front 76-73 with 3:07 remaining following two Sulskis free throws.
Valpo took a 78-76 advantage on a triple by Ryan Broekhoff, but Brooks tied the game at 78 on a bucket with 1:30 remaining. However, that was the final points of the evening for YSU.
Cory Johnson found the mark with 1:07 left as Valpo went back on top 80-78. Brooks missed a shot and Broekhoff grabbed the rebound. However, he missed both free throws. After grabbing the rebound YSU tried to bring the ball up the court quickly, but Blake Allen's pass was stolen by Brandon Wood who tossed ahead to Erik Buggs for a breakaway layup.
For the game, YSU shot 47.5 percent (28-of-59) while the Crusaders were 31-of-65 (47.7 percent). Valpo shot 40 free throws, to YSU 23. However, VU made 19 while YSU converted 15. Both teams were whistled for a combined 52 fouls, 32 of which were called on the Guins.
Despite allowing Valpo to take 11 more free-throw attempts and committing eight more personal fouls, the Guins built a 38-33 advantage.
The Penguins shot the ball well making 14-of-28 attempts from the field, 4-of-8 from behind the 3-point arc and 6-of-7 from the free-throw line. Valpo made 12-of-26 from the field and went 7-of-18 from the free-throw line (38.9 percent).
YSU had a strong opening burst scoring 16 of the games first 20 points. After Valpo pulled within nine on two occasions, YSU a 22-10 lead after Perry converted a layup on an assist from Ward.
The Crusaders scored nine of the next 11 points to get within 24-19 at the 7:07 mark following a 3-pointer by Wood. Ward answered the run draining a 3-pointer from the top of the key to put the Guins up eight.
YSU owned a 33-24 cushion with 4:09 left in the half, but Valpo used a 7-2 run pulling within 35-31 at the 1:32 mark. It was the closest Valpo would get since the 16:10 mark of the first half.
Nate Perry's 3-pointer gave the Guins a 38-31 lead, but Matt Kenney's basket with 40 seconds left made the halftime score 38-33.
YSU returns to action on Monday night when it visits Wright State. Tipoff at the Nutter Center is set for 7 p.m.
