Youngstown State University
9-8 (0-2)
Valparaiso
14-3 (1-1)
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Youngstown State | 35 | 29 | 64 |
| Valparaiso | 40 | 39 | 79 |
Men's Basketball Falls to Valparaiso, 79-64
1/4/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Valparaiso, Indiana -- Senior DJ Cole and junior Bobby Hain each scored 13 points but the Youngstown State men's basketball team dropped a 79-64 decision to Valparaiso on Sunday afternoon at the Athletics-Recreation Center.
With the loss, the Penguins fall to 9-8 overall and 0-2 in the Horizon League while the Crusaders improve to 14-3 overall and 1-1 in the league.
Also scoring in double figures for the Penguins was sophomore Marcus Keene with 11 points and sophomore Osandai Vaughn with 10.
Leading the Crusaders was Alec Peters with 18 points and Keith Carter, who had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Darien Walker also reached double figures with 12 points.
The Crusaders took advantage of 27 offensive rebounds that accounted for 28 second-chance points, including 15 in the second half.
The Penguins fell by 10, 50-40, four minutes into the second half, but went on a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to three, 52-49, after a jumper by Vaughn at the 13:30 mark.
Valparaiso rebuilt its lead back to eight, 59-51, with 10:50 remaining, but a three-point play by Vaughn, a jumper by Hain and a layup by Larry Johnson brought the Penguins back within three, 61-58, with 8:13 to go.
The Penguins missed their final 10 field goal attempts and went 6-for-14 from the free-throw line over the last eight minutes of the game.
Valparaiso, which never trailed, built a 10-point advantage, 26-16, midway through the first half but the Penguins responded with an 8-0 run to cut the lead to two.
Shaun Stewart drilled a 3-pointer and followed with an old-fashioned three-point play to get the Penguins within four.
Johnson hit a jumper to make the cut the deficit to two, and, after a tip-in by Peters pushed the Valparaiso lead back to four, Keene nailed a 3-pointer to get within on, 28-27, with 4:33 to go before halftime.
Over the next minute-and-a-half, the Crusaders used a 10-3 run to extend their lead back to eight, 38-30, but the Penguins scored five of the final seven points to trail at the intermission, 40-35.
The Penguins host Wright State in their Horizon League home opener on Thursday at 7:05 p.m.
