Detroit had about three centers, YSU had one (Dan Boudler), and sometimes Damian Eargle who is more of a power forward.  As a result of a serious problem with height, rebounds, especially on the offensive end would be scarce.  The Penguins overcame the size disadvantage but were their own worst enemy at the free throw line again finishing the game 6-14 from stripe as they dropped another close one, this time to Detroit, 73-69.

In the first half, Detroit raced out to a 10-point lead just over five minutes into the game.  YSU would keep cutting into that lead only to see Detroit extend the lead back to at least seven a couple of times.  By the time the buzzard sounded, Detroit held a 41-40 lead.  Eli Holman paced the Titans with nine points and nine rebounds.  Chase Simon and Chris Blake had ten each in the opening half for the visiting Titans.  YSU got 12 points from Blake Allen and eight more from Kendrick Perry.

In the second half, YSU came out smoking and nabbed a 48-43 lead with 15:49 to go.  Vytas Sulskis led the charge for the Penguins with a couple of buckets.  Blake hit a layup to give Detroit back the lead on an 8-0 run at 49-48 with 14:31 left.  Blake Allen gave YSU a one point lead, the eighth lead change in the game, to put the Penguins ahead 58-57 with 11:15 remaining in the contest.  Chris Blake popped his career high (16 points) with 9:27 remaining for Detroit, putting the Titans ahead, 61-58.

YSU was struggling at the free throw line.  With 8:23 left in the game, the Penguins were an awful 3-10 from the charity stripe, points they need to beat the bigger Titans.  Detroit would battle over the next five minutes to maintain the lead and at the 3:56 mark, the Titans still held a 66-64 lead thanks in part to the Penguins lousy free throw shooting and some equally lousy officiating.  YSU had three very questionable calls go against them over he span of two minutes, and the 3,000 + in attendance really let them know.

Trailing 67-64 with 3:09 left in the game, Tre Brewer took a good shot that hit every part of the inside of the rim, but did not go.  Perry then hit a pair of free throws to cut Detroit’s lead to 68-66.  Perry’s second three of the game came with 18.4 seconds remaining and cut Detroit’s lead to one point at 70-69. Nick Minnerath was fouled to shoot a pair of free throws with 15.5 seconds to go and he made the second to make it 71-69.  Perry tried to hoist a three, but was unsuccessful.  YSU fouled Blake and the rest is academic.

YSU was lead by Allen and Sulskis with 15 points each.  The Penguins dropped to 7-12 on the season, and 1-7 in the league.  With the exception of Butler and Valpo, YSU has been in every league game until the end.  Having seen each Horizon League team with the completion of this game, no one will be writing off YSU as an easy win in the second half.

Detroit got 20 points from Chris Blake, his career-high.  Simon also contributed 14 points for the Titans.  With the win, Detroit improved to 11-10 and 5-4 in the Horizon.

Youngstown State goes West to Illinois for games against UIC and Loyola this week.

After the game, Coach Slocum talked about the woes that hamper his squad.  “We just aren’t good enough yet to win those close games.  It is very disappointing to work so hard all of the time and not reap the reward of winning.  This was a very tough match up for us because of the size difference, but I thought we did a great job battling and working hard.”