Junior Blake Allen scored a game-high 22 points and sophomore Kendrick Perry added 19 but the Youngstown State men’s basketball team could not overcome a slow start and dropped an 86-77 loss to Toledo on Saturday evening at Savage Arena. YSU shot just 26.5 percent in the first half, fall to 6-4 overall while Toledo improves to 7-3.

Junior Damian Eargle just missed a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds. He also had five blocks and sophomore Nate Perry scored a career-high 10 points off the bench.

YSU, which shot 56.3 percent and outscored Toledo, 49-47, in the second half, trailed by as many as 17 in the first half, 11 at halftime and 13 with 18 minutes left in the game, but used an 18-6 run over a four-minute span to get within one, 49-48, with 13:50 left.  Two layups by Allen and one by freshman Shawn Amiker brought the Guins within seven, 43-36, with 16:14 to go.

The Rockets built the lead back to nine, 49-40, but a jumper by Eargle, an old-fashioned three-point play by Perry and a 3-pointer by Perry brought the Penguins within one.  YSU made 12 of their first 17 shots in the second half, were within one on two more occasions, 54-53, with 11:16 left and 56-55 at the 10:26 mark.  Toledo, though, capitalized on a technical foul called on YSU and scored 12 straight points to boost its lead back to 13, 68-55, with 7:46 remaining.  Perry’s second 3-pointer with 3:47 to go cut the deficit to nine, 76-67, but the Penguins would not get any closer.

Allen, who scored 16 of his points in the first half, scored YSU’s first eight points of the game that gave the Guins an 8-5 lead with 16:28 left before halftime.  Allen connected on 5-of-8 shooting from the field, including four 3-pointers, while the rest of the team made just 4-of-26 (15.3 percent) field-goal attempts.

The Penguins visit Akron, Monday, Dec. 19, at 7 p.m. at the James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron, Ohio.