Penguins Lose 59-56 at the Buzzer to Robert Morris

[IAA Fan]

Youngstown -- Coron Williams hit a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift Robert Morris to a 59-56 win over the Youngstown State men's basketball team on Thursday evening at Beeghly Center.

Williams' triple came 40 seconds after Anthony Myers nailed a 3-pointer to tie the score on the Colonials' previous possession. Kendrick Perry turned the ball over on YSU's final possession with 8.2 seconds left.

Robert Morris improves to 10-3 and snaps YSU's 11-game home winning streak against non-conference opponents. The Colonials were previously the last non-Horizon League team to win at Beeghly Center on Dec. 30, 2009. YSU is now 6-6.

Perry led all scorers with 18 points, and DuShawn Brooks had 16 points. Blake Allen added 12, and the trio each hit four 3-pointers. The Penguins hit 12 triples in the game, but Brooks hit their final one at the 9:50 mark of the second half.

That Brooks trey made the score 49-43, and Robert Morris relied on free throws to cut the margin to 49-48 with six minutes left. The Penguins scored the next six points on a Brooks floater and two free throws from both he and Fletcher Larson. Brooks' jumper at the 5:47 mark was YSU's last field goal of the game.

With YSU ahead 55-48 and Robert Morris without a field goal in almost seven minutes, Williams hit a 3-pointer out of a timeout to make the score 55-51. Brooks then missed a jumper, and two Myers free throws quickly made the score 55-53 with 3:14 left.

Neither team scored until Ashen Ward's free throw with 53.7 ticks left put YSU on top 56-53. Myers' triple tied the score with 40.3 seconds left, and Williams' triple at the buzzer won it.

Williams finished with 14 points, and Velton Jones had 15 points and six assists. Robert Morris out-rebounded YSU 43-28, which included 16 offensive boards. The Colonials were able to translate that into a 16-4 edge in second-chance points.

Before the final score, Robert Morris had led for just 20 seconds in the second half.

YSU outshot Robert Morris 37.3 percent to 35.7 percent, and the Penguins made four more triples. Robert Morris outscored YSU 11-6 at the free-throw line.

Youngstown State led by as many as seven points in the first half but had to settle for a 32-31 lead at the break.

Robert Morris led 8-5 with early two 3-pointers, but Youngstown State went on an 11-2 run to go up 16-10 on a Perry triple at the 14:25 mark. The Colonials hit a bucket on their next possession to make the score 16-12, and Brooks answered with a triple - YSU's third in as many possessions - to put the Guins ahead 19-12.

YSU still led 24-17 after an Allen triple at the 8:47 mark, but that was the Guins' only bucket in a six-minute span. Williams made a jumper at the 6:18 mark to end an 8-0 run that put Robert Morris on top 25-24. The Penguins' answered with an 8-2 run to go back up 32-27 after another Allen triple, YSU's seventh of the half. Robert Morris scored the final four points of the stanza to cut the margin to one at the break.

The Penguins were 7-for-14 from 3-point range in the opening half, and the Colonials hit 4-of-9 from distance.

Youngstown State will start Horizon League play at Cleveland State on Saturday, Dec. 31, at 2 p.m.

[IAA Fan]

I could cry after this one. We played so well. No production out of Eagle, Larson, or Ward. 10-points combined with 77-minutes on the floor between them.

[Pita]

Just arrived home after the game.  Yipes!!!

We never drive to the basket, so we never get those fouls,
nor the easy layups.
Not a good thing to rely on the 3 pointer every time we
have the ball.

We seldom rebound.

We should have never lost this one.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

[ELPENGUIN]

Troubled by the loss to a team that possessed the will to win more than we did.  I don't want to watch a team (YSU) with the same set play over and over again.  I don't want to watch a team (YSU) pass the ball around the perimeter with the guards playing catch over and over until the shot clock is at 8 seconds or less. I don't want to watch the player left with the last pass at that point takes the shot.  Is this what our 2010/2011 strategy will be?

Turnovers were down except for the costly one at the end of the game with 8 seconds to go. My question would be to ask if this was the play diagrammed from the time out called with 15 seconds to go?

Wow did we get our rebounded.  May I ask where is the rebounding help for Ergel coming from?  Who is to crash the boards? Not from the player expected to help.  That player has vanished from the statistics of assists, scoring, rebounding.

We will not get to the foul line unless we attack the basket. The offensive strategy has to change.

It is time to ask questions and demand answers? How can we avoid another 20 loss season?

On the bright side. I was so happy to see so many young boys and girls at the game.  Those boys and girls are our future penguin fans and losing a game tonight is impressionable to them.  Will their parents ask them to come to another game and will their answer be "no I don't want to watch YSU lose again".

[YsuPride]

Nothing will change so dream on unless we get a new staff.  Our offense is a joke and not acceptable at the D1 level.    Fans agree by the lack of turnout.  10 -12 wins we will be lucky to see.  How depressing after a 6-2 start. 

[ysuindy]

The seemingly regular losses to Robert Morris bother me - a lot.  This is a program that appears to have a lot less to offer recruits than YSU.  They play in a high school sized gym (heck in Indiana 131 high schools have gyms bigger than Robert Morris), they play in  a bottom 10 conference that never has a chance at an at large bid and almost always gets a 14, 15 or 16 seed, they are, at best, #3 in their city (#4 if you count PSU).

Yet this is six straight wins over YSU with five of the wins by 5 points or less.

Credit to Robert Morris and to their coaches.  Makes you wonder what they could do with a better arena to show recruits and the ability to play in a Top 12 conference most years.

Very frustrating - this series and see yet another fast start slipping away.

[southbeach]

  The next time we are in the market for a new head b- ball coach ( next year ) we should let the ad at
Robert Morris make the selection for us. That is the difference between our program and theirs. They consistently have better coaches who can recruit.

[ELPENGUIN]

You are correct South beach. I say, most coaches can do the x and o's and the better ones are able to adjust the x and o's during a game or especially at the end of the game.   "If " - and I mean if  there is a problem with not winning?  Then what/where is the problem?  Are the players we have not basketball ready with a reasonable basketball IQ?  What else could it be?  Is it recruiting?

The name of the game must be "can you recruit" and can you not find the player with the athletic ability (basketball IQ) in junior college or high school to play under your system. 

Recruiting strategy should be to identify, solicit, stay with it the effort till  that that player turns you down.  Then if you don't succeed then go get the next one on your wish list.

Success in coaching is based on success in recruiting.  That being said, if there is no budget or worse yet, no desire to complete (recruit) on the level of my/our expectations (division one)  then GET OUT OF IT.  Don't raise expectations of masquerading YSU as a division one program worthy of the HORIZON LEAGUE.

As coach Slocum has said many times unfortunately  "It is what it is"!

[Wick250]

Even though our starters messed up that last possession, I would wager that they were +15 against Robert Morris.  Take one or heaven help us, two, starters out of the lineup and our team becomes a joke.

I ask this in a serious way.  Should a coach be able to recruit at least 9 Division I players with 15 scholarships?  That is 60%.  You know, a minimal "D" performance on any academic scale.  How can any coach in the best mid-major league recruit only 5 DI players (I'm giving Ward a pass?)  Embarrassing and unbelievable. 

[YSUGO]

I have said all along we are way over our heads in the Horizon...we didn't get any bump in recruiting from the Butler success.  Even if we increased the budget it will take years for another coach to turn us around.  We are drawing flies and you can't give the tickets away.  My girlfriends company offers them and nobody wants them.  My whole point was we need to take the dollars slotted and find a level of competition that will match up to.  This is total insanity how we keep taking these beatings year in and year out.  Slocum is what we good get on the dollars slotted and 10-12 wins is what that is worth.   Yes we beat Butler last year,,,but lets be truthful here.  We played over our heads and Butler played like crap.  That was no way a program changing win.  Well I don't know the answer ..I guess we have to accept it just like the AD had that ..he knows we can't compete.

[Penguin Nation]

How much is the men's basketball program costing the Athletic Department? How much are the scholarships, the travel, the promotions, the security, etc?  Maybe the question needs to be asked, "Why do we have a men's basketball program?"  When no efforts are made to succeed, and for years it's an embarrassment, than not only does it make the University look bad, but it is a waste of valuable funds.  Maybe the lady Penguins BB, which does show some improvement, could compete with Wisc-Green Bay with the additional funding.  Either play to compete, or even win, or fold the program.

[Big D]

I ask this in a serious way.  Should a coach be able to recruit at least 9 Division I players with 15 scholarships? 

D1 mens basketball teams are only allowed to give out 13 scholarships.

[Big D]

The seemingly regular losses to Robert Morris bother me - a lot.  This is a program that appears to have a lot less to offer recruits than YSU.  They play in a high school sized gym (heck in Indiana 131 high schools have gyms bigger than Robert Morris), they play in  a bottom 10 conference that never has a chance at an at large bid and almost always gets a 14, 15 or 16 seed, they are, at best, #3 in their city (#4 if you count PSU).

Robert Morris is located in a much better city than YSU.  They play is a small arena that only seats around 3000, but they fill about 1/2 of it for every game.  YSU plays in an over 1/2 empty arena every game.  RM regularly wins 20+ games, wins their conference, and goes to the post season.  YSU hasn't come close to 20 wins in the life time of any HS recruit.  YSU has never been competitive in the HL and has never been in the post season.   RM is also a school clearly dedicated to their basketball program.  YSU is fully behind it's football program.  I don't think a coach would have any trouble selling RM over YSU any day of the week in a recruiting battle. 

[ItalianPenguin]

Pay attention to what Big D says folks. In the end, you get out of something what you put in. We doubled our football coaches salaries and attracted "some" quality coaches. We spend little money on our basketball program. You see the returns.

[ysuindy]

How much is the men's basketball program costing the Athletic Department? How much are the scholarships, the travel, the promotions, the security, etc?  Maybe the question needs to be asked, "Why do we have a men's basketball program?"  When no efforts are made to succeed, and for years it's an embarrassment, than not only does it make the University look bad, but it is a waste of valuable funds.  Maybe the lady Penguins BB, which does show some improvement, could compete with Wisc-Green Bay with the additional funding.  Either play to compete, or even win, or fold the program.

Find me ONE program that plays BCS or FCS football and doesn't have a men's basketball team.  Hell find me one school that plays football at any level that doesn't have a men's basketball team.

You fold men's basketball, you are out the of the Horizon League and there is not a single league that will touch you.  Your teams will be independent and they will effectively die.  Fold Men's basketball, you are folding YSU athletics. 

Something needs to be done - folding the program isn't it.