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Flames find new way to lose YSU ON FIRE, SWEEPS UIC FOR 1ST TIME February 9, 2009
This time, the Flames fell behind by 21 points in the first half and rallied to tie before losing 68-60 to Youngstown State at the UIC Pavilion. The Penguins swept UIC for the first time in school history while claiming their first-ever win at the Pavilion. Tom Parks had 15 points on five three-pointers, including two in a game-clinching 11-0 run in the final minutes, to lead YSU (8-15, 5-8 Horizon League). “These guys are so afraid of losing, they just don’t have the courage to win,” UIC coach Jimmy Collins said. I thought we fought back hard to come back from a 21-point deficit to tie the score. Then we get right there and we throw the ball away and let them come down and hit a three.” UIC received a nice boost from returning point guard Spencer Stewart, who played for the first time in seven games after suffering a deep bruise in his right foot. Stewart hit Josh Mayo on a long outlet pass after a steal for a layup that tied the game at 20-20. Then the barrage of threes began in earnest for YSU as DeAndre Mays and Vytas Sulskis connected on consecutive treys. The Flames went ice cold as the Penguins continued hitting threes, totaling six in a 22-1 explosion for a 42-21 lead with 5:48 left in the first half. “We came out and shot extremely well,” YSU coach Jerry Slocum said. “We spent a couple of days putting in some new wrinkles, because we know (UIC has) been playing a lot of that 2-3 zone. I thought our guys executed and made some shots.” YSU hit 10 of 13 threes in the half overall to grab a 44-27 halftime lead. The Penguins didn’t shoot a free throw in the opening period, but they didn’t have to. “When guys have zero free throws for a half, it simply means they’re target-practicing,” Collins said. “I don’t know how hot their players were, but I know our defense was very cold. It looked to me like it was target practice. We can’t beat anybody at any level, when you just let them shoot.” UIC (10-13, 3-10) scored the first eight points of the second half to forge back into the game. Robo Kreps splashed home a three with 18:33 to play, prompting Slocum to call a timeout to stop the bleeding. However, it was the Flames that got hot and the Penguins that got cold. Jovan Ignjatovic hit a 15-foot jumper to cut UIC’s deficit to 50-44 with 11:47 remaining. The Flames finally finished their rally back from 21 down to tie the game at 52-52 after eight straight free throws, the last two by Ignjatovic with 7:36 to play. UIC had several chances to grab the lead, but missed three layups and three-pointer in the next couple of minutes before YSU regained the advantage on Sulskis’ layup, which ignited the 11-0 spurt. “We came back … It took a lot of energy, but we still had energy left,” said Mayo, who scored a game-high 18 points. “We just didn’t keep doing what we were doing on the defensive end and on the offensive end. They got a couple of wide-open threes and on the offensive end, we weren’t scoring.” The Flames’ hopes was quashed when Jeremy Buttell was called for an offensive foul, wiping out a basket that would have cut their deficit to five with 3:14 left. Parks then hit his fifth and final three for the dagger. UIC could get no closer than seven thereafter. YSU finished the game shooting 45 percent and 55 percent from three-point range. Sulskis supported Parks with 13 points and six rebounds and Sirlester Martin added 10 points and seven rebounds for the Penguins. Kreps had 15 points and Tori Boyd added nine points for the Flames. Collins bemoaned the fact his frontcourt was just 4-for-22 from the field, which included Scott VanderMeer’s 1-for-12 effort. “[Assistant coach] Bryant Lowe works religiously with our post people, before practice, after practice—4-for-22 is almost disgraceful,” Collins said. It was UIC’s fifth straight loss and put a serious damper on its hopes for a first-round home game in the Horizon League tournament. The Flames are just 2-10 after an 8-3 start. Right now, I look at some of these guys’ body language, I can see defeat,” Collins said. “We walk out, we’ve got our heads down … We’re not high-fiving when we do something good. I know we want to win.” Mayo is remaining positive despite tough times. “There’s a lot to play for,” Mayo said. “It only takes [four wins] to get in the [NCAA] tournament. We’ve got figure out how to play together.” “One we get a win, I think you’ll be really shocked at what we can do,” Collins added.
“Stewart makes it flow a little better, that’s what he does,” Mayo said. “If we keep moving without the ball, he’s going to find me.” Stewart’s father, Eric, said before the game, that foot was still pretty swollen. “Spencer just came back, and he played with pain,” Collins said. “You know what, he played so hard. It was like watching a different movie with him out there. He made some mistakes, but he played so hard.” “It was great to be back,” Stewart added. “I missed it a lot. Not being able to go out there and play, you just feel locked out. My foot’s coming along. Hopefully, I’ll be able to do a little more next time to contribute.” FLAMES FLICKERS: Sulskis was whistled for a technical foul for cursing at an official after committing a personal foul midway through the second half. … UIC is now tied for eighth place in the league with Valparaiso, just one game ahead of Detroit, who comes to the Pavilion on Tuesday. … The game with the Titans tips off at 7 p.m. Tuesday with coverage on the Horizon League Network and WIND-AM 560. |
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