YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State coach Jerry Slocum can’t predict good things for his men’s basketball team if there is a repeat performance of the loss to Green Bay last weekend.

The Penguins’ transition defense failed in a 90-77 setback, allowing 28 points on 17 turnovers.

Tonight on the road, against an up-tempo Northern Kentucky team, YSU (7-8, 1-1 Horizon League) can’t let the Norse (10-5, 1-1) capitalize on those same miscues.

Northern Kentucky averages 76.4 points per game and has four players averaging in double figures, led by Lavone Holland II (16.5). Cole Murray is the Norse’s top 3-point shooter (48-of-113).

“We have to do a much, much better job than we did on Saturday,” Slocum said.

It’s not the only thing YSU has to remedy before tonight.

The Penguins have shot 50 percent the last two games from the free-throw line.

Slocum said good foul shooters like Cameron Morse, Francisco Santiago and Rahim Williams have gone to the line, but with little to no success.

“These things are like turnovers, poor foul shooting,” Slocum said. “It’s a virus that creeps up every once in a while in your program. You have to give it some medicine and get rid of it. That medicine is hard work and fundamentals.”

Morse, who is the fourth-leading scorer in the country and second in the Horizon League (23.1), and Santiago have consistently scored in double figures. Matt Donlan, who scores 10.7 a contest, has averaged four the last two games.

“Matt has struggled,” Slocum said. “He knows it. You know it. I know it. He’s a great kid, good player. Shooters are going to have slumps. That’s the nature of this game. You’re not going to go through a five-month season without having little ups and downs. He’s in a low, but I’m very confident he’ll be out of it.”

As for Morse, the brunt of the scoring can’t be loaded on his shoulders, Slocum said. The starting backcourt of Santiago (13.0) and Morse average in double figures.

“You need to get that one more guy to give you an offensive lift, and defensive lift,” he said. “You need that too.”

HONORS: Cleveland native and freshman forward Braun Hartfield was this week’s Horizon League Freshman of the Week. He averaging 8.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in the last two games.

He had eight points and a career-high 11 rebounds in YSU’s double-overtime win over Milwaukee. Hartfield added two assists and a career-high three blocks.

He had nine points, six rebounds and another block against Green Bay.

Over the last five games, Hartfield is averaging 7.8 points and 5.6 rebounds in just 18.8 minutes per game.

“Braun has played really, really well,” Slocum said. “You look at Matt struggling, but we got good production out of that four position with Braun playing really well. Happy for him. He works hard. He’s one of our hardest-working kids. That’s a nice honor for him.”

THIS WEEKEND: On Saturday, YSU plays at Wright State. Tipoff is at 4 p.m. Scott Nagy took over for Billy Donlan in the offseason as Wright State head coach. Nagy coached at South Dakota State University, where YSU’s Matt Donlan spent two seasons.

“Nagy at Wright State is a good basketball coach,” Slocum said. “He’s been around a long time. Won a lot of basketball games. Very solid fundamentally.”

Slocum said the Raiders (10-5, 1-1), who host Cleveland State tonight, are led by a Horizon League Player of the Year candidate in Mark Alstork. He averages almost 20 points a game and shoots better than 86 percent from the foul line.