Defense first for YSU
Penguins knock off Norse to snap streak
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YOUNGSTOWN -- The focus was there for Youngstown State on Saturday, especially on defense.
The Penguins men's basketball team held Northern Kentucky in check during the second half as YSU snapped a five-game losing streak at the Beeghly Center, 81-77.
Defense was the key for the Penguins in the second half as YSU held Northern Kentucky to 13 of 36 from the floor and 0 of 14 from 3.
"I thought it was won on the defensive end, even though they scored 77 points," YSU coach Jerry Slocum said. "I thought the last 3 minutes we were special defensively."
Northern Kentucky had the second-best 3-point percentage in the league coming into Saturday's game. YSU was the ninth best out of 10 teams in guarding the 3.
"You take those weapons away from them and force them to do something they're not as good at, that's when you can get wins," YSU senior Matt Donlan said.
Cameron Morse, who had a team-high 20 points for YSU (11-18, 5-11 Horizon League), hit a shot from the left elbow with 35 seconds remaining to put the Penguins up 81-77.
Besides Morse, YSU had five players in double figures -- Donlan (14), Jorden Kaufman (12), Braun Hartfield (12) and Francisco Santiago (10).
"The elbow is one of my sweet spots," Morse said. "I knew if I were to go left, get my bounce a little bit, got to the elbow and knock the shot down."
YSU had 19 assists to six turnovers -- two in the first half.
"Sometimes it's good when they play as hard as they did defensively to take away Cam and find open guys," Slocum said. "I thought we shared the ball incredibly well tonight."
More importantly, Morse has seven assists and no turnovers.
"I thought it was one of Cam's best performances in terms of being patient and sharing the ball," Slocum said. "I thought he had a good night against Wright State (35 points). I think those are the things he's growing in to."
Donlan and Devin Haygood made blocks on 3-pointers in the last minute and a half.
"It's one of those things where he's coming downhill at us," Donlan said. "Cisco did a good job keeping him in front of him. It's really contesting the shot. He didn't get off the ground. I made the block in the corner. The one with Dev was a big play. That's one of those things if that drops, the momentum could shift their way."
Northern Kentucky (18-10, 9-6) came out in the second half and held a 56-48 lead on Brennan Gillis' layup.
Santiago sliced through middle of the NKU defense, weaving in and out of the Norse interior, and found a wide-open Braun Hartfield with 12:30 remaining to cut it to 57-52. Santiago then had a 3 with 10:40 left to cut the Norse lead to 59-57. Donlan's pass from half-court to Haygood eventually was slammed down with 10:06 remaining, knotting the contest at 59.
NKU went on a 6-0 run, capped by two Mason Faulkner free throws with 8:11 remaining to go up 65-59. Morse found Santiago slashing toward the basket with 7:30 remaining as NKU led 65-63. Carson Williams' two free throws with 5:09 left put the Norse up 74-69. Williams had 11 points.
Morse's 1 of 2 from the line closed the NKU gap to 74-72 with 4:12 remaining. Faulkner, who led NKU with 16 off the bench, made two free throws with a minute left to trail YSU, 79-77.
Drew McDonald had 14 points for the Norse.
Overall, YSU shot 33 of 68 from the floor and 5 of 17 from 3, and it had balanced scoring and a great assist-to-turnover ratio.
Blocks like Donlan and Haygood had late, along with scrambling to 50-50 balls and the like, is what Slocum said this team needs to not come up short in games, which has been issue throughout the season.
"Those are the kind of effort plays that it takes to win close ball games," Slocum said. "Let's hope we can continue that this POSITIVE thing. I give our kids credit.
"… When you've lost a lot of close games, those guys deserve a lot of credit instead of a lot of criticism."