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Horizon Connection

YSU Chills Ramblers

2/06/03
by John C. Thomas
Poor shooting and some missed free throws down the stretch dropped Loyola to 4-6 in the conference season as the Ramblers lost to Youngstown State 65-63 Thursday night at the Beeghly Center. The loss puts Loyola in a tie with the Penguins for fifth place in the conference.

Loyola started slow, hitting on only one of their first eight shots from the field. Nevertheless, the Ramblers built an early 8-2 lead before the Penguins surged back to tie the game at 17 with 6:50 remaining in the first half. When the Ramblers took a 22-21 lead with 5:06 left, it was their last score for the next 4:31 as the Penguins took a 31-22 lead into the last minute.

But Loyola scored seven points in 27 seconds on a basket, a Louis Smith three pointer, and two free throws on a technical foul called on YSU's Coach John Robic. The Penguins led 31-29 at the break.

The Penguins opened an eight point lead midway through the second half, but the Ramblers clawed back to take a one point lead on an 11-2 run that put Loyola on top 60-59 with 2:30 left to play. Almost two minutes later, the Penguins led 64-63 with David Bailey at the line for the Ramblers. Bailey, an 85% free throw shooter, missed the front end of the one-and-one, and the Ramblers did not score again.

David Bailey led all scorers with 21 points, including 16 in the second half. Paul McMillan added 13 for Loyola, and Terrance Whiters had 12 points coming off the bench. Doug Underwood led the Penguins with 19 points.

Loyola's frontcourt shot only 9-of-31 from the field (29%). Demetrius Williams, who scored 22 points in the last game against UWM, was only 3-of-11 from the field for six total points. The only thing that kept Loyola in the game was the Penguins' futility at the free throw line-the Penguins hit only eight of their 20 chances. But it was three missed free throws by Paul McMillan and David Bailey in the last minute of the game that allowed YSU to prevail.