Horizon League Men's Basketball Results (Thursday, Jan. 5)
Cleveland State 73, UIC 56
Youngstown State 68, Loyola 64 (ot)
Just another night in Horizon League men's basketball, with another conference game coming down to the wire. At the Beeghly Center, Youngstown State scrapped past Loyola in overtime, while Cleveland State rolled past UIC.
Youngstown State 68, Loyola 64 (ot)
In the 12th Horizon League men's basketball game to be within a possession in the final minute of regulation, Youngstown State needed five extra minutes to overcome Loyola, 68-64, at the Beeghly Center.
The win boosted Youngstown State (8-6, 3-1 Horizon) into a four-way tie atop the Horizon League as the program collected its 1,000th victory. Loyola (5-10, 0-5 Horizon) made the Penguins work throughout, having a chance to win in regulation behind the massive efforts of Ben Averkamp and Walt Gibler.
Averkamp and Gibler combined for 30 of Loyola 36 second-half points, helping the Ramblers overcome a 29-22 halftime deficit. Averkamp had 14 of his 23 points in the half, while Gibler notched a double-double with 16 points and 11 boards in the 20-minute session. However, Averkamp's at the end of regulation came up short, sending the game to the extra session.
Gibler scored four of his 26 to open the OT, helping Loyola take leads of 60-58 and 62-60, but Youngstown State would answer on each occasion, with Damian Eargle knocking down a jumper and Kendrick Perry darting to the rim for a layup to put the Penguins ahead 63-62, with 2:05 to play, just 24 seconds after Averkamp collected his fifth foul of the night.
Still, a Joe Crisman jumper gave Loyola a 64-63 edge with 106 seconds to play before Eargle drained a baseline jumper to restore YSU's one-point lead. The Penguins stood firm on on the defensive end, with Ashen Ward coming up with a steal and knocking down two free throws with 33 seconds remaining to push the YSU lead to 67-64.
DuShawn Brooks split a pair of freebies with 12 seconds left to seal the win. After going 7-for-19 at the free throw line in the first 44 minutes of play, YSU hit three of its final four attempts.
In the final 10:30 of regulation, the lead changed hands seven times, with Ward and Blake Allen knocking down threes to give Youngstown State leads before Loyola responded with jumpers from Averkamp and Gibler. Ward led four Penguin starters with 21 points, while Eagle added 14, finishing a rebound shy of a rebound.
Kendrick Perry added 13 and Allen 11. Loyola limited the Penguins' three-point shooters to a 6-of-19 night, three below YSU's season average.
Cleveland State 73, UIC 56
Knocking down eight of its season-high 11 three-pointers in the first half, Cleveland State raced out to a 21-point lead en route to a 73-56 victory over visiting UIC.
Cleveland State (13-3, 3-1 Horizon) shook off a disappoint loss from Saturday to force 12 UIC (5-10, 1-4 Horizon) turnovers, converting the miscues into 12 first-half points, when combined with the Vikings' marksmanship from three-point range, fueled Cleveland State.
The Vikings shot 8-of-13 from three-point range in the opening half, with six different Vikings knocking down triples. Cleveland State's prowess extended to Marlin Mason, whose redshirt was lifted before the game. As evidence of the Vikings' shooting, Mason drilled his first collegiate attempt, a three that pushed Cleveland State's lead to 24-8 11:28 into the game.
Charlie Lee, making his first career start, had 10 points in the first half, punctuated by a layup that gave the Vikings their largest lead of the half, 29-8. Cleveland State would lead by as many as 27 in the game, eventually settling on an 11-for-20 effort from three-point range.
Lee finished with 13 points and five assists, one of three Vikings with 13 points on the night, joining D'Aundray Brown and Anton Grady. Jeremy Montgomery paced a balanced attack with 14 points, going 4-for-6 from long range. Over his last three games, Montgomery is 16-for-26 from beyond the three-point arc.
UIC struggled from the field throughout the night, going just 17-for-56 in suffering its first defeat in Horizon League play by more than four points. Hayden Humes led the Flames with eight points.
