2008 Woodie Awards
Off the mark: Penguins lose to Wright State
Andrew Berry, Sports Editor
Issue date: 2/12/08 Section: Sports
The Penguin offense struggled to find any kind of rhythm in a 50-47 loss Saturday to Wright State.
Despite a wave of arms in his face and slight imbalance, Youngstown State University senior John Barber said he had a good look at the basket as he went up for a potential game-tying 3-pointer with time running out in the second half of the men's basketball game Saturday night.
After taking a timeout with just over seven seconds to play, head coach Jerry Slocum and the team drew up a play to get the ball into the hands of their star forward. After putting together his best career performance, there was no question Barber would be getting the rock for the final shot.
Barber played lights out against the Raiders all night, scoring a career high 25 points in the game. He was responsible for the Penguins' first 8 points of the night and scored 13 before the half.
But much like the rest of the Penguins' shots Saturday night at the Beeghly Center, Barber's bid to send the game into overtime wobbled disappointingly out of the rim, allowing Wright State to claim a 50-47 over the men's team.
Even though Barber played all but one minute of the game, his best effort couldn't force the two teams to play an extra five minutes of bonus basketball. Despite being the only Penguin to score in double figures, Barber didn't lay blame on his teammates.
"It's not their fault," Barber said. "I don't really like the moral-victory thing, but I think we all played well."
While the team had numerous good looks at the basket all night, the Penguin shooters were rejected more so by the rim of the basket than the Wright State defense as several shots jumped right out of the hoop.
The Raider defense did, however, do a tremendous job containing the Penguins' senior guard Byron Davis who was met with several double-teams the closer he got to the basket. Davis was forced into having an atypical off-night, scoring just 4 points with no assists in 34 minutes played.
Despite a wave of arms in his face and slight imbalance, Youngstown State University senior John Barber said he had a good look at the basket as he went up for a potential game-tying 3-pointer with time running out in the second half of the men's basketball game Saturday night.
After taking a timeout with just over seven seconds to play, head coach Jerry Slocum and the team drew up a play to get the ball into the hands of their star forward. After putting together his best career performance, there was no question Barber would be getting the rock for the final shot.
Barber played lights out against the Raiders all night, scoring a career high 25 points in the game. He was responsible for the Penguins' first 8 points of the night and scored 13 before the half.
But much like the rest of the Penguins' shots Saturday night at the Beeghly Center, Barber's bid to send the game into overtime wobbled disappointingly out of the rim, allowing Wright State to claim a 50-47 over the men's team.
Even though Barber played all but one minute of the game, his best effort couldn't force the two teams to play an extra five minutes of bonus basketball. Despite being the only Penguin to score in double figures, Barber didn't lay blame on his teammates.
"It's not their fault," Barber said. "I don't really like the moral-victory thing, but I think we all played well."
While the team had numerous good looks at the basket all night, the Penguin shooters were rejected more so by the rim of the basket than the Wright State defense as several shots jumped right out of the hoop.
The Raider defense did, however, do a tremendous job containing the Penguins' senior guard Byron Davis who was met with several double-teams the closer he got to the basket. Davis was forced into having an atypical off-night, scoring just 4 points with no assists in 34 minutes played.
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