GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) - Through the first 30 minutes of Saturday's game, things
were not going as planned for head coach Brian
Wardle and his Green Bay team. By the end of the contest, with the help of the
Resch Center crowd and increased defensive intensity, sophomore Seth Evans (Seneca, Ill.) and the
Phoenix were putting the finishing touches on a 74-59 victory over visiting
Youngstown State (4-3, 0-2 HL) at the Resch Center.
Green
Bay's (4-4, 1-1) first conference victory came despite trailing by as many as
eight points with 10:10 to play, but the Phoenix used a 17-1 run capped by Evans'
second triple of the half to turn that deficit into an eight-point lead (63-55)
with 3:51 on the clock.
"They
fed off the energy of the crowd, they got themselves going and we started
getting stops," said head coach Wardle. "From there on out, we made that run to
end the game. We just fed off the crowd and the energy, and it was a big win
for our team, our coaches and the fans supporting this young team."
Youngstown
State used a strong start to turn a three-point halftime deficit (35-32) into
the eight-point lead. The Penguins hit seven of their first 10 shots from the
field in the second half to put Green Bay in the hole.
It
was Green Bay's defense, and some clutch three-pointers from Evans, that reversed the team's fortunes Saturday.
"For
the first 30 minutes, we were a pretty average team," Wardle said. "That is
something I am learning is to be patient with this group and to be calm. We had
a huddle at the 10-minute mark about getting stops and rebounding the ball. I
said that is all you have to do to win this game."
After
five points from junior Steve Baker (St. Paul, Minn.) and senior Rahmon Fletcher (Kansas City, Mo.), Evans capped an 8-0 spurt with a three
at the 7:46 mark. After a YSU free throw, Baker made the play of the game for
the Phoenix, converting a three-point play that gave the Phoenix the lead for
good.
Baker
hit all five of his field goal attempts and went 3-for-3 from the line for the
Phoenix to score 13 points. He added five rebounds and four assists.
Moments
later, another Evans' three-pointer provided the dagger as Green Bay's lead
ballooned to eight.
"Steve
Baker's play down the stretch was huge defensively, Alec Brown was really
active on the glass, Troy Snyder had a couple of big rotations on defense and
Seth Evans is a guy who had been struggling a little bit, but he let his
defense dictate his offense tonight, and he hit some big shots," Wardle said of
the rally.
Evans'
three makes from long range led to a season-high 13 points from the sophomore,
who was averaging 4.1 points per game entering Saturday.
"We
have been telling him all year that is what we need him to do," Fletcher said
of Evans. "He is here to defend and knock down open shots. I do not think he
forced the shots he hit, he just took rhythm shots and knocked them down."
Fletcher
himself had a strong game to lead the Phoenix. The all-conference guard bounced
back from an illness which limited his effectiveness on Thursday night in a
loss to Cleveland State to score a game-high 19 points Saturday. He added six
assists, five rebounds and four steals in one of his best all-around games of
the young season.
Evans
and redshirt freshman Clayton Heuer
(Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) led Green Bay to a 28-8 edge in bench points. Heuer
scored all seven of his career-high seven points in the opening half to help the
Phoenix to a 35-32 lead at the break.
Sophomore
Troy Snyder (Bolingbrook, Ill.) and Evans each had six rebounds to help
Green Bay outrebound the Penguins 44-28. Six different players had at least
five rebounds for the Phoenix.
With
two conference games in the books, Green Bay will step away from conference
play for its next four games. The Phoenix will conclude a four-game homestand
on Wednesday, hosting Duquesne at 7 p.m.
For
more information on individual game tickets or season tickets or Pick 5
packages, please visit GreenBayPhoenix.com/tickets
or call the Green Bay ticket office at 920.465.2625.
GREEN BAY 74, YOUNGSTOWN STATE 59
YOUNGSTOWN STATE (4-3, 0-2 HL)
EARGLE,
Damian 6-13 1-5 13; SULSKIS, Vytas 4-8 3-4 11; MAYMON, Devonte 2-5 5-7 10;
PERRY, Kendrick 4-6 2-2 10; WARD, Ashen 3-7 0-0 7; BROOKS, DuShawn 2-8 2-2 6;
BREWER, Tre 1-1 0-0 2; BOUDLER, Dan 0-0 0-0 0; ALLEN, Blake 0-1 0-0 0. Totals
22-49 13-20 59.
GREEN BAY (4-4, 1-1 HL)
FLETCHER,
Rahmon 6-17 6-6 19; BAKER, Steve 5-5 3-3 13; EVANS, Seth 3-4 4-4 13; HEUER,
Clayton 3-7 0-0 7; PERINE, Bryquis 2-11 1-2 5; TURNER, Daniel 2-5 0-4 5; BROWN,
Alec 2-7 0-0 4; SNYDER, Troy 2-3 0-0 4; LESAGE, Greg 1-2 0-0 2; SEMENAS, Derek
1-3 0-0 2. Totals 27-64 14-19 74.
Youngstown State.............. 32
27 - 59
Green
Bay......................... 35 39
- 74
