By: Andrew Gavin (@GBGavin)
GreenBayPhoenix.com
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (GreenBayPhoenix.com)
- Green Bay (15-12, 9-5 HL) outrebounded Youngstown State (15-12, 7-7 HL)
39-24, held the Penguins to their lowest point total of the season and used a
15-3 second half run sparked by sophomore Keifer
Sykes (Chicago, Ill.) to cruise to a 71-54 road win at the Beeghly Center. Sykes
scored 19 second-half points for the second-straight game, finishing with 24
points to spark the Phoenix to a third-straight win.
With Sykes in foul trouble, juniors Alec Brown (Winona, Minn.) and Sultan
Muhammad (Grand Rapids, Mich.) picked up the slack. Brown scored 12 of his
16 points in the first half, and Muhammad scored six points during an 8-0 run
to put Green Bay up 33-25 at the half.
Youngstown State jumped out quickly in the second half,
scoring 11 of the first 13 points to turn the deficit into a 1-point lead
(37-36) with 16:35 to play.
Sykes took over, finding Brown for a dunk and knocking
down a triple to start a 15-3 run. After YSU scored, Sykes scored on a
three-point play and by the 9:47 mark the score was 50-39.
The Penguins cut the deficit to 51-46, but Muhammad
buried a three-pointer on the next possession and Green Bay used a 13-2 run to
put the game away, leading by as many as 19 points. The Phoenix made 11-of-12
free throws in the final five minutes and finished the game 17-for-20.
Freshman Jordan
Fouse (Racine, Wis.) continued his sensational freshman season, posting a
double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds and added two assists, one block
and three steals in 37 minutes.
Muhammad scored nine points with a pair of three-pointers,
sophomore Greg Mays (Chicago, Ill.)
and senior Brennan Cougill (Sioux
City, Iowa) added six points and six rebounds apiece.
In the end, Sykes stole the show again. The sophomore
made 5-of-6 shots from the field and hit 8-of-9 free throws after halftime. In
the team's two wins this weekend, Sykes scored 38 of his 47 points in the second
half, making 12-of-23 shots from the field and 17-of-19 at the line.
Sitting in third place in the Horizon League, Green Bay
will take a break from conference play this weekend, playing at Drake on
Saturday night at 7 p.m. in a BracketBusters contest in Des Moines, Iowa.
###
Single-game tickets for all Phoenix home games are on
sale with the Green Bay Athletics Ticket Office. For more information and to
order tickets, please call 920.465.2625, visit the athletics department offices
in the Kress Events Center or access GreenBayPhoenix.com/tickets.
For the latest and most up-to-date information on Green
Bay Athletics, please visit GreenBayPhoenix.com.
Follow us on Twitter: @GBPhoenix, @GBPhoenixMBB and @GBGavin.
Like Green
Bay Phoenix men's basketball and Green
Bay Phoenix Athletics on Facebook.
