Staff photo / Neel Madhavan. YSU's Cris Carroll drives to the basket through contact during the Penguins' loss to IU Indy on Saturday at the Beeghly Center.

YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State’s recent defensive struggles were bound to catch up to it at some point.

They finally got the best of the Penguins on Saturday, as YSU allowed an opponent to shoot above 47% for the fifth time in its last six Horizon League games in an 84-79 home loss to IU Indy.

“We’re not playing very well on the defensive end of the floor. We gotta get our mojo back defensively, gotta get our toughness back,” head coach Ethan Faulkner said. “We have to be able to sit down and guard the basketball. … I’ve said it over and over that all these games are hard. We gotta play better basketball, and that’s on me to figure out what we gotta do to be better. I have to be better — it’s not just on our guys, it’s on me as well.”

IU Indy shot 47% both overall and from the 3-point line, while knocking down 11 threes.

With how teams have shot the ball in recent games against the Penguins, it leaves them searching for answers for how to get the defense back to where it was during their eight-game winning streak earlier this season when they were holding teams to 64.3 points per game.

“We know we can hold teams to a lot less than how many points they had tonight,” fifth-year forward Nico Galette said. “We’re usually real good with that — keeping up ball pressure, disrupting them and not letting them get in the flow. But recently, it seems like teams are coming in here and shooting lights out.”

The Jaguars’ duo of DeSean Goode and Paul Zilinskas proved to be a thorn in the Penguins’ side all day, as they provided the brunt of IU Indy’s scoring and shooting, combining for 43 points.

Goode pulled down six offensive rebounds and turned those into second-chance points for IU Indy. He was efficient finishing in the post, while also being a perfect 3-of-3 from deep.

“We had some breakdowns in our ball screen coverage, obviously some breakdowns with defensive rebounding,” Faulkner said. “Zilinskas is a good player — he’s a guy that can score the basketball in a lot of different ways, make open shots and drive the ball to the rim. I thought our problems defensively started on the ball for most of the night, just guys living in the paint.”

Even with the defensive shortcomings, it didn’t help that the Penguins combined to shoot 4-for-27 (14.8%) from beyond the 3-point arc. The Penguins’ starting backcourt of Jason Nelson, Ty Harper and Juwan Maxey were a combined 0-for-13 from three.

It was YSU’s worst outside shooting performance since it shot 18.5% in a loss to Western Michigan on Nov. 27.

“It’s been a steady struggle for us most of the year,” Faulkner said of the outside shooting. “I thought their zone bothered us and didn’t think we had great flow offensively. Then when we did get open shots, we struggled to make them. It’s hard to win when you shoot 4-for-27 from three and the other team goes 11-for-23 — that’s a drastic difference in the 3-point line. That’s certainly been a concern for us all year, but we gotta step up and make open shots.”

With the guards struggling outside of EJ Farmer, who relentlessly attacked the basket to finish with a team-high 22 points, YSU relied on its forwards to carry itself offensively for most of the afternoon.

Both Galette and Cris Carroll lived in the post for most of the game, as YSU outscored IU Indy 50-34 on points in the paint. Carroll had 17 points, which included hitting three triples, while Galette put together his fifth double-double of the season with 16 points and 14 rebounds.

“We were trying not to look for threes, especially after the first half when we found out how good we were shooting from two,” Galette said. “We felt like one-on-one off the bounce, these guys couldn’t match up with it. So we were trying to get to the rim a lot.”

After their four-game homestand, the Penguins head back on the road this week for their annual Michigan swing at Oakland on Thursday at 7 p.m. and Detroit Mercy on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Staff photo / Neel Madhavan. YSU honored program legend Jeff Covington (center) during Saturday’s game against IU Indy. University president Bill Johnson (right) and Youngstown mayor Jamael Tito Brown (left) join the Beeghly Center crowd with an ovation for Covington.

A PROGRAM GREAT RETURNS

For Penguins legend Jeff Covington, his time in Youngstown during the 1970s was all about the people that left a mark on him.

Former YSU coach Dom Rosselli recruited Covington from his hometown of Washington D.C. and was instrumental, along with many others, in helping shape his “trajectory in life” after his time on campus.

“I had somebody to talk to. Some young people don’t have no one they can talk to,” Covington said. “I trusted Coach Rosselli, and he knew it and he trusted me too. … Growing up, 18 years old, I didn’t know anything. So as I talked to him, he helped guide me through certain things, and it was very helpful.”

Covington played for the Penguins from 1974-78, when he became the program’s all-time leading scorer with 2,424 career points and second all-time rebounder with 1,381 career rebounds. He was a three-time NABC Division II All-American and was inducted into YSU’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame in November last year.

Covington had a chance to take in the Penguins’ practice on Friday, where he addressed the team, discussing his life and some of the things he’s gone through.

Then at the end of the first half of Saturday’s game, YSU recognized Covington on Rosselli Court for his decorated career. Athletic director Ron Strollo and university president Bill Johnson were on hand, while Youngstown mayor Jamael Tito Brown presented Covington with a key to the city.

“Hearing the reception — when I was here during those four years, we had great fans,” Covington said. “They would come in, cheer you and applaud you, and you really appreciate that. So it brings back a lot of memories that I continue to have because they were a great four years that I was here.

“When they called me, I cried like a little boy on the phone because you don’t expect that. You just do good as a man and hope that you can give something back. It was just so nice, and I’m honored to be here.”