Staff photo / Neel Madhavan. YSU forward Ziggy Reid drives against a Cleveland State defender on Saturday at the Wolstein Center.

CLEVELAND — Much has changed since the first time Youngstown State and Cleveland State faced off this season at the end of November.

The Penguins are a different team than they were back then, and so are the Vikings. But one thing still remains the same — it’s hard to win on the road in the Horizon League.

Cleveland State’s much-improved defense wreaked havoc on YSU, and18 turnovers were ultimately too much to overcome, as the Vikings knocked off the Penguins 81-73 on Saturday at the Wolstein Center.

“It was just a repeat pattern today. It was just one of those days,” head coach Jerrod Calhoun said. “We threw it all over the gym, whether it was in transition, pick and roll (or) out of the post. You’ve gotta credit Cleveland State. They did a really good job defensively. It’s life on the road in college basketball — none of these games are easy.”

The Vikings have now won seven straight games against the Penguins in Cleveland, as YSU hasn’t won at the Wolstein Center since 2018.

With Bryson Langdon, one of YSU’s primary ball handlers, in foul trouble for most of the game, the Penguins’ margin for error offensively was slim to none against Cleveland State’s long, physical defensive pressure.

As a result, YSU’s 18 turnovers turned into 27 points for the Vikings and several run outs, as Cleveland State finished with 22 fast-break points.

“There were some self-inflicted things and we were moving too fast, I feel like,” Ziggy Reid said. “Credit to Cleveland State’s defense, they really pressured. We have things we could have done better. We have 48 hours to just think about it, rewatch the film and see the things we can get better at.”

Reid led all scorers with 14 points at halftime, but managed just five points in the second half, as the Vikings adapted how they defended YSU’s primary scoring options offensively.

“They just denied the wings, so it was difficult to try to get our offense going,” Reid said. “They were denying DJ a lot. … I was struggling to get to my spots with all the double teams, so I was forced to pass. Cleveland State’s defense adjusted well.”

Still, even with the offensive struggles, YSU finished with five players scoring in double figures, led by 19 from Reid. DJ Burns had 11 points and 12 rebounds for his 10th straight double-double, and his 18th of the season. EJ Farmer (12), Brett Thompson (12) and Brandon Rush (10) were the other three in double figures for the Penguins.

Tristan Enaruna led the Vikings with a monster game. Playing all 40 minutes, Enaruna finished with 31 points, with 20 coming in the second half.

With the loss, YSU falls to 19-9 overall and 11-6 in the Horizon League and is now two games behind Oakland and Green Bay in the Horizon League standings.

Now with just three games remaining in the regular season, YSU’s chances of defending its regular season conference title continue to shrink. But the Penguins still have their sights set on the postseason tournament March 5-12.

“I hate to say it, but a three-game tournament is all that matters at this level,” Calhoun said. “Whoever wins the regular season, they’re going to hang a banner, they’re going to get a ring, but the reality is, they’re only going to the NIT. So we’re not going to discredit whoever wins it — Green Bay or Oakland — because it is really hard.

“When they took that away from us, I think it’s all about the tournament. So we’ve gotta take care of ourselves, we’ve gotta get a top-four seed, we’ve gotta get a first-round bye and then a home game. Because if not, then you have to play four games to get to the NCAA tournament instead of three.”

YSU has a long layoff until its Wisconsin road trip that begins at Milwaukee on Feb. 23, followed by a visit to Green Bay on Feb. 25. The Penguins then wrap up the regular season at home against Detroit Mercy on Feb. 28.

“At the end of the day, at this time of year, you’ve gotta be playing your best basketball,” Calhoun said. “We’re like everybody else. We’re kind of a rollercoaster, so we’re not a great team yet. But you’ve gotta be great for three games (in the conference tournament). So we’ve gotta somehow regroup and get some momentum heading into this tournament. I think that’s the biggest thing.”

nmadhavan@tribtoday.com