Seniors Power Penguins Past Co-League Leader Wright State
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wright State (14-6, 5-2 HL) | 25 | 36 | 61 |
| Youngstown State (11-8, 3-3 HL) | 28 | 40 | 68 |
| Youngstown, Ohio (Beeghly Center) | |||
| Wright State | Youngstown State |
|---|---|
| Pts: YOUNG, Jerran - 18 | Pts: Damian Eargle - 18 |
| Reb: SLEDGE, Tavares - 5 | Reb: Kendrick Perry - 10 |
| Ast: 3 Players (#05, #24, #30 - 2) | Ast: 2 Players (#03, #11 - 5) |
| Team Statistics | Wright State | Youngstown State |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goal % | 39.7% (25-63 ) | 50.0% (24-48 ) |
| Rebounds | 31 | 34 |
| Assists | 9 | 13 |
| Turnovers | 14 | 18 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 18 | 17 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 10 | 3 |
| Pts in the Paint | 36 | 28 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 4 | 8 |
| Bench Pts | 33 | 4 |
Youngstown State seniors Blake Allen and Damian Eargle combined for 35 points as the Penguins picked up a key 68-61 Horizon League victory over Wright State on Wednesday night at the Beeghly Center.
The victory improves YSU to 11-8 overall and evens its Horizon League mark at 3-3. Wright State falls to 14-6 overall and 5-2 in league play.
Eargle scored 18 points, including 10 in the second half, while Allen had 17, including 10 in the second stanza. Kendrick Perry finished with 14 points for the Penguins who have now won two straight contests to even their league record. Perry also collected 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the campaign. Kamren Belin contributed 10 as YSU had four players reach double figures.
A strong second half helped push the Penguins to the victory in large part thanks to a pair of 8-0 runs at key points. From the field in the second half, YSU shot 57.1 percent making 12-of-21 shots from the field while the Raiders made just 14-of-37 in the stanza (37.8 percent).
Early in the second half the Penguins went on an 8-0 spurt turning a 35-33 lead into a 43-33 advantage. Leading by two at the 16:20 mark, Perry drained a 3-pointer to make the contest 38-33 then DJ Cole connected from long range to push the advantage up to 41-33.
The basket at 10:03 came on a shot-clock beating layup from Allen as Cole found him just outside the paint while driving the lane.
Wright State whittled the Penguins lead to 46-42 on a hanger in the lane by Miles Dixon, but YSU went on another 8-0 to take a 54-42 lead when Allen drained a clutch 3-pointer at the 4:48 mark.
Wright State pulled within seven points on three occasions in the last three minutes, including the final margin, but could not get any closer.
YSU shot 50 percent (24-of-48) for the game while Wright State made 25-of-63 (39.7 percent). The Guins made 15-of-19 free-throw attempts while WSU made just five from the line. The high scored for the Raiders was Jerran Young who scored 18 points coming off the bench.
An entertaining and fast-paced first half featured eight lead changes, but just a single tie (15-15). At the break the Penguins grabbed a 28-25 advantage.
The Guins made one more field goal then that Raiders (12-11) while both teams attempted 26 shots. Both teams also attempted four free throws with YSU making three to WSU's one.
YSU maintained the lead in the first four minutes of the contest before Wright State held the advantage of the next three minutes. After some back-and-forth action for the next five minutes, YSU grabbed the lead for good on two Perry free throws. The Guins pushed the advantage to 19-15 on a 3-pointer by Belin at the 7:42 mark. Two-and-a-half minutes later, YSU led by six following a baseline drive and dunk by Shawn Amiker and a nifty tipin by Bobby Hain.
Five consecutive points by Wright State cut the deficit to 23-22 at the 3:59 mark before YSU scored the next five points to go in front 28-22 on a layup followed by an and-one for Allen.
The Penguins return to action on Saturday when they play host to Cleveland State. Tipoff at the Beeghly Center is set for 2:05 p.m. and the game is the Horizon League Network's Game of the Week and will carried live on 570 WKBN.
