Youngstown State University
(3-2)
James Madison
(1-2)
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Madison | 25 | 44 | 69 |
| Youngstown State | 32 | 36 | 68 |
James Madison Rallies in Final Minute to Beat YSU 69-68
11/20/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Pittsburgh, Pa. -- James Madison scored five points in the final 23 seconds to rally and defeat the Youngstown State men's basketball team 69-68 on Tuesday at the A.J. Palumbo Center.
The loss overshadows a memorable night for YSU senior forward Damian Eargle. The Warren Harding graduate scored his 1,000th career point on a bucket at the 15:15 mark of the second half, and he also broke YSU's career blocks record.
After missing two free throws on YSU's previous possession, Blake Allen made two from the line to put YSU ahead 68-64 with 28 seconds left. Alioune Diouf hit a 3-pointer for James Madison five seconds later to cut the margin to one at 68-67. Eargle then missed on a fast-break contested lay-up, and Shawn Amiker missed the tip-in as the Penguins had an empty possession.
Charles Cook was fouled and made two free throws to give James Madison the lead with eight seconds left, and Kendrick Perry's fade-away jumper was off the mark at the buzzer.
James Madison led for only 45 seconds the entire contest, all of which came in the second half. The Dukes led from 16:37 to 16:19, 8:08 to 7:49 and the final eight seconds.
Eargle finished the night with 17 points, six rebounds, and six blocks while going 5-for-7 from the field in 28 minutes. Kamren Belin had 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, while Allen had 14 points and Perry and Amiker had 12 apiece.
James Madison, which improved to 1-2 in the young season, got 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting from Rayshawn Goins. Diouf, the other starting forward, finished with 15 points on 6-for-12 shooting. The Dukes outscored the Penguins 36-24 in the paint and committed just two turnovers in the second half. YSU dropped to 3-2.
The Dukes scored the first four points of the second half as part of an 11-3 run and took their first lead of the game at 36-35 with 16:37 remaining. Eargle answered with a bucket less than 20 seconds later and scored five straight points as YSU went up 40-36. Allen hit a 3-pointer off of a Belin rebound with 10:22 remaining to put the Penguins on top 49-42, but the Red and White did not hit a field goal for more than four minutes.
James Madison scored the next seven points and tied the score at 49-49 and took a 51-50 lead at the 8:08 mark, but Eargle split four free throws to put YSU up 52-51 with 6:49 left. Perry then hit a 3-pointer with 6:00 remaining to push the Penguins' lead to 55-51.
Eargle then had a two-handed dunk in traffic and added a free throw to put YSU up 58-53, and Allen hit a 3-pointer out of a timeout as the Penguins went up 61-55 with 3:43 left. That was their final field goal of the contest.
Two Amiker free throws with 1:14 left had the Penguins ahead 66-60, and Cooke hit a bucket with just under a minute left for JMU. Andre Nation followed Allen's two misses from the free-throw line with a basket to cut the margin to 66-64 with 29 seconds left. Allen followed with his two free throws to put YSU up 68-64 with 28 seconds left and set up the final sequence.
Youngstown State was able to hold on to a 32-25 edge at halftime despite Eargle being in foul trouble and Allen and Perry going a combined 4-for-14. Amiker made four of his first five field goal attempts, and Belin made two 3-pointers and grabbed seven of YSU's 15 rebounds in the period.
YSU scored five points on its first two possessions of the game and never trailed in the period. Eargle hit a bucket under the basket and Allen hit a 3 from the left wing to give the Penguins a 5-0 lead, and Amiker's first points of the contest gave YSU a 7-1 lead at the 17:33 mark.
James Madison went without a field goal for the first four-and-a-half minutes, but its first cut YSU's margin to 7-5. Eargle and Amiker both collected their second buckets as the Penguins went on top 14-7, but Eargle picked up his second foul at the 12:21 mark and set out the rest of the period.
A free throw and two buckets in transition got the Dukes within two points at 14-12 with 11 minutes left, but the Penguins went on an 11-4 run over the next seven minutes to go up 25-16. Five different YSU players scored during the stretch, which was capped by 3-pointers by Belin and Perry.
A 3 by Allen and a basket by Perry gave the Penguins their largest lead of the half at 32-21 with 1:35 left. The Dukes scored the final four points of the half to get the margin to seven, and they extended the run to 15-3 with its strong start to the second half.
Eargle's six blocks brought him to 223 for his career. Ricky Tunstall held the previous record since 1984 with 221.
Youngstown State will finish its run at the Progressive Legends Classic on Wednesday against the host Duquesne Dukes. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN.
