Washington, D.C. -- Junior Cameron Morse scored a team-high 21 points and had six rebounds but the Youngstown State men's basketball team dropped a 77-62 decision to American on Saturday afternoon at Bender Arena.

With the loss, the Penguins fall to 5-6 overall while the Eagles improve to 2-7 on the year.

Freshman Braun Hartfield had 12 points and five rebounds while sophomore Devin Haygood tied a career high with 10 points.

American had four players reach double figures led by Sa'eed Nelson's 22 ponts and nine rebounds. Mark Gasperini had 14 points while Delante Jones and James Washington had 12 and 10 points respectively.

The Penguins jumped out to an early 9-2 lead after a jumper by Francisco Santiago, a 3-pointer by Matt Donlan and a jumper by Hartfield at the 15:21 mark.

The Eagles used an 8-2 run over the next five minutes to get within one, 11-10, but the Penguins answered by scoring the nex seven to push their lead to eight, 18-10, at the 8:30 mark.

A layup by Stefan Rosic gave the Penguins a five-point edge, 22-17, at the 5:53 mark, but Youngstown State would not score the rest of the half. American scored the final 14 points to take a 31-22 lead into the lockerroom at halftime.

American pushed its lead to 13 but a pair of free throws by Morse, a free throw by Hartfield and a 3-point play by Morse cut the lead back down to eight, 43-35, at the 15:08 mark.

The Penguins would get any closer than 10 points the rest of the way.

Youngstown State hosts Niagara, Wednesday, Dec. 14. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. at the Beeghly Center.