Box Score
Morgantown, W. Va. - The Youngstown State men's basketball team hung tough with West Virginia through the first half, but some hot shooting by the Mountaineers was too much to overcome in a 82-52 defeat at the WVU Coliseum on Wednesday night.
West Virginia improves to 11-1 with the victory while the Penguins fall to 7-4 and have their five-game winning streak snapped.
The Mountaineers opened the second half making 8-of-9 shots and after missing all five 3-pointers in the opening half, made their first six of the second half to take a one-point halftime lead to 53-35 with 11:29 remaining. In the second stanza, WVU outscored YSU 58-29. Sean McNeil, who was held scoreless in the first half, had 23 points in the second half for WVU.
Chris Shelton scored a team-high 13 points while Michael Akuchie finished with 11. Jamir Thomas came off the bench to score a season-high eight points.
YSU outrebounded West Virginia 39-32 led by Myles Hunter who had a team-high eight boards. WVU outscored the Guins 25-9 from the free-throw line. After missing all five 3-point attempts in the first half, WVU made 7-of-10 from beyond the 3-point arc in the second half.
In the first half, the Penguins were able to capitalize on a poor shooting start by the Mountaineers. YSU scored the first points on the game on two baskets by Hunter. After WVU tied the contest, Hunter drained a 3-pointer from the corner and the Guins defense held the Mountaineers scoreless for the next six-plus minutes.
YSU went in front with its largest lead of the half at 13-8 on a tipback by Thomas. The Guins led 15-11 before the Mountaineers answered with an 9-0 run to take a 20-15 run at the 2:56 mark. But the Penguins regrouped as Tevin Olison made two free throws after being fouled on a dunk attempt. Following a WVU miss, Akuchie hustled down the floor and his fast-break layup cut the deficit to one.
On YSU's next possession, Dwayne Cohill beat the WVU press and was fouled on a dunk attempt. He made both free throws to put the Penguins in front 21-20. Following a dunk by Jalen Bridges, Cohill found some space and converted a driving layup. The Mountaineers were able to get a putback in the final seconds to grab a 24-23 halftime edge.
The Mountaineers made just two of their first 19 shots to start the game. At halftime, WVU improved its shooting percentage to 23.3 percent (7-of-30) while using a 10-of-12 effort from the free-throw line to stay in the game. YSU was 9-of-27 (33.3 percent) from the floor and outrebouned the Moutaineers 20-19.
The Penguins are back in action on Dec. 30 when they return to conference play at Detroit Mercy. Tipoff for the contest at Calihan Hall is set for 7 p.m. with the contest being carried on 570 WKBN and ESPN+.
