Box Score
The Youngstown State men's basketball team shot 53.3 percent from the field in the second half and had five players reach double figures to knock Purdue Fort Wayne, 84-70, on Friday night at the Beeghly Center.
Senior Michael Akuchie recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 23 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Penguins. Senior Garrett Covington scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half while senior Naz Bohannon had 14 points and junior Darius Quisenberry and freshman Shemar Rathan-Mayes each posted 13 points.
The Penguins, who have won four straight, improve to 12-10 overall and 7-10 in the Horizon League while the Mastodons fall to 6-12 overall and 5-12 in the league.
Jarred Godfrey led the Mastodons with 24 points while Jalon Pipkins had 18 points.
The Penguins led by eight, 40-32, at the break and the Mastodons trimmed the deficit to five twice, 40-35, and 42-37 with 17:24 left. Over the next five minutes, the Penguins outscored the Mastodons, 20-11, to extend their lead to 14, 62-48, with 12:26 remaining. During that run, the Penguins hit four 3-pointers - two from Quisenberry and one each from Covington and Geoff Hamperian.
Youngstown State built its lead to 20, 70-50, with 9:50 to go after a a layup by Rathan-Mayes and 3-pointers from Akuchie and Rathan-Mayes. YSU led by as many as 21, 74-53, on Rathan-Mayes' fast-break layup with 7:50 remaining.
Purdue Fort Wayne went on a 14-4 run to cut the YSU lead to 11, 78-67, with 1:38 left but the Penguins got a basket by Bohannon and sealed the game by making their final four free throws.
The first half was a tightly fought 20 minutes. The Penguins and Mastodons traded three leads and were tied three times. The Mastodons led for the final time at 12-11 after a fast-break dunk by Pipkins with 13 minutes left.
Akuchie made consecutive 3-pointers to put the Penguins up 17-12 and an old-fashioned three-point play by Quisenberry and a basket by Bohannon extended the YSU lead to nine, 23-14, with 9:39 left.
Purdue Fort Wayne got within two, 29-27, before the Penguins used a 9-1 run to boost their lead to 10, 38-28 with 2:19 left before the half.
The Penguins and Mastodons close the series on Saturday, Feb. 13. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m.
