Box Score
Fort Wayne, Ind. – Sophomore William Dunn scored a game-high 20 points on 8-of-8 shooting from the field, but the Youngstown State men's basketball team dropped a tough decision to Purdue Fort Wayne, 81-72, on Sunday afternoon at Memorial Coliseum.
The Penguins (10-10, 4-6 Horizon League), who made a season-high 12 3-pointers, erased a 14-point first half deficit and tied the game as late as the 6:52 mark but could not over come the Mastodons (11-8, 6-4 Horizon League) in the closing minutes.
Senior Tevin Olison scored 17 points and made a career-high five 3-pointers and Dwayne Cohill added 12 points for the Penguins, who shot 57.1 percent from the field. Dunn also made three 3-pointers.
Leading the Mastodons was Jerrad Pipkins with 19 points.
YSU scored the first seven points of the second half to tie the game at 32-32 on a bucket by Dunn, a 3-pointer by Olison and a layup by Cohill.
Purdue Fort Wayne scored seven of the next nine points to regain a five-point edge, 39-34, at the 17:07 mark.
The Penguins continue to stay within striking distance and cut the lead down to two 49-47 after back-to-back 3s by Dunn and Cohill with 11:58 remaining.
The Mastodons took a 57-49 lead but Olison scored eight of the next 10 points with a dunk and consecutive 3s to get the Penguins within two before Shemar Rathan-Mayes hit a jumper to tie the game at 59-59 at the 6:52 left in the game.
The Mastodons scored the next eight points to push the lead to 67-59, but baskets by Cohill and Daniel Ogoro trimmed the lead to 67-63 with 4:29 left.
Purdue Fort Wayne, though, outscored the Penguins 15-8 over the final four-and-a-half minutes to come away with the victory.
PFW scored the first 13 points of the game before Owen Long hit a 3-pointer with 15:05 left.
The Mastodons extended the lead to 17-3 after a pair of baskets by Jonathan DeJurnett and Jared Bobby Planutis at the 13:22 mark
Over the next nine minutes, the Penguins outscored the Mastodons, 16-5, to get within three points, 22-19.
Dunn started the run with his first 3-pointer of the game cut the lead down to 10 with a 3-pointer at the 12:07 mark.
Chris Shelton trimmed the lead down to seven 19-12 with a 3-pointer, but the Mastodons answered with a 3 to extend the lead back to 10, 22-12.
The Penguins went on a 7-0 run with consecutive baskets by Akuchie and Cohill and another 3-pointer by Shelton to slice the PFW lead to three, 22-19.
Four straight points by PFW put the Mastodons up, 26-19, before Dunn hit his second 3 of the game to bring YSU within four, 26-22.
An old-fashioned three-point play by Godfrey pushed the lead back to seven but Olison hit 3-pointer at the 1:49 mark to cut the deficit back to four, 29-25.
Godfrey though hit a 3-pointer to close out the half and gave the Mastodons a 32-25 lead at the intermission.
Youngstown State hosts Green Bay, Thursday, Jan. 27. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Beeghly Center.
