Mount Pleasant, Mich. -- Four players scored in double figures to lead a hot-shooting Youngstown State men's basketball team to a 76-65 victory over Central Michigan on Wednesday evening at McGuirk Arena.
Senior Dwayne Cohill led the Penguins, who improve to 9-4 overall, with 26 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field with three 3-pointers. Malek Green scored 16 points, Brandon Rush poured in 15 points, and Adrian Nelson added 10 points with eight rebounds.
Leading the Chippewas, who fall to 4-7, was Brian Taylor with 15 points while Markus Harding added 14 points.
Through the first nine minutes of the game, the Penguins and Chippewas fought through three ties and CMu led 15-14 with 10:58 to go in the first half.
The Penguins, who shot 63 percent from the floor before halftime, went on an 11-2 run over the next 3:19 to take a 25-17 with 7:39 left. A jumper by Myles Hunter and a pair of dunks by Rush pushed the Penguins lead to 20-15, and a 3-pointer by Rush and a dunk by Green gave the Penguins the eight-point advantage.
Another dunk by Rush gave the Penguins their first 10-point advantage, 30-20, at the 5:23 mark, and the Penguins scored nine of the next 14 points to take a 39-24 lead with 2:35 to go.
Central Michigan scored eight of the final 10 points of the half as the Penguins held on to a 41-32 lead at halftime.
The Chippewas outscored the Penguins 12-6 over the first 4:15 of the second half and cut the YSU lead down to three 47-44 with 15:45 to go.
Youngstown State responded with an 11-2 run keyed by back-to-back 3-pointer by Cohill to boost its lead to 57-46 at the 13:26 mark.
Over the next five-plus minutes, YSU outscored the Chippewas, 11-4, to extend its lead to a game-high 18 points, 68-50, with 8:10 remaining.
CMU whittled the lead down to seven, 68-61, with an 11-0 run before a layup by John Lovelace, Jr., pushed the Penguins edge to nine, and a layup by Green pushed lead back to 11.
Youngstown State begins a four-game Horizon League homestand against Cleveland State, Thursday, Dec. 29. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. and is part of a doubleheader with the YSU women's basketball team.
