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The Youngstown State men's basketball team set the program record for most conference wins in a season after posting a 74-61 victory of league-foe IUPUI on Senior Day at the Beeghly Center.

The Penguins, who shot nearly 60 percent from the field, improve to 18-11 overall and 12-7 in the Horizon League, while the Jaguars fall to 3-23 and 1-14 in the conference.

Notching his third double-double in three-straight outings, senior Michael Akuchie reached double figures scoring a game-high 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting, while adding 13 rebounds. Junior Dwayne Cohill posted 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting and tallying four assists. Senior Tevin Olison also tabbed a double-figure performance, going 6-of-7 from the floor for 15 points.

IUPUI had four players score in double figures led by B.J. Maxwell and Chuks Isitua scoring 14 points apiece on a combined 12-of-22 shooting. Nathan McClure had 17 and Bakari LaStrap had 10.

Olison scored the first points of the contest for either team at the 18:48 mark of the opening half, burying a two-point jumper from just in front of the arch. This would act as the lone Penguins made basket for a near three-minute stint until Cohill would connect on a long-range bucket at the 15:49 point to give YSU a 7-6 advantage.

Cohill's bucket sparked a series of three made baskets on three straight Penguins possessions, as Akuchie entered the scoring conversation with a pair of jumpers in the paint the 15:09 and 14:45 points to stretch the YSU lead to five. During the span, the Penguins defense would hold the Jaguars scoreless, including forcing two turnovers.

Ending its near three-minute field goal-less stretch, an IUPUI 3-pointer at the 13:42 mark by McLure cut the YSU advantage to three, 12-9.

Following a pair of Cohill freebies at the charity strip to get the lead back to two possessions, Dunn bucketed the first of his five points on the afternoon with a three in the corner at the 11:44 point. After Dunn's basket, YSU would be held scoreless until the 8:26 mark when Akuchie connected on long-range ball at the top of the key off an extended offensive rebound to put the Penguins up seven, 21-14. Playing well on the defensive end during the stretch, YSU forced IUPUI to come up empty for nearly four minutes where the Jaguars shot 0-of-4 from the field and coughed the ball up twice.

During the next seven minutes of play, the Penguins upped their lead to as big as 14 before Akuchie gave YSU its largest lead of the first half with a 3-pointer at the buzzer, sending the Penguins into the halftime break with 17-point advantage.

In a back-and-forth opening 10 minutes to the second half, IUPUI was able to dwindle YSU's 17-point halftime lead to nine following an Isitua bucket at the 13:36 mark. For three minutes, the game was played within a seven-point margin before IUPUI cut the deficit to five points on another Isitua made basket at the 10:42 mark, 55-48.

The Jaguars clawed their way back to within three points by the 8:01 mark only for an Akuchie dunk off a nifty pass from Cohill returned the Penguin lead to five points, 59-54, with 6:58 to play moved some momentum back in the Penguins direction. YSU used the momentum to close the contest on a 15-7 run, holding IUPUI to 0-of-10 shooting with their final seven points coming from the free throw line.

The Penguins held the lead for over 36 minutes and shot 27-of-46 (58.7 percent) as a team. IUPUI shot 40.7 percent (22-of-54) for the contest, including 6-of-13 from long range – a mark that was 4-of-7 in the first half.

The Penguins return to action next weekend, Feb. 24-26, to close out the regular season, heading to Wright State and Northern Kentucky. Thursday's tip off against the Raiders is set for 7 p.m. at the Nutter Center.