Youngstown, Ohio – Youngstown State used a hot-shooting second half and a defensive effort that held the nation's leading scorer to 11 points under his average en route to a 73-63 comeback-victory over Detroit Mercy on Sunday afternoon at Beeghly Center.
The Penguins, who improve to 17-6 overall and 9-3 in the Horizon League, shot 60 percent in the second with seven 3-pointers to overcome an 11-point second-half deficit.
Dwayne Cohill, who score 18 second-half -points, led the Penguins with 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists and Adrian Nelson recorded his ninth double-double of the year with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Bryce McBride scored 14 points and dished out five assists.
Junior Myles Hunter, who had six points off the bench, was charged with defending Detroit Mercy's Antoine Davis and held the preseason player of the year to just 15 points, including just six in the second half.
Youngstown State trailed by as many as 11 points, 39-28, after a 3-pointer by Davis with 17:51 left in the game.
Over the next 3:37, the Penguins used 11-2 run to cut the lead down to just two, 41-39. Layups by Malek Green and Nelson, and a 3-pointer by Cohill led a 7-0 spurt that got YSU within four. After a Titans basket, Nelson convert a layup and Cohill jumper at the 14:14 got the Penguins within two.
The Titans regained a four-point edge, 46-42, but Youngstown State scored the next 12 points to take a 54-46 lead with just under eight minutes remaining.
Cohill began the run with a 3-pointer and McBride's floating jumper with 11:37 left gave YSU its first lead, 47-46, since the 18:55 mark of the first half.
A layup by Hunter and by Cohill and a 3-pointer by McBride gave the Penguins an eight-point advantage at the 7:55 mark.
A 3-pointer by McBride and back-to-back treys by Nelson pushed the Penguins lead to 16, 65-49, with 4:46 remaining and put the game out of reach.
The Titans sliced the YSU lead down to nine, 69-60, at the 1:24 mark, but McBride made four of five from the free-throw line in the final 23 seconds to seal the game.
The Penguins struggled offensively in the first half connecting on just 30 percent of their shots while the Titans shot 48.3 percent from the floor.
YSU scored the first two points of the game on two free throws from Brandon Rush but missed six of their first seven shots.
Detroit capitalized and led first half for all but 14 seconds and took a 33-25 lead into the lockerroom at halftime. YSU's 25 points was the Penguins' lowest first-half scoring output of the season.
The Penguins host Wright State, Thursday, Feb. 2. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Beeghly Center.
