Fort Wayne, Ind. -- Senior Dwayne Cohill scored 33 points and led the Youngstown State men's basketball team to an 81-72 win over Purdue Fort Wayne on Friday night at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
The Penguins improved to 20-6 overall and 12-3 in Horizon League play, and won 20 games for the first time since the 1997-98 season. The 20 victories also set the school Division I regular-season wins record. Youngstown State also tied a program record with 12 conference wins, which was set last season.
Purdue Fort Wayne falls to 15-11 overall and 7-8 in league play.
Graduate Adrian Nelson scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds while Brandon Rush added 12 points.
The Penguins used an 13-4 run to close out the first half and scored 14 of the first 18 points of the second half to take a 16-point lead, 45-29, with 15:47 left in the game.
Youngstown State trailed 21-18 before Cohill and Rush scored six straight points to give the Penguins a 24-21 lead with 3:46 to go before halftime.
After the teams traded baskets, Cohill hit a jumper in the paint and buried a 3-pointer with just 22 seconds left to put the Penguins up 31-25 at the intermission.
To start the second half, Nelson hit a pair of 3-pointers and Cohill added a pair of jumpers and two free throws to built the Penguins lead to 16, 43-27.
After a 3 by Purdue Fort Wayne's Jarrod Godfrey Nelson hit his third 3-pointer of the game to regain a 16-point advantage.
Youngstown State led by as many as 18, 50-32, after a Cohill dunk at the 14:13 mark.
The Penguins kept lead between 13-15 points over the next three minutes before the Mastodons made a charge.
Youngstown State led 56-41 but the Mastodons used a 16-9 run to get the Penguins lead down to eight 65-57.
The Penguins built their lead back to 13 points 75-62 with 1:17 to go.
Purdue Fort Wayne got within six, but Bryce McBride and Rush hit five free throws in the final 18 seconds to seal the win.
Youngstown State visits Cleveland State, Sunday, Feb. 12. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio.
