Indianapolis, Ind. – The Youngstown State men's basketball team won the first regular-season conference championship in program history after defeating IUPUI, 93-79, on Saturday night at The Jungle.

The Penguins, who finished the regular season with a 23-8 overall record and program-best 15-5 mark in the Horizon League, won the outright conference championship after Cleveland State lost to Milwaukee, 81-72.

With the win, the Penguins earned the No. 1 seed in the upcoming 2023 Barbasol Horizon League Men's Basketball Championship and will host a quarterfinal game on Thursday, March 2, at 8 p.m. at Beeghly Center.

Malek Green led five players scoring in double figures with 21 points while Adrian Nelson and Brandon Rush each posted 18 points. Senior Dwayne Cohill scored 16 points and dished out seven assists, and freshman John Lovelace, Jr., added 10 points.

The teams battled through a tightly-contested  affair with five lead changes and five ties through 24 minutes of game before the Penguins used a 15-0 run to turn a two-point deficit, 49-47, into a 13-point lead, 62-49, with 12:12 left in the game.

Down two, Rush sparked the 15-0 spurt with a pair of 3-pointers, a layup and a dunk while Green capped the run with a 3-poitner.

Youngstown State made 12 of its first 13 shots in second half and finished connecting on 67.9 percent (19-for-28) with five 3-pointers after halftime.

IUPUI was able to whittle the Penguins lead down to eight, 71-63, before Cohill scored 10 of the next 14 YSU points to regain an 85-70 lead with just over three minutes to go.