The Youngstown State men's basketball team scored 28 points in the final 9:08 and rallied to defeat Wright State 81-71 in front of a spirited Beeghly Center crowd and a national television audience on Friday evening.
The Raiders held their largest lead of the night at 62-53 with just over nine minutes on the clock, but the Penguins did not allow a field goal for nearly seven minutes as they pulled away.
Ziggy Reid and Brandon Rush hit back-to-back 3-pointers to kickstart an 18-0 run, and Brett Thompson finished it with his own triple at the 3:44 mark as the Penguins flipped a nine-point deficit into a 10-point lead.
Reid and Thompson finished with 20 points apiece, and Reid added nine rebounds as Youngstown State improved to 13-5 overall and 5-2 in Horizon League play. DJ Burns added 12 points, and he surpassed 1,000 career points in the first half. Gabe Dynes filled the stat sheet with five points, seven rebound and six blocks in 25 minutes off the bench.
That trio of transfers experienced Youngstown's passion for its men's basketball program that was evident down the stretch as the Penguins went on their championship run in 2022-23. A win over Oakland that was also showcased on ESPN2 ignited the fan base last season, and Youngstown State is back among the league leaders with a 13-5 overall record and a 5-2 mark against the conference in 2023-24.
This one against the Raiders featured two similar halves as Wright State blistered the nets early to build leads. The visitors led by seven three different times in the first half, the final time coming at 28-21 with 7:44 left. Rush and Reid drilled 3-pointers during a 10-0 run that gave YSU a 31-28 advantage, and Wright State went more than five minutes without a field goal. The Raiders regrouped by scoring six of the final seven points of the half and led 34-32 after 20 minutes.
The Raiders then made seven of their first eight attempts from the field in the second half, and they held their 62-53 advantage when Alex Huibregtse scored in transition. Thompson scored after a Penguins timeout to cut the margin to seven, and Wright State's Tanner Holden made a free throw at the 8:42 mark to make the score 63-55. After that free throw, the Raiders didn't score for 5:56.
Reid followed with a 3, and Burns had an offensive rebound that led to a Rush triple on the next possession as the Penguins got right back in the game and seized the momentum. YSU tied the score with two Dynes free throws at the 6:24 mark, and the freshman post followed with a dunk on the next possession to give the Penguins a 65-63 lead with 5:53 lead. The 18-0 run was capped by Dynes block that led to a transition 3-pointer by Thompson.
Wright State got no closer than eight, and YSU's largest lead was 12 on three occasions.
Huibregtse led the Raiders with 20 points, and Holden finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Youngstown State shot 51.5% in the second half and 41.5% overall. The Penguins made five 3-pointers in each half. Wright State shot 40.3% from the field and went 5-for-16 from long distance.
The Penguins will begin a three-game road stretch at Oakland on Wednesday. Tipoff at the OU Credit Union O'rena is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN and ESPN+.
