Youngstown, Ohio – Three players combined for 71 points to lead the Youngstown State men's basketball team to an 87-77 win over Robert Morris on Wednesday night at Beeghly Center.
Brett Thompson scored a season-high 27 points while DJ Burns posted his ninth straight double-double and the 17th of the season with 24 points and tied a career high with 17 rebounds. Ziggy Reid scored 20 points, including 16 in the second half.
It marked the third time this season three players scored at least 20 points in a game.
With the win the Penguins improve to 19-8 overall and 11-5 in the Horizon League while Robert Morris falls to 10-16 overall and 6-9 in the league.
Youngstown State has won 19 games in three straight years for the first time since 1969-72, and the Penguins have won at least 11 conference games in three straight seasons for the first time in program history.
Josh Corbin led the Colonials with 26 points and made six 3-pointers. Stephaun Walker posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Youngstown State led for nearly 36 minutes and held double-digit leads in both halves. The Penguins built a 10-point lead less than five minutes into the second half, 48-38, on a 3-pointer by Brandon Rush with 15:02 to go.
The Colonials went on a 16-5 run over the next four minutes to take its first lead, 54-53, since the 15:19 mark of the first half.
The Penguins responded with a 13-0 run of its own sparked by two putbacks by Burns and two old-fashioned three-point plays by Reid and EJ Farmer to take a 66-54 lead with 8:31 remaining.
Robert Morris got back within six points three more times, but Burns made four free throws in the final minute to seal the victory.
The Penguins were able to build an 11-point lead midway through the first half, 26-15, keyed by back-to-back 3-pointers from Rush and Burns.
Robert Morris trimmed the lead down to three, 31-28, before Thompson and Burns buried two more 3-pointers to push the lead back to nine, 37-28, with 2:49 remaining.
The Penguins took a 37-33 lead into the lockerroom at halftime.
Youngstown State plays the first of three straight road games Saturday, Feb. 17, when it visits Cleveland State. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. at the Wolstein Center.
