Youngstown, Ohio -- The Youngstown State men's basketball team came up short by a final score of 85-83 against Oakland in a back-and-forth New Year's Day Horizon League battle on Thursday afternoon at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center.
Oakland went on a 13-3 scoring run over the final 6:12 of the first half to reduce a 40-27 deficit to three at 43-40 heading into the halftime break. The Golden Grizzlies took their first lead with just under 11 minutes remaining in a second half that featured six lead changes. With score locked at 83-83, Tuburu Naivalurua put Oakland ahead 85-83 on a putback in the lane after a missed jump shot with 14 seconds left. Following a timeout, Jason Nelson's last-second 3-point attempt for YSU was off the mark as the clock expired.
After the Golden Grizzlies went ahead 76-74, back-to-back thunderous dunks from Tyler Robinett and Dawkins put the Penguins back in front 78-76 with three minutes remaining in the second half of action. YSU led by two again at 80-78 before Oakland regained the upper hand at 81-80 on White's fifth 3-pointer of the game with 1:37 left. The Golden Grizzlies took an 83-80 lead after two charity tosses from Garrett with just over one minute on the second half clock. The Penguins produced the seventh and final tie of the contest at 83-83 after a 3-point play from Nelson with 43 seconds remaining.
Oakland improves to 7-8 overall and 3-1 in Horizon League play while Youngstown State falls to 8-7 overall and 2-3 against league opponents.
Bryson Dawkins paced four Penguins in double figures with a season-high 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting from the field while also grabbing a team-high seven rebounds. Nelson scored 11 of his 14 points in the first half while adding eight assists and seven rebounds. Rich Rolf finished with 14 points, six rebounds and five assists while Cris Carroll scored 13 points and made three of YSU's 10 3-pointers.
Isaac Garrett posted a double-double for Oakland with 27 points and 14 rebounds while Brett White added a career-high 22 points.
The Golden Grizzlies shot 61.9% from the field over the opening 20 minutes of play and 55.3% for the game while knocking down eight of their 15 attempts from long range and 25 of their 34 attempts at the free throw line. The Penguins shot 42.6% overall and 28.6% from distance while converting 15 of 20 free throw attempts. Youngstown State scored 21 second-chance points on the strength of 18 offensive rebounds.
Carroll started the scoring with a corner 3-pointer in the opening minute of the game, and another triple from the senior less than minute later gave YSU a 6-2 edge. The Guins pushed their lead to six for the second time at 10-4 before four straight points from the Golden Grizzlies made it a two-point differential at the 15:32 mark the first half.
Nelson's straight-on 3-pointer put Youngstown State ahead 13-8, and Rolf knocked down a pair of free throws following a steal less than minute later to give YSU a 15-8 advantage. Jaiden Haynes connected on a corner triple off an assist from Dawkins to cap an 8-0 run to give the Penguins an 18-8 lead with 14:21 on the first half clock.
Oakland answered with the next four points to pull within 18-12 before YSU's lead reached double digits again at 24-14 on a layup from Rolf with just under 11 minutes remaining in the opening half. The Penguins pushed their lead to 11 for the first time at 30-19 on two charity tosses from Nelson just before the nine-minute mark. A step back 3-pointer by Oakland's Brody Robinson brought the visitors within seven at 34-27. Rolf responded with a 3-pointer of own on the ensuing possession to give his squad a 37-27 edge, and Nelson's second long-range connection prompted an Oakland timeout as YSU's lead swelled to 40-27 with just over six minutes left in the half.
The Golden Grizzlies scored the next nine points of the contest to reduce their deficit to 40-36 with 2:48 remaining in the first half. Nelson was fouled on a 3-point attempt with the shot clock winding down and proceeded to make all three free throws to give YSU a 43-36 lead with 2:13 remaining before halftime. White countered on the next possession with right wing triple and a free throw brought the Golden Grizzlies within 43-40 heading to the intermission.
Oakland tied the contest for the first time at 47-47 after a 3-pointer from Garrett with 17:28 left in the second half. Dawkins answered with a 3-pointer of his own on the next possession to put YSU back in front 50-47. After YSU built a 59-54 lead, Oakland responded with five straight points as a 3-pointer by White and a dunk from Garrett evened the score at 59-59 with less than 13 minutes remaining in the contest.
Oakland went in front for the first time at 61-59 on pair of free throws by Robinson with just under 12 minutes to play. A layup in the lane from Naivalurua completed a 9-0 run which gave the Golden Grizzlies a 63-59 edge with less than 11 minutes left in the second half. YSU's Cam Polak hit a step back triple on the other end to bring the Penguins within one at 63-62 before Oakland regained another four-point advantage at 68-64 after a 3-pointer by Warren Marshall IV.
Youngstown State scored the next four points on layups from Dawkins and Carroll to tie the game again at 68-68 with 8:32 remaining. Oakland rattled off the next six points to take its largest lead at 74-68 with 6:52 left before Carroll buried a 3-pointer to cut YSU's deficit in half at 74-71. Dawkins converted an old-fashioned 3-point play less than minute later to even the score at 74-74.
Youngstown State will continue Horizon League play on Sunday with a contest at Northern Kentucky. Tipoff at Truist Arena in Highland Heights, Ky., is set for 4 p.m.
