YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – Five Penguins scored in double-figures as Youngstown State overcame a slow start to rout Green Bay 95-65 on Senior Night at the Beeghly Center.
Watch the video above to see highlights from the game and to hear from the Penguins.
The two teams would exchange leads seven times in the first half with the Phoenix leading by as many as six points 3:30 into the game.
“I thought we were in there for about 20 minutes. You know, I felt trapped on the sideline there for a while, about 18 minutes until we turned it on,” YSU head coach Jerrod Calhoun says.
“Think our guys just the emotion of Thursday night’s game, the emotion of senior night lot going on and the turnaround. But our guys responded.”
But Youngstown State would take a 7-point lead into the half and outscored Green Bay 49-26 in the second half.
“We didn’t start out the way we wanted to,” says Bryce McBride a YSU senior. “But, you know, going into halftime, Coach sat us down and let us know. Like, we didn’t come this far to, you know, be lackadaisical, let’s get it together. And it all started on the defensive end. So we all, as a collective, bought in defensively and really turned this thing up.”
Malek Green and McBride led the Penguins with 17 points each while Brandon Rush had 15, Adrian Nelson had 14 and Dwayne Cohill added 13.
With the win, YSU improves to 22-7 and 14-4 in the Horizon League. The Penguins own a one-game lead in the conference standings and return to action Tuesday night at Robert Morris for a 7 p.m. tip.
