Covington, Youngstown State throttle RMU, 78-56
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YOUNGSTOWN -- Garrett Covington didn't know when his number would be called again. He just knew he needed to be ready for his next chance.
That opportunity came Thursday night, and Covington didn't miss it.
Youngstown State's sixth-year player provided a critical spark off the bench, as the Penguins pulled away from Robert Morris in the second half for a 78-56 throttling of the Colonials at the Beeghly Center.
Covington, who missed nearly all of last season with a ruptured Achilles, netted nine points and added three rebounds, an assist and a steal in nearly 22 minutes of action.
"The important thing that my coaches told me was to just stay ready," Covington said. "I've been battling my ankle and still kind of my Achilles, so I just made it a point to stay in treatment and to stay ready. I don't really known when my number is going to get called, but when it's called, just provide a spark and whatever is necessary for the team."
Covington checked in for the Penguins (11-5, 3-2 Horizon League) with 10:50 remaining in the first half and didn't come out of the game until halftime. In that span, he scored three points and grabbed his three rebounds, and also recorded a steal as YSU rallied from a 20-14 deficit with 7:09 to play to a 29-25 halftime lead.
That late-half momentum snowballed, as the Penguins pushed that advantage to 38-31 early in the second half before finalizing an 11-2 run with a Dwayne Cohill jumper to go up 46-33. Robert Morris (7-9, 2-3) never got back to within single digits afterward.
Covington sank a 3-pointer at the 9:25 mark and another with 7:26 to go to cap his scoring. Where he truly made his mark, however, was sound defense that set the tone for YSU as a whole.
The 56 points YSU gave up were the second least surrendered in a game this season behind the 54 YSU allowed UC San Diego. The Penguins were especially active off the ball, swatting passes and often stealing them. YSU forced 15 Colonial turnovers and scored 18 points off of them.
"It's honestly one of the most challenging things I've been through, but mentally, it's just helped me grow. I think when you struggle with injuries, it stinks, because you want to be out there with your brothers. But you know that you have to be able to perform on the court, so it's challenging, but moments like this, it's just fulfilling knowing all the work you put in the training room was worth it," Covington said.
YSU coach Jerrod Calhoun said Covington had two "unbelievable" practices coming in, and added, "Each game, we give the marker -- if we win -- we allow them to move the standings, and we gave it to Garrett. Both his mom and dad were there ... we've been through so much together as a family -- his family, our Penguin family -- with Garrett with so many injuries and ups and downs. ... I was just so happy for him tonight. It made my whole night."
That first-half defense was critical, Calhoun said, as it kept the Penguins in the game until the lid came off the basket. YSU shot just 10-for-25 (40 percent) in the first half and a tough 2-for-9 from deep before a scalding second half saw YSU shoot 16-for-28 overall and 7-for-11 from 3-point range. YSU outscored Robert Morris 49-31 in the second half.
"I told the guys -- and I'm usually pretty straight up with them, pretty straight forward -- that was probably the best defensive performance I've seen in six years (at YSU)," Calhoun said. "I can't recall a team that guarded the ball, was in the gaps, swiped the gaps, fixed things. (RMU coach) Andy (Toole) is a good offensive coach. I think he might be the best offensive coach in our conference, he runs really good sets. ... Our guys really took them out of stuff. So I think it's the best performance I've seen in six years. I really do."
Cohill led the Penguins with 23 points on a 9-for-12 night, while Brandon Rush (14 points) and Malek Green (12 points) joined him in double figures. Adrian Nelson added seven points, 10 rebounds and three assists. As a team, YSU racked up 15 assists to just five turnovers.
For Robert Morris, Enoch Cheeks had 17 points, and Stephaun Walker added 11 points.
YSU was without Shemar Rathan-Mayes, who was injured in practice earlier in the week, according to Calhoun. He's scheduled for an MRI on his knee today to determine the severity.
The Penguins host IUPUI on Saturday afternoon.
jwhetzel@tribtoday.com