YSU men fall to Purdue Fort Wayne, 76-71
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YOUNGSTOWN -- A second-half surge by Youngstown State wasn't enough, as the Penguins fell to Purdue Fort Wayne 76-71 on Saturday at the Beeghly Center.
YSU (10-5, 2-2 Horizon League) rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit to take an 8-point lead with 8:30 to play, but couldn't sustain that momentum.
And after that 13-0 run that put YSU in front, the Mastodons (10-5, 2-2) answered with a 17-2 run of their own to take a 68-63 lead, which they didn't relinquish the rest of the way.
"I knew all along this year when we played them it was going to be a tough game," YSU coach Jerrod Calhoun said. "That's the reality of it. There's fourth- and fifth-year guys playing together (for PFW), but that being said, a frustrating night for our guys."
Frustrating indeed. With the Mastodons on the ropes, YSU couldn't land a final blow to put the game away, thanks in large part to a hefty number of misses at the rim. Youngstown State wasn't terrible from the field -- 26-of-67 for 38.8 percent -- but struggled with finishing open looks at inopportune times.
"We missed probably 10 or 12 layups," Calhoun said. "We were up eight with control. We struggled to run half-court offense."
All the while, Purdue Fort Wayne was shooting lights out, aside from that 13-0 stretch. Led by Damian Chong Qui, the Mastodons shot at a 53.6 percent clip (30-of-56) and a blistering 12-of-25 from 3-point range. That was built primarily through an 8-for-12 mark in the first half that helped PFW build a 38-30 halftime lead.
Chong Qui finished with 24 points on a 9-of-15 day. Jarred Godfrey added 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists and Anthony Roberts chipped in 11 points and six boards. Bobby Planutis and Deonte Billups each had nine points.
Had it not been for forcing nine first-half turnovers, the Penguins may have been in even more trouble.
"They do as good as anybody in our league at spacing you and getting you to play out of rotations," Calhoun said. "There's four guys on the floor at all times that can make shots. So I give them a lot of credit."
YSU picked up another stellar day from Brandon Rush, who netted a game-high 26 points. Malek Green added 12 points and four rebounds, and Dwayne Cohill scored 19 points and had five rebounds and three assists. Adrian Nelson secured 15 rebounds and scored seven points, but struggled from the field in a 1-for-8 day.
Then, too, outside of Rush, Green and Cohill -- who went a combined 22-of-48 -- the remaining Penguins were just 4-of-19 from the field.
"We have to get some more production from some of those other bench guys," Calhoun acknowledged. "They have to earn some minutes here. That's the bottom line."
The Penguins return to action Thursday against a Robert Morris squad that knocked off the Mastodons this week and then host IUPUI on Saturday.
"It is what it is," Calhoun said. "You have to bounce back. There are a lot of league games, and we're just not there yet. We didn't make those toughness plays, but you have to give their team credit. They just lost a tough one, they come in here less than 48 hours later on another opponent's court, a team that had been playing pretty well, and beat us."
jwhetzel@tribtoday.com