Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes. YSU forward Rich Rolf knocks down the game-winning free throws for the Penguins with nine seconds left in Wednesday's Horizon League-opening win over Wright State at the Beeghly Center.

YOUNGSTOWN — There’s an extra layer that comes once Horizon League play begins. The games have more significance for postseason hopes come March, plus there’s an added physicality and grittiness required against teams that have plenty of familiarity with one another.

Youngstown State needed both of those and then some on Wednesday night, as the Penguins fought off Wright State in a 69-68 victory to open up conference play.

“Just really proud of our guys for finding a way to pull one out,” head coach Ethan Faulkner said. “These games are all going down to the wire. It’s going to be back-and-forth in most of these Horizon League games. That’s the history of our league. That’s what it tells us.

“I did not think we played particularly well, and a lot of the credit goes to Wright State. I’m pleased that we were able to find a way to win a gritty, grimy, ugly game, whatever you want to call it.”

With about nine seconds left, redshirt junior Rich Rolf knocked down the game-winning free throws for YSU, then the Penguins forced a missed three by WSU’s Michael Cooper in the final seconds. Rolf finished with 10 points as one of three Penguins in double figures.

“I was just trusting my work. I work at it every single day,” Rolf said. “My teammates put trust in me, so I just went up to the line thinking I’d make both.”

YSU led by five with just under two minutes left. The Penguins had a chance to extend that lead but missed a pair of free throws.

TJ Burch made a layup and Cooper knocked down a three over the next two possessions to tie things up for the Raiders at 67 with about a minute left. Andrea Holden then went 1-for-2 at the charity stripe to give Wright State a one-point lead.

That set up Rolf’s free throws on the next possession. He got the ball on the wing, pump faked from three and then drove into contact in the paint, where he was fouled by Holden.

“We have a play that just gets us some movement and gets us into a quick-hitting ball screen,” Faulkner said. “We’ve been running it for years. Rich made a great read. They jumped the ball screen, he rejected it, drove the ball and got to the foul line. Credit to him for stepping up and making two big free throws.”

Senior forward Cris Carroll is one of the few Penguins with prior experience in Horizon League games, having been a part of the team last season.

YSU called his number a lot against the Raiders, especially down the stretch. He delivered to the tune of a game-high 19 points, while also pulling down seven rebounds as the Penguins outrebounded the Raiders 39-23.

“I was just doing whatever my team needed me to do to win. That’s all I was worried about was winning the game,” Carroll said. “Every game, you’re just going to have to be tough. It’s going to be physical every game. As a team, we just gotta stay connected and fight adversity because there’s going to be adversity throughout the game. As long as we stay connected, we get the job done every time.”

Carroll made a couple of critical baskets in the final minutes, which included going 4-for-6 from the free-throw line. He also knocked down two long 3-pointers in the first half as the shot clock expired, which helped the Penguins hold a 36-29 lead at halftime.

“Basically every play we called down the stretch was to him. Whether that was to get him in the post, get him in an isolation situation on the perimeter — almost everything went through him late in the game,” Faulkner said. “He’s a guy that we’ve got a lot of confidence in and he’s earned the right to have the ball in his hands late in the game.”

Senior Bryson Dawkins was the third YSU player in double figures, as he finished with 13 points. However, he had to sit out most of the second half as he battled cramps in his calf.

“He was good to play the last possession,” Faulkner said. “I just felt like he hadn’t been in there for so long, and we had a team in there with maybe a little defensive rhythm, so just chose to go with the other guys that had been playing.”

Now 1-0 to begin Horizon League play, the Penguins now head on the road to face IU Indy on Saturday at 2 p.m.

The Jaguars hired former West Liberty coach Ben Howlett during the offseason, who runs an incredibly frenetic, fast-paced, up-tempo style that’s rarely seen at the Division I level.

“It’s going to be a super chaotic game,” Faulkner said during his press conference on Tuesday. “No. 1 in the country in tempo. They’re going to press you 94 feet for 40 minutes on made shots, missed shots, free throws. They’re going to give you different looks in their press. The whole thing with those guys is about taking care of the basketball and handling their pressure. But the flip side of that is you have to understand what’s a good shot versus a bad shot.

“We’ve got two guys on our staff that are super familiar with the way they play. (Assistant) coach (Dwaine) Osborne and (assistant) coach (Mark) Richmond being in the NEC, playing against Coach Howlett’s teams for so many years, we’ll really rely on their experience about their knowledge of playing against that style of team.”