YSU rallies to beat Marshall in home opener
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YOUNGSTOWN -- For a half, the Youngstown State men's basketball team couldn't get much going offensively in Saturday's home opener against Marshall. But the Penguins still found a way to hang around.
In the second half, YSU finally started to figure something out. A second-half run got the Penguins back in it, and despite a late run by the Thundering Herd to tighten things up, YSU closed out Marshall for a 74-71 victory at Zidian Family Arena.
"As I told our group, it's not how it looks, it's about getting the job done. I thought we still found a way to impact winning when shots weren't going in," YSU head coach Ethan Faulkner said. "In the first half, we couldn't make a layup, couldn't make an open three, couldn't make a free throw. Our defense really kept us in the game.
"I think Marshall's a really good team. Got a lot of respect for them. I think they're going to win a lot of basketball games. For us to be able to come out with a win in a game that easily could have gotten away from us at any point, I was really proud of our team."
In the first half, the Penguins shot a meager 34.6% overall and were 0-for-7 from 3-point range. But YSU still kept things close by getting to the free-throw line, where it made 10-of-19 attempts.
At halftime, the Penguins trailed 34-28 and Marshall opened up the second half with a pair of baskets to build an 11-point lead, its largest of the afternoon. From there, YSU rattled off a 16-3 run to seize momentum.
"Honestly, we just kept the same toughness," YSU fifth-year guard Jeff Nwankwo said. "First half, we recognized that they were muscling us on the glass. We had to be honest with ourselves. Second half, we told ourselves we played terrible in the first half. We knew shots were going to fall, just had to stay with it defensively, control what you can control and we got some good shots and they fell."
Once YSU retook the lead, Nwankwo started to heat up and scored seven straight points to help push the Penguins' lead up to double digits.
He finished with 12 points, as his solo run consisted of a three-point play, a steal and run-out dunk on the fast break and a long 3-pointer.
"I didn't even realize it," Nwankwo said. "Just taking open shots when I get them, trusting my teammates to find me when I'm open. I put a lot of shots up last night, so I thank God it worked."
Even after YSU grew its lead to 12 with 5:27 left, the Herd still had one last run left in them.
Led by Noah Otshudi and Bryce Slay, who combined for 49 points, Marshall went on a 14-3 run to tie the game at 69 with about a minute left.
"I did not think we necessarily executed what we needed to do against those two guys," Faulkner said. "Obviously those are dynamic offensive players. Otshudi, in the ball screen, we were really trying to shrink the floor and make him pass the ball. ... We did not do a good enough job of making them pass the ball by shrinking the floor, playing in a crowded floor, and when you don't do that, they're good enough players to go get 28 and 21."
With the game tied at 69, the Penguins still figured out a way to close things out down the stretch.
Kelvin Amoako pulled down an offensive rebound and got fouled on the putback, making 1-of-2 at the line. Amoako tallied his second double-double of the season, finishing with 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Penguins, while battling down low with Marshall's bigs.
"Coming into this game, there was a big emphasis on being tougher. So I feel like we drilled that for our preparation," Amoako said. "Just being told, you gotta be the tougher man, step up regardless of their size or however many guys they're rotating. I felt like I guarded all their bigs, but it's physical, but moreso a mental thing. You gotta tell yourself you're not tired. I felt like I fell down alot, but I just gotta keep pushing through because it's not just for me, it's for me and my teammates."
Then after a defensive stop, Jayden Tyler dribbled through all kinds of traffic and defensive pressure to finish a layup at the basket, which gave YSU a 72-69 edge with under 10 seconds left.
Up three, the Penguins decided to foul Otshudi and he made both free throws. After a Herd foul with 2.3 seconds left, Tyler then knocked down both of his free throws to seal the victory.
"Those moments early in the year for this group are going to be so important for us as we move forward," Faulkner said. "Each and every one of those are going to be critical teaching moments for us as a staff to understand how to play with the lead and understanding how to finish off games. Much like the St. Bonaventure game, I thought we had poise.
"That last possession when [Tyler] got the basket to put us up three was obviously a huge play. I thought we played with poise down the stretch when they made the run at us with a minute and a half to go to really seal the game."
Outside of Amoako's 17 and Nwankwo's 12, Jaiden Haynes and Japhet Moupadele each also finished with 10 points for the Penguins.
YSU heads back on the road to the other corner of the state to face former head coach Jerrod Calhoun and Cincinnati on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.