Sweet sweep
Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes YSU’s Myles Hunter tracks down a loose ball during the first half of the Penguins’ 72-70 win on Saturday over Purdue Fort Wayne.
Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes -- YSU senior Naz Bohannon (left) passes to a teammate, he had a team-high five assists along with a game-high 22 points in the win.
Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes -- YSU freshman Shemar Rathan-Mayes shoots a three-pointer during the first half, he scored 15 points.
Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes YSU’s Myles Hunter tracks down a loose ball during the first half of the Penguins’ 72-70 win on Saturday over Purdue Fort Wayne.
Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes -- YSU senior Naz Bohannon (left) passes to a teammate, he had a team-high five assists along with a game-high 22 points in the win.
Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes -- YSU freshman Shemar Rathan-Mayes shoots a three-pointer during the first half, he scored 15 points.
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YOUNGSTOWN -- For all the times Youngstown State found itself on the wrong end of a one-possession game this season, the Penguins were happy to pull one out late.
Their 72-70 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday at the Beeghly Center completed a weekend sweep of the Mastodons and thrusts YSU into the middle of the chase for a top-four seeding in the Horizon League Tournament.
With YSU leading 69-68 and 32.5 seconds remaining and a 2.5-second differential on the shot clock, Purdue Fort Wayne took the ball downcourt. With 14.4 seconds left, Mastodons star Jarred Godfrey drove toward the right of the lane and pulled up for a fadeaway in the face of YSU senior Garrett Covington. Godfrey left the shot off the back of the rim and into the arms of Michael Akuchie.
Moments later, YSU junior Darius Quisenberry went to the charity stripe for a one-and-one after being intentionally fouled. The first shot was good, the second shot hit nothing but net and YSU led 71-68.
PFW (6-13, 5-13), one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the nation at 39.8 percent, was a threat to knot everything up with 6.9 seconds left following a Mastodons timeout. But YSU fouled to deny its opponent an opportunity to tie. Jalon Pipkins hit both shots to make the score 71-70.
Freshman Shemar Rathan-Mayes then found himself at the line where he missed the front end of a one-and-one, but after a group of players batted the ball around, it was Quisenberry who scooped up the rock and wisely took as much time off the clock as he could before being fouled.
He sank the first and tactically missed the second to force Pipkins and the Mastodons to go the length of the floor with 1.2 seconds left on the clock inside the Beeghly Center.
The buzzer sounded before Pipkins could throw a Hail Mary the length of the floor, leading to a sigh of relief and smiles from YSU.
It came on a night when the Penguins were cold from the floor at 38.7 percent after shooting 45.5 Friday evening in an 84-70 win.
YSU coach Jerrod Calhoun said he thought that rebounding and timely plays played a huge factor, along with game experience.
"Just a wild ballgame, it's just conference play, every game is a different adventure," he said. "I thought Fort Wayne played tremendous basketball tonight, they were inspired. I thought Godfrey was good again.
"But the reality of it is, we've been in so many of these games, you get experience in the close ones in game situations, not really in a practice situation, so really, really proud of the guys."
Saturday evening's win also comes at a time when YSU is starting to put together the pieces after