Youngstown State honored its seniors inside Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center Sunday afternoon, and the Penguins put in a dominant defensive effort en route to a 64-58 win over Northern Kentucky.
Senior Bryson Dawkins led the scoring punch for YSU with 22 points, marking the fifth time this season that the Dothan, Alabama native has scored 20 or more points. Cris Carroll rounded out double figure scoring for the Penguins, recording 15 points and also grabbing ten rebounds.
For the Norse, Donovan Oday exploded for 18 points and Kael Robinson followed that effort up with 13.
The Penguins dominated the first half, building a 16-4 advantage at the under 12 media timeout following a Cam Polak left corner three.
Dawkins sank a right corner three to extend the lead to 13 points, but Donovan Oday answered with a three of his own to narrow the deficit to ten at 20-10
Late in the second half, Zorgvol established his presence deep in the paint and made a close-range shot, then Carroll picked NKU’s pocket and splashed a left wing trey to give YSU a 33-13 lead.
At intermission, the Penguins were in complete control, holding the Norse to 6-of-30 shooting from the floor and a 15% three-point clip. In addition to a poor shooting performance, NKU turned it over 12 times in the first period which translated to 13 YSU points.
Despite the home team having all the momentum, the Norse came out swinging in the second half. After scoring eight of the first ten points, Oday drilled a left wing three to cut the margin to just 11 points (37-26).
Both teams exchanged blows before Dan Gherezgher landed a three to make it a single figure game, and later Oday continued the NKU surge with another three at the six minute mark (51-45).
Cris Carroll stunted the Norse’s valiant comeback bid with four huge free throws at the end of the game, fueling YSU to a 64-58 win.
With the win, YSU has now won two straight games and six of its last nine contests. The Penguins will hit the road next week to take on Milwaukee (Feb. 25) and Green Bay (Feb. 28) to close the regular season.