Darius Quisenberry went coast-to-coast from an inbounds pass to score the winning basket with 1.7 seconds left as the Youngstown State men's basketball team rallied to beat Oakland 61-60 on Thursday evening at Beeghly Center.
Quisenberry scored 13 second-half points to help the Penguins overcome a 13-0 deficit more than eight minutes into the game. Michael Akuchie posted his second career double-double with game highs of 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Youngstown State improved to 10-7 overall and 3-1 in Horizon League play, and Oakland dropped to 6-11 and 1-3.
While the Penguins took awhile to get going offensively, their defense kept them in the game early. It also held the Golden Grizzlies to just two points over the final 2:47 of the game. Oakland led 58-55 on a Xavier Hill-Mais basket with 2:48 left, and the Penguins scored the next four points on a basket by Donel Cathcart III with 1:45 remaining and two Quisenberry free throws with 25.9 seconds on the clock.
Hill-Mais scored on the right block with 6.8 seconds remaining to put Oakland on top 60-59, and Quisenberry outraced the Golden Grizzlies down the court after a timeout to score the eventual winning basket with 1.7 seconds remaining. Oakland did not get a shot off on its inbounds play from the backcourt.
Youngstown State was 0-for-9 with four turnovers in the first eight minutes of the game as Oakland built a 13-0 lead. Devin Morgan's 3-pointer off an inbounds play following the under-12-minute media timeout gave YSU its first points of the lead, and the Penguins got within one at 17-16 on an Akuchie triple at the 8:05 mark. Oakland scored the next four points to go up 21-16, and Cathcart III's 3-pointer in the right corner gave YSU a 22-21 advantage and created the first of 13 lead changes on the night.
YSU led again at 24-23 on an Akuchie layup at the 1:24 mark, and the Golden Grizzlies scored the final five points of the half to go up 28-24 at halftime. Oakland then scored the first two points of the second half to take a 30-24 lead. That ended up being the largest margin for either team in the second half.
Oakland's lead was 37-33 on a Brad Brechting jumper at the 15:57 mark before YSU went on a 14-4 run that Akuchie capped with a 3-pointer at the 10:41 mark to make the score 47-41. The Penguins held the lead until Daniel Oladapo's layup put Oakland ahead 53-52 with 5:22 remaining, and the Golden Grizzlies were up for all but 22 seconds until Quisenberry's two free throws with 25.9 seconds left gave YSU a 59-58 lead.
Youngstown State shot just 35.5 percent but got 21 points from 19 offensive rebounds. The Penguins out-rebounded the Golden Grizzlies 41-31 in the game, including 27-11 in the second half.
The Penguins close out their short homestand on Saturday, Jan. 11, when they host Detroit Mercy. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at Beeghly Center.
