Darius Quisenberry and Devin Morgan combined for 50 points, and the Youngstown State men's basketball team outlasted Green Bay 98-94 in overtime on Saturday afternoon at Beeghly Center.
Morgan scored 18 of his team-high 26 points after halftime, and Quisenberry scored 16 of his 24 points in the final 8:40 of the contest. That duo combined for 15 of the Penguins' 17 points in overtime.
Youngstown State bounced back from a 75-73 overtime loss on Thursday in which they were 12-for-26 from the free-throw line. The Penguins were 18-for-24 from the stripe on Saturday against the Phoenix, including 10-for-10 in overtime.
The Penguins improved to 12-10 overall and 5-4 in Horizon League play, and the Phoenix dropped to 10-12 and 5-4.
In addition to Morgan and Quisenberry, three other Penguins scored in double figures. Michael Akuchie had 14 points while adding nine rebounds and three steals, Naz Bohannon had 12 points, a career-high eight assists and seven rebounds, and Garrett Covington had 13 points. Morgan's 26 points were the most of his Penguins career and he set a career best with six 3-pointers.
JayQuan McCloud had a game-high 30 points to lead Green Bay.
The Penguins led for just 1:13 out of the final 20 minutes of regulation, and their deficit was as large as 11 at 66-55 with 8:36 remaining. Morgan hit a 3 on YSU's next possession to kickstart a 14-5 run that got the Penguins within two with 4:49 remaining, and back-to-back buckets by Morgan and Quisenberry tied the score at 73 with 3:40 remaining.
Green Bay led by two points four times before the end of regulation, but the Penguins answered to tie the score each time. Quisenberry tied the score at for the fifth time in the last 3:40 with a driving layup with 18.8 seconds remaining that made the score 81-81, and McCloud's crossover jumper hit the back of the rim at the buzzer.
Quisenberry made two free throws at the 4:35 mark of overtime to give YSU an 83-81 lead, its first advantage since the opening 80 seconds of the second half. Green Bay led by two twice at 87-85 and 89-87, but a Quisenberry basket at the 1:40 mark tied the score and Morgan's sixth 3 of the day with 49.4 seconds remaining put the Penguins ahead 92-89. McLoud countered with a contested 3-pointer 13 seconds later, but a Quisenberry layup on a feed from Covington put YSU up 94-92 with 11.6 remaining.
Green Bay turned the ball over on the inbounds pass, and Quisenberry made two free throws with 9.1 seconds left to push the lead to 96-92. McCloud made two free throws for Green Bay to cut the margin in half, but Quisenberry finished the game with two more free throws with 5.6 seconds left.
There were eight ties and eight lead changes in the first half, and Green Bay jumped out to a 10-4 advantage on a McCloud triple five minutes into the game. YSU scored 10 of the next 12 points to go up 14-12, and it built its lead to as high as 28-21 on a Bohannon basket at the 7:21 mark. Green Bay answered with a 12-2 run to take a 33-30 advantage, and Morgan hit a deep 3-pointer in the final five seconds to give YSU a 41-39 lead at halftime.
The Penguins continue their homestand when they take on UIC, Thursday, Jan. 30. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. at Beeghly Center.
