Youngstown State had five players score in double figures and led for more than 35 minutes in a 74-58 victory over UIC in the opening round of the 2021 Progressive Insurance Horizon League Men's Basketball Championship on Thursday at Beeghly Center.
Michael Akuchie scored a game-high 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season, and YSU's other four starters also scored in double figures. Naz Bohannon had 15 points and six assists, Darius Quisenberry scored 12, and Garrett Covington and Shemar Rathan-Mayes both had 10 points. Akuchie and Rathan-Mayes combined for 17 points in the first half as Youngstown State built a 35-25 lead at halftime.
Youngstown State will advance in the conference tournament to play third-seeded Oakland in the quarterfinals on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. The Penguins are now 15-11 this season, while UIC's campaign ends with a 9-13 mark.
Teyvion Kirk led four Flames in double figures with 13 points.
UIC led 10-7 after a Kirk layup five minutes into the game, but the Penguins scored seven straight points on two-pointers by Covington and Bohannon and a 3-pointer by Akuchie to take a 14-10 lead. After Akuchie's 3-pointer at the 14:21 mark made the score 12-10, Youngstown State did not trail again.
The margin stayed within six points, and YSU's lead was 24-21 at the 4:32 mark after a 3-pointer by UIC's Jamie Ahale. The Penguins ended the first half on an 11-4 run to turn that three-point lead into a 35-25 advantage. Rathan-Mayes sparked the run with a 3-pointer with 3:31 left, and Quisenberry scored the final four points of the half.
Covington made three free throws less than 40 seconds into the second half to YSU's advantage to 38-25, and the lead peaked at 43-29 when Covington hit a triple at the 16:13 mark.
UIC cut the deficit in half as it held the Penguins to one basket, a 3 by Akuchie, over nearly four minutes, but it missed four straight shots once it got the score within 46-39. Daniel Ogoro hit a 3-pointer at the 12:20 mark to put the Penguins up 49-39, and Myles Hunter followed with a layup on the next possession to push the margin to a dozen.
The margin was between 12 and nine over the next five minutes before UIC scored five straight points to get within 57-51 on two free throws by RayQuawndis Mitchell with 5:13 remaining. Covington scored on a cut to the hoop on the next possession for the Penguins, and YSU countered with a 9-0 run to take a 66-51 lead with 2:21 left. The largest margin was 74-56 on a layup by Quisenberry with 27 seconds left.
Youngstown State shot 48.4 percent overall from the field, and it went 8-for-23 from 3-point range. UIC shot 45.3 percent, but it committed twice as many turnovers as the Penguins at 18-9.
