Moon Township, Pa. – Four players scored in double figures as the Youngstown State men's basketball team won its second straight Horizon League game with a 71-57 defeat of Robert Morris on Saturday at the UPMC Events Center.
The Penguins improve to 5-3 overall and 2-0 in the Horizon League while the Colonials fall to 2-6 overall and 0-2 in league play.
DJ Burns posted his fourth double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Penguins. Brett Thompson scored 17 points with four assists while Ziggy Reid had 14 points and eight rebounds, and Brandon Rush added 12 points. The Penguins also made 10 3-pointers - three from Burns, Rush and Thompson each, and one from Reid.
Despite a hard fought first half with three ties and two lead changes, the Penguins opened the second half on a 13-4 scoring run to turn a two-point (30-28) halftime edge into an 11-point lead at the 16:15 mark.
Thompson scored five straight points with a jumper and 3-point to push the YSU lead to eight, 37-29, and his fast-break layup gave the Penguins a 41-32 lead at the 17:27 mark.
A fast-break layup by Burns, a jumper by Bryson Langdon, and a layup by Rush ballooned the lead to 15 points, 47-32, with 12:48 to go.
After a Colonials bucket, the Penguins scored 12 of the next 13 points to increase their lead to a game-high 24 points, 59-35, with 8:35 remaining.
Robert Morris whittled the lead down to 16, but two 3-pointers by Burns boosted the lead back to 20, 67-47, with 3:20 left.
The Colonials would not get any closer than 13 the rest of the way.
Youngstown State visits Mid-American Conference foe Ohio, Wednesday, Dec. 6. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. in Athens, Ohio.
