The Youngstown State men's basketball team had four players score in double figures, led by Ashen Ward's 23 points, en route to an 83-76 win over Bowling Green on Saturday night at the Beeghly Center. It was the Penguins' first win over the Falcons since 1943 and capped a perfect 7-0 non-conference home slate this year.
Vytas Sulskis had 17, Damian Eargle had 15 and DuShawn Brooks chipped in 10 as the Penguins improved to 9-18 overall on the heels of a 50.8 percent shooting effort. YSU scored 40 points in the second half on 14-of-25 shooting and made 8-of-12 free-throw attempts.
With 8:31 left, the Penguins took a 66-65 lead when Ward drained a jumper. On the ensuing possession, Ward cashed in on another 3-pointer as the Guins went up 69-65. Two-and-a-half minutes later Kendrick Perry, who had a career-best nine assists, banked in a 3-pointer at the 5:28 mark extending the lead to 72-65.
Brooks capped the 10-0 run in a span of 5:12 with a hanger in the lane. YSU held BGSU off the scoreboard for 5:37 during that key stretch before Luke Kraus connected on a three at 4:27.
With 2:14 left, the Guins looked like they were going to put the game away when Perry's breakaway dunk put them ahead 79-68.
However, Bowling Green scored six quick points on back-to-back threes by Kraus. With 28 seconds left, Scott Thomas' layup made the contest a one-possession game at 79-76.
Blake Allen stepped up huge in the final 30 seconds. Allen made two with 25.5 seconds left and a pair with 18.1 seconds left to seal the victory.
The first half featured seven lead changes and four ties as BGSU (12-15) took a 46-43 lead into the locker room.
Bowling Green shot 60.6 percent (20-of-33) while the Guins connected on 16-of-34 (47.1 percent) in the opening 20 minutes. YSU had 13 assists on its 16 baskets.
The Guins drilled seven 3-pointers, four of which were by Ward and one each by Sulskis, Allen and Brooks.
YSU's largest lead of the half came in the opening two minutes. The Guins jumped on top 3-0 on a trey by Allen and then led 5-2 when Sulskis found the mark.
The Penguins were on top twice by a point, the final time was at 36-35 after Sulskis followed a Ward 3-pointer up with one of his own.
The Falcons went on a 9-1 run to go on top 44-37 on a driving layup by Danny McElroy.
After trailing 46-39 with under a minute to go, Sulskis raced down the court for a fast-break layup and with three seconds left, Kendrick Perry used a pair of picks to score on a wide-open layup to pull YSU within three.
The Penguins return to Horizon League action on Thursday night when they play host to Green Bay. Tipoff at the Beeghly Center is set for 7:05 p.m.
