YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (March 16, 2022) -- Dwayne Cohill scored 28 points, and the Youngstown State Penguins held off a second-half rally to defeat Morgan State 70-65 in the opening round of The Basketball Classic on Wednesday at Beeghly Center.
The Penguins won The Marques Haynes Game, which is one of five Legends Games in the first round of The Basketball Classic presented by Eracism, and received a commemorative trophy for the victory. Cohill was named the game's Most Valuable Player.
Supporting Cohill, Tevin Olison scored 12 points, and Michael Akuchie finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.
Malik Miller scored 19 points and had game-high totals of 13 rebounds, four steals and two blocks to lead Morgan State. It marked his sixth double-double of the season and the 16th of his career.
Youngstown State improved to 19-14 overall and advances in the tournament while Morgan State finishes its season with a 13-15 mark. The Penguins will learn their next opponent and the date and location of their next contest soon. YSU's 19 wins are the most and the most since joining the Horizon League and the most in a season since the 2000-01.
Olison hit a 3-pointer on YSU's first possession of the game, and the Penguins led 11-2 at the 16:18 mark following back-to-back 3-pointers by Cohill. The margin was at least five for the next 28 minutes.
Youngstown State's lead reached double digits for the first time at 25-15 when Shemar Rathan-Mayes made two free throws at the 6:13 mark of the first half. That was part of an 8-1 run for the Penguins, who extended their lead to a dozen on an Akuchie layup with 5:47 on the clock.
YSU then used a five-point burst that was capped by a thunderous dunk by Akuchie at the 2:16 mark to take a 36-22 lead. The Penguins' 40-25 lead at halftime was their largest of the half.
Cohill had 15 of his points at halftime, and Akuchie and Olison combined for 15 of the other 25 points.
Youngstown State's largest lead was 43-27 with 17:46 left in the second half on a 3-pointer by Olison. The margin stayed in double digits until Morgan State started its charge with just over 14 minutes left. YSU led 49-36 after an Olison layup at the 14:11 mark, but the Bears went on a 19-8 run over the next 7:20 to trim the 13-point deficit down to 57-55 with 6:50 remaining.
The Penguins held the Bears scoreless over the next 2:35 as they increased their lead to 61-55, and Morgan State got within two points two more times but never caught YSU.
The final two-point margin came when Elijah Bowens made a jumper with 30.7 seconds left. Cohill split a pair of free throws on YSU's next possession to make the score 66-63, and Lagio Grantsaan's tying attempt from beyond the arc missed everything with 14.7 seconds left.
Cohill was fouled again and went 2-for-2 from the line with 13.8 seconds left, and Bowens matched him with two free throws with 9.4 seconds left. Cohill then took almost six seconds off the clock on the inbounds pass before being fouled with 3.5 seconds on the clock, and he converted both attempts to put the game out of reach.
Youngstown State shot 38.6% from the floor and made five of its 18 attempts from beyond the arc. Morgan State countered by making 39.7%, but the Bears missed all 10 of their 3-point attempts. Youngstown State also had a six-point edge at the free-throw line, going 21-for-25 while the Bears were 15-for-19.
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ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering nearly 140 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.
