Men's Basketball Scoreboard (Dec. 5)
Youngstown State 87, South Dakota 79
Senior Shawn Amiker and junior Bobby Hain each posted double-doubles and the Youngstown State men's basketball team shot 53.3 percent from the field en route to an 87-79 win over South Dakota on Friday night at the DakotaDome.
With the win, the Penguins, who have won five of their last six games, improve to 6-4 while South Dakota falls to 3-6.
Amiker finished with a game-high 22 points and 12 rebounds while Hain had 16 points, including 10 in the second half, and 12 rebounds. It marked Amiker's third double-double of the season and the fourth for Hain.
Sophomore Marcus Keene, who made at least four 3-pointers for the fifth straight game, scored 18 points and five assists.
Leading South Dakota, who made 13 3-pointers, was Tyler Larson with 21 points and Brandon Bos and Casey Kasperbauer each scored 18 points.
The Penguins, who shot 57.7 percent in the second half, led by as many as 15 points midway through the second half, but the Coyotes whittled the lead down to three, 73-70, with 2:51 to go.
Twice the Penguins built the lead to six on 3-pointers by Shaun Stewart and Keene, but each time Kasperbauer answered with a 3-pointer of his own, including one with a minute left to make the score 79-76 in favor of the Penguins.
DJ Cole missed the front end of a one-and-one, but Amiker's offensive rebound and three-point play extended the Penguins lead back to six, 82-76, with 45 seconds left.
A three-point play by USD's Trey Norris got the Coyotes back within three, 82-79, but the Penguins 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
The Penguins owned a four-point halftime lead and opened the second half with on an 11-5 run to take a 10-point lead, 48-38, with 16:34 remaining. After the Coyotes cut the deficit to seven point, a 3-pointer by Keene, a put-back by Sidney Umude and a layup by Stewart extended the Penguins lead to 14, 57-43.
A Hain layup, a jumper by Osandai Vaughn and another 3-pointer by Keene gave the Penguins their largest lead of the game, 64-49, with 11:21 to go.
Over the next six minutes, the Coyotes used a 15-5 run to cut the YSU lead down to five, 70-65, with 5:08 to go.
In a first half that featured three ties and seven lead changes, the Penguins shot 50 percent from the floor and neither team led by more than six points.
The Coyotes scored the first five points of the game and led 8-2 before Amiker, who scored YSU first eight points, posted three straight baskets to tie the game at 8-8.
Jalon Plummer gave the Penguins their first lead of the game, 12-10, on a jumper and a dunk with 12:59 left before the half.
South Dakota answered with an 8-0 run to go up 18-12 at the 9:36 mark, and, after a jumper by Tre Burnette, the Coyotes held a 20-14 edge.
Cole buried a 3-pointer, a tip-in by Hain and a jumper by Amiker regained a 21-20 lead for the Penguins with 6:47 left.
After four more lead changes, the Penguins outscored the Coyotes, 11-5, over the final 3:50 to take a 37-33 lead into the lockerroom at halftime.
Tags: Horizon League - Men's Basketball · Youngstown State - Men's Basketball
