The Youngstown State Penguins men’s basketball team (3-4) had a wild time in the Sunshine State as they were part of the Jacksonville Classic at the Adams-Jenkins Community Sports and Music Complex.
On Sunday, Ethan Faulkner’s club blew a 22-point first-half lead and ended up with a tough 68-62 loss at the hands of the UNC-Greensboro Spartans (1-5), who went into the tournament losing their first five games of the season.
Youngstown State was up 43-25 at halftime after shooting 46.9 percent (15-of-32) from the field and 42.9 percent on threes (6-of-14), but Mike Jones’ Spartans turned things around in the second half by making an impressive 61.5 percent (16-of-26) of their shots from the field on their way to outscoring YSU 43-19. UNC-Greensboro also held YSU to just 25.8 percent (8-of-31) from the floor and 12.5 percent (2-of-15) from downtown.
Senior Bryson Dawkins scored a team-high 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds; with 11 points and eight boards coming from senior Cris Carroll, eight points and four steals for senior Jason Nelson, and eight points off the bench for JUCO transfer Tae Blackshear.
The Spartans were led by UAlbany grad Justin Neely, who recorded 16 points and 16 rebounds to go along with three blocks and three steals; with 14 points from California (PA) grad transfer Donald Whitehead Jr., and 11 points and eight rebounds from freshman KJ Younger.
The very next night, YSU bounced back with a much all-around effort and shot 52 percent (13-of-25) on field goals in the second half on their way to an insane 67-61 win over the Georgia Southern Eagles on Monday. The Penguins shot 45.1 percent (23-of-51) from the field, 32 percent (8-of-25) on threes, and 72.2 percent (13-of-18) on foul shots despite committing 19 turnovers. Charlotte transfer Rich Rolf led all scorers with a career-high 22 points and shot 9-for-14 from the field, including 4-for-8 from downtown; with 16 points from Carroll and 10 points off the bench from sixth-year grad student Cam Polak.
Charlie Henry’s Eagles (3-4) had four players score in double-figures: 16 points for Murray State transfer Alden Applewhite, 14 off the bench for redshirt senior Nakavieon White, 11 for UAB transfer Tyren Moore, and 10 off the bench for Georgetown College transfer Andres Burney.
Georgia Southern shot an impressive 86.7 percent (13-of-15) on free throws, but they only made 36.8 percent of their field goals (21-of-57) and 23.1 percent (6-of-26) of their triples.
Up next: Youngstown State hosts the Chicago State Cougars on Friday, November 28 for a 3ET/2CT tip-off at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center.
James Moon (CashApp): $JRMoon1991
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