After leading Youngstown State University (5-5 overall) men's basketball team 37-30 at the Breslin Center at halftime, MSU (6-4 overall) defended its lead to earn another victory. A collective effort, the Spartans defeated the Penguins out in blowout fashion, 77-57.
The Spartans shot 44.7 percent from the floor in the first half, while holding the Penguins to 33.3 percent on 33 shots. MSU also used 14 points on the fastbreak and 18 from turnovers to take the advantage into halftime.
Freshmen guards Joshua Langford and Cassius Winston, along with freshman forward Nick Ward, the team's leading scorer in the first half, were on the floor to start the second half, along with junior guard Lourawls "Tum Tum" Nairn Jr., and sophomore forward Kyle Ahrens.
YSU opened the half with a triple from senior guard Brett Frantz and continued to test MSU with its perimeter shooting, accompanied with other three-point field goals from senior forward Matt Donlan and junior guard Francisco Santiago. Shots from Nairn Jr., and Izzo's freshmen trio, however, would give MSU the 50-39 lead through the first five minutes of the half, forcing YSU head coach Jerry Slocum to take a timeout.
Back-and-forth three-pointers from both teams would retain MSU's 11-point edge when Ward took two shots from the free-throw line but missed both opportunities. A turnover from Winston on MSU's next possession would result in a tip-in from YSU's 7-foot-1 senior center Jorden Kaufman, but a jump shot from fifth-year senior Eron Harris would keep the lead at 11. A media timeout was taken shortly after with 11:32 left in regulation.
Following the timeout, Harris would hit another jumper to initiate a 12-2 run over the next 4:53 with scores from Langford and sophomore guard Matt McQuaid to make it 62-44. Slocum was forced to take another timeout with 9:00 to play. Ward tacked on another out of the timeout with MSU's first successful free throw, extending the lead to 17.
Sophomore forward Devin Haygood would foul Ward on an attempted layup sending him to the bench with four fouls for YSU, along with Kaufman who also had four. Scores from Ward and McQuaid would give MSU a 21-point lead before a layup by Santiago made it a 19-point game.
Redshirt-sophomore forward Kenny Goins would foul out for MSU, he'd be the only player in foul trouble, but senior guard Alvin Ellis III converted a three-pointer with 3:42 left in the game. Williams responded with a jumper for YSU to make it a 20-point game once again. Izzo would follow with a timeout.
Langford would finish as MSU's leading scorer, going 6-for-8 from the field and 3-for-4 from three to finish with a career-high 15. Harris and Ward would finish behind with 13 apiece and McQuaid would be the other Spartan to finish with double-digit scoring, with 11.
MSU finished shooting 34-of-67 from the floor, 46 team rebounds and 27 assists.
The Spartans will next play Tennessee Tech (3-6 overall) on Dec. 10. Tip-off for the game on Saturday is set for 2 p.m.
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