Youngstown State rode a record-setting performance from the 3-point arc and contributions throughout the lineup to defeat Oakland 99-87 in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament on Tuesday evening at Beeghly Center.
The Penguins set a new school record for 3-pointers with 18, and Blake Allen surpassed 1,000 points in his career as YSU won its first postseason game at the Division I level.
Allen was 7-for-13 from 3-point range, Kendrick Perry was 6-for-10, and the Penguins were 18-for-35 as a team. They made 11 in the first half and seven in the second half as they outscored the Golden Grizzles 56-43 in the final 20 minutes.
Perry had a game-high 31 points, Allen tied a career high with 27, and three other Penguins reached double figures. Damian Eargle had 12 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks. YSU had 23 assists against just 10 turnovers. The CIT will announce YSU's next opponent later this week.
Travis Bader had 30 points, and Corey Petros had 16 of his 23 points in the first half for Oakland, which finishes the season at 16-17.
The Penguins trailed 44-43 after a back-and-forth first half, but they were down for just 32 seconds in the second half. Belin made two free throws to give YSU a 45-44 lead with 19:12 left, and Drew Valentine hit a bucket to put Oakland back up 46-45 with 18:55 left. Belin's 3 with 18:23 left gave the Penguins a 48-46 lead, an advantage they held until a Bader jumper at the 14-minute mark tied the score at 56.
Bobby Hain hit the Penguins' record-tying 14th 3-pointer of the night with 13:30 left to give them a 59-56 lead, and Perry broke the record on their next possession with a trey at the 13:02 mark. YSU did not trial again.
Allen scored his 1,000th point on two free throws with 10:20 left, and YSU held its largest lead at 71-62. The Penguins led by nine five more times before an Eargle free throw at the 3:03 mark put them up 90-80. That free throw came in the middle of an 8-0 run for the Penguins that turned a six-point lead into an insurmountable 14-point advantage.
The Penguins and Golden Grizzlies combined to hit 15 3-pointers in the first half, and a 10-0 run by Oakland in the final three minutes gave it a 44-43 edge at halftime. Oakland had three runs of at least seven points in the opening period, but the Penguins hit eight of their 11 first-half treys in the final nine minutes of the period.
Oakland led 5-2 early and held a 14-9 advantage on two of Petros' 16 first-half point with 14:27 remaining. Treys by Allen and Kam Belin gave the Penguins a 15-14 lead with just under 12 minutes remaining, but the Golden Grizzlies had an 8-0 run to go up 22-15 with 8:45 left.
Perry made a 3-pointer to start an 8-1 run that Allen capped with a game-tying 3-pointer with 7:53 left, and YSU later hit five 3-pointers from the 5:19 mark to 3:04 mark to take its largest lead of the half at 40-34. Allen had three triples during that spurt while Belin and Perry both had one.
Following Perry's 3-pointer with 3:04 left, Oakland scored 10 straight points to go up 44-40 with 43 seconds left. Bobby Hain hit another triple for the Penguins on a pick-and-fade with 29 seconds left for the final points of the half.
Allen had 18 points on six 3-pointers in the first half, and 11 of YSU's 16 field goals came from beyond the arc. YSU held Bader, who was averaging 21.9 points coming in, to two points in the first 16 minutes before the junior guard finished the half with 10. Petros, who was averaging 12.2 points coming in, had 16 points at halftime and helped Oakland hold a 22-10 edge in the paint at the break.
YSU had made 14 3-pointers eight previous times, the last of which was on Dec. 10, 2011 at Buffalo. Allen's seven 3-pointers matched a career high and tied for the fourth-most for a single game in school history.
