Donlan's Late 3 Lifts Basketball to 75-74 Win at Robert Morris

by YSU

Friday, Dec 2, 2016 6:38 pm

Moon Township, Pa. -- Senior Matt Donlan hit a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left to lift the Youngstown State men's basketball team to a 75-74 come-from-behind win at the Charles L. Sewell Center on Wednesday night.

Donlan hit a career-high seven 3-pointers and led the Penguins (4-4) with 21 points. Junior Francisco Santiago scored 15 of his 20 points in the second half and dished out six assists.

Trailing 74-70 with 33 seconds left, Santiago hit a pair of free throws to get within two, and freshman Braun Hartfield stole the inbound pass to set up Donlan's game-winning shot.

The game featured 18 lead changes and 11 ties, including 13 lead changes in the second half. The Penguins trailed by as many as five early in the second before senior Brett Frantz made three free throws and a 3-pointer and Jorden Kaufman's layup gave the Penguijns a 3-point lead, 41-38, with 16:03 left.

Youngstown State used an 8-2 run late in second half to pushed its lead to five points, 64-59, with 5:51 left after a layup by Devin Haygood.

Robert Morris scored seven of the next nine points to tie the game at 66-66 at the 3:53 mark and took a 69-67 lead after a 3-pointer by Isaiah Still.

Santiago answered with a 3-pointer to take a 70-69 lead with 2:41 to go.  A pair of layups by RMU Dachon Burke and free throw by Aaron Tate gave the Colonials the 74-70 edge with 47 seconds remaining.

The Penguins, who trailed by as many as nine with 7:40 left in the first half, shot 56 percent from the field in the second half and made 10 3-pointer for the game en route to the comeback victory.

The Penguins host Oberlin, Saturday, Dec. 3. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. at the Beeghly Center.