Allen, Belin Score 20 Each as Penguins Pick Up 86-75 Win Over CMU
| 2nd - 00:11 | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Michigan (9-16) | 27 | 48 | 75 |
| Youngstown State (15-12) | 45 | 41 | 86 |
| Youngtown, Ohio (Beeghly Center) | |||
| Central Michigan | Youngstown State |
|---|---|
| Pts: FOWLER, Chris - 19 | Pts: 2 Players (#01, #05 - 20) |
| Reb: MBAIGOTO, Olivier - 6 | Reb: TEAM - 5 |
| Ast: FOWLER, Chris - 5 | Ast: Dj Cole - 12 |
| Team Statistics | Central Michigan | Youngstown State |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goal % | 42.6% (23-54 ) | 60.0% (30-50 ) |
| Rebounds | 29 | 28 |
| Assists | 13 | 23 |
| Turnovers | 11 | 10 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 11 | 12 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 11 | 7 |
| Pts in the Paint | 22 | 24 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 5 | 6 |
| Bench Pts | 15 | 15 |
Senior Blake Allen and junior Kamren Belin each scored 20 points as the Youngstown State men's basketball team defeated Central Michigan 86-75 on Saturday night at the Beeghly Center.
It was senior night and Allen and teammate Damian Eargle closed out their careers with a victory in their final regular-season home tilt. With the win, the Penguins improve to 16-12 overall and clinch a winning season for the second consecutive year. CMU falls to 9-17.
YSU opened up a 17-point advantage in the first half before extending its lead to 51-27 in the opening minute of the second half. Central Michigan kept trying to chip away at the deficit and was able to creep within seven points on three occasions, but could get no closer.
The Guins led 45-27 at halftime before Allen and Ryan Weber drained consecutive 3-pointers at the second-halfs outset. CMU scored the next 12 points to get within 51-39 by the 16:17 mark of the second half.
From that point, YSU did a good job of not allowing the Chippewas to make another major run to make things to tight. CMU did pull within seven points on three occasions, the last time was 72-65 at the 3:03 mark of the contest.
Eargle battled foul trouble all evening and eventually left the contest with 1:06 left. He scored 10 points after missing the past two games with a broken nose.
DJ Cole had his first career double-double scoring 12 points and dishing out a career-best 12 assists. The Guins had 23 assists on 30 baskets. In his first career start, Ryan Weber had nine points, all came on three 3-pointers.
Leading the way for Central Michigan was Chris Fowler who finished with 19 points. Kyle Randall had 17 and John Simons finished with 16 for CMU.
For the game, YSU shot a season-high 60 percent from the field making 30-of-50 shots. YSU was 9-of-18 from behind the 3-point line. CMU shot 42.6 percent (23-of-54) for the evening.
The Penguins trailed 5-4 at the 18:06 mark and eventually built a 24-9 lead with 9:21 remaining thanks to a 20-5 spurt.
YSU made 16 of its first 21 shots in the contest. The Penguins's biggest lead of the game was 40-23 at the 3:28 mark following a layup by Cole.
All five YSU starters had six points or more in the opening half.
For the first half, YSU shot 69.2 percent (18-of-26) while the Chippewas were 10-of-25 (40 percent). Both teams shot 50 percent from 3-point range with YSU making five and CMU four.
The Penguins resume Horizon League play on Tuesday night when they visit Valparaiso. The contest at the ARC is set for an 8 p.m. Eastern time tipoff.
