43
Double bonus
By Greg Gulas
YOUNGSTOWN
For the fourth time in his career, Cameron Morse hit the 30-point mark, finishing with 33 to lead the Penguins to Thursday’s 88-87 double overtime win over Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the Horizon League opener at Beeghly Center.
YSU needed every one of his points, especially his triple with two-tenths of a second remaining in regulation that forced overtime.
The game also marked the first time since the 2008-09 campaign that YSU opened league play at home, a contest that featured nine ties and 20 lead changes.
“I know that ‘Cisco [Francisco Santiago] got the rebound and he passed it to me with about five seconds left,” Morse said. “I also knew that I had to race it down the court really quick and try to get a good look.
“I gave a brush move, took one more dribble and let it go.”
Morse said that he wanted the ball with the game on the line.
“I’m one of the main scorers on the team and I know that in games like this I need to come up big,” Morse said. “My teammates tell me to go take over and I feel like that’s my job.
“I feel confident and honestly, yes I did feel like it was good when it left my hand. I yelled ‘cash’ when it left my hand.”
The first half featured a series of runs by both teams, the first by the Penguins (7-7, 1-0) as they opened a 13-7 lead four minutes into the game on a triple by Matt Donlan.
It was the Panthers (4-10, 0-1) with the next run, reeling off 17 straight points to open a 24-13 lead.
Triples by Milwaukee’s Cameron Harvey, Bryce Barnes and Jeremy Johnson keyed the run as the Panthers’ defense held the Penguins scoreless for 6:13.
“I thought that we battled, but it wasn’t pretty,” YSU head coach Jerry Slocum said. “I thought it was your typical Horizon League slugfest — a kind of ugly basketball game and if we make our free throws, we coast.
“I also thought that we guarded well, really defended and did a nice job on them from the three-point line.”
The Panthers connected on just 11 of their 34 attempts from beyond the arc.
YSU went on a 15-0 run paced by Morse who scored 11 points and a defense that held UWM at bay for 4:45, turning an 11-point deficit into a 28-24 advantage.
The Penguins finished the half on a 30-13 run to forge a 43-37 lead.
The largest Penguin lead after the break was 53-49 on the second of back-to-back triples by Morse, his fourth of the second half that gave YSU a 67-65 advantage.
In overtime, six points and two rebounds by Santiago paced YSU. His two free throws with 1:01 left gave the Penguins an 80-78 lead.
A bucket by Brock Stull with six seconds left knotted the game at 80 to force the second extra frame.
Santiago finished with a double-double, scoring 14 points and adding 10 caroms
“It’s not just all me,” Santiago said. “My rebounds I count as team rebounds because there’s guys boxing out other guys and I’m the one that’s able to go get it.
In the second overtime, a Brett Frantz triple gave YSU an 86-83 lead, taking an 88-85 advantage on two free throws from Braun Hartfield.