43
YSU stuns Oakland at buzzer
Kaufman scores game-winner vs. No. 1 seed
By Paul Oren
DETROIT
Everybody in Joe Louis Arena thought that Cameron Morse was going to take the final shot.
Everybody except Morse himself.
Instead the Youngstown State junior defied logic and fired a pass to a wide-open Jorden Kaufman who hit a buzzer-beating layup to deliver the Penguins one of their biggest wins in program history.
Kaufman’s last second kiss off the glass gave the No. 9 Penguins an improbable 81-80 win over top-seeded Oakland in Saturday’s quarterfinals of the Horizon League Men’s Basketball Championships.
“The previous two possessions I missed a shot and I told myself that I was going to shoot the shot no matter what,” Morse said. “I took one dribble and saw [Oakland defender Isaiah] Brock at the elbow, then I saw [Kaufman] under the basket and wondered how he was so wide open.
“I got the ball to him. Game.”
“It’s a shot I’ve made hundreds of times,” Kaufman said. “I just had to make it. As soon as I caught it I knew I had to go up [to beat the clock]. I had to put it up there.”
Morse, who had been dominant with a game-high 34 points on 12-28 shooting, was in position to make one of the biggest plays of his career after Oakland star Jalen Hayes missed a front end of a one-and-one with 11.1 seconds remaining.
Numerous clock stoppages and monitor reviews delayed the closing seconds of the game.
Once the Penguins had the ball and the chance to win the game, Oakland had several fouls to give the kept cutting into Youngstown State’s remaining time.
Morse caught the ball with 3.3 seconds remaining and when Brock flashed out to challenge the shooter, the All-Horizon League performer whipped the ball into Kaufman for the game-winner.
“We made a mistake, a freshman made a mistake,” Oakland coach Greg Kampe said. “I had a timeout left with 3.3 seconds and I thought about taking it. I didn’t. [Morse] made a great play. Give that kid all the credit.”
Kaufman finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds.