YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Garrett Covington hit a three-pointer from the corner as time expired to give Youngstown State an improbable 72-71 victory over the Milwaukee men's basketball team Thursday night at the Beeghly Center.
 
The Panthers (9-15, 4-7 Horizon League) turned a late seven-point deficit into a four-point lead in the final minute before the Penguins (9-16, 5-7 Horizon League) pulled out the heartbreaker at the buzzer.
 
Darius Roy just missed a triple-double, leading the way with 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
 
"It's definitely a punch in the gut," head coach Pat Baldwin said. "It's just unfortunate that we weren't able to make the last play that we needed to in order to win after we righted the ship and regained control."
 
DeAndre Abram came up a rebound short of a double-double, finishing with 13 points and nine rebounds. Amir Allen was also in double-figures with 13 points, making 5-of-7 shots from the floor.
 
Devin Morgan led YSU with 21 points.
 
"I will give our guys credit. They fight and their will to win is great," Baldwin said. "Now we just have to find a way to finish these plays and finish these kind of games. For it to end like that – when you seemingly have some control – it's excruciating pain. He (Covington) hit a big shot."
 
The second half provided plenty of action, with all five ties and 11 lead changes occurring after the break. It started immediately, with the game hitting its first tie at 30-30 at the 17:46 mark.
 
From there it was back-and-forth, with the lead changing hands on six straight possessions at one point. MKE used a 6-0 spurt to jump ahead, 44-41, with Bryce Barnes converting a layup. It grew to 8-0 at 46-41 when Roy scored at the 11:24 mark.
 
It wasn't enough. YSU went 8-0 itself a few minutes later, forcing a Milwaukee timeout at the 6:16 mark trailing, 56-51.
 
The Panthers had a final push, scoring 18 of the next 25 points to take that late lead. Abram's 3 made it a one-point game at 64-63 and Allen followed with a putback and free throw to put MKE ahead, 66-64 with just over a minute to play.
 
Allen came up big again, converting an offensive rebound and Roy's free throws with 12 seconds left did have MKE ahead, 70-66. YSU converted a three-point play and, after a 1-of-2 showing from the free throw line, went the length of the court for the game-winner.
 
The Panthers led by as many as 10 points on a pair of occasions in the first half, but went cold to allow YSU back into the game. The team started well again, making four of its first five shots in grabbing an early 8-2 lead. The Penguins closed the gap, with a dunk by Wil Sessoms making it 14-9 at the 13:21 mark.
 
Back to a one-possession contest at 14-12, Milwaukee ripped off an 11-3 scoring run that seemed to give it control. Jake Wright connected on a long three to make it 17-12 and Roy went coast-to-coast to build the lead to 23-15 at the 9:02 mark, forcing a timeout by the home team.
 
Roy hit again to make it 10 for the first time at 25-15 and it was again at 27-17. From there, the Penguins had an answer, limiting MKE to just five points the final nine-plus minutes after the Panthers were hitting at 60 percent for most of the period.
 
In the end, the pushback reached 10-1, with YSU drawing back within a point at the break at 28-27. Milwaukee did hold the opposition to 30.3 percent (10-of-33) shooting in the opening 20 minutes.
 
Up next, the Panthers close out the five-game road trip at Cleveland State Saturday. The matinee against the Vikings tips off at 2 p.m. CST.