They’d built leads of 18 in the first half and 14 at halftime, and they were still in front, 72-61, on a drive by Solomon Callaghan with 7:12 left.
But after being unflappable for most of the night against an opponent that has caused them consistent aggravation over the years, the Raiders wobbled at the end.
The Penguins went on a 7-2 run in the final 50 seconds and pulled it out on Juwan Maxey’s 3 with three seconds left. They’ve won six straight in the series and 10 of the last 12.
“You’re searching when you’re facing a group of men that have been through what they’ve been through, and they keep swinging, but somehow we keep coming up a little bit short,” coach Clint Sargent said on his post-game radio show.
“This is as hard as it gets in terms of basketball in Division I sports. We’ll continue to take this, and my encouragement to them is, ‘Let’s learn as men, as God has us in this season of life, how to fail well and fail together — if this is the result we need to have. Stay together, keep trusting each other.’”
Callaghan made one of two free throws with 1:14 left, giving the Raiders an 84-81 edge.
YSU’s Ty Harper scored on a drive to make it 84-83 with 50 seconds to go.
The Penguins’ Cris Carroll caused Keaton Norris to lose the ball out of bounds — the refs initially gave the possession to the Raiders but overturned it on review — and EJ Farmer scored inside with 19 seconds left to give the Penguins an 85-84 lead.
But Norris hit a pull-up jumper with 11 seconds to go for an 86-85 lead.
One defensive stop from an impressive road win, the Raiders couldn’t get it.
Maxey was left open, and he hit the dagger from beyond the arc.
Alex Huibregtse couldn’t connect on a half-court shot on the final possession.
Youngstown State (14-9, 8-4) never led until the final minute.
In addition to its six losses by four points or fewer, Wright State (11-12, 5-7) also has a seven-point double overtime defeat against Purdue Fort Wayne.
“We need to make some breaks happen. We can’t get that timely call — they changed the call at the end (to give the Penguins the ball),” Sargent said.
“Again, these are great opportunities for our staff and young men to stay principled, to stay near them and help them grow through this. They’re devastated. … To come up short again, it’s just hard to reason and find the logic behind it.”
Brandon Noel had 23 points and 12 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the year after getting nine last season.
Norris had 17 points and six assists, while Jack Doumbia had 14 points and Huibregtse 12.
The Raiders made 32 of 57 shots (56.1%) and finished 11 of 27 on 3′s after making 9 of 17 in the first half.
SUNDAY’S GAME
Robert Morris at Wright State, 2 p.m., ESPN+, 101.5, 1410
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