TJ Burch scored a career-high 24 points with seven assists and four steals, and Kellen Pickett had 18 points and a game-high nine rebounds to lead the Raiders to a 93-83 victory Thursday before 4,724 fans on Military Appreciation Night.
Dom Pangonis pumped in 17 points, and Solomon Callaghan had 11 of his 15 points in the second half.
The Raiders have won seven straight games and are 12-7 overall and in first at 7-1 in the Horizon League.
It’s their best HL start since going 9-1 in 2019-20 and their longest winning streak since also notching seven in a row in 2021-22.
YSU took a 43-42 halftime lead, and Sargent said of his message to the team: “It was a blunt halftime of, ‘This is not who we are. It’s not even close to who we are.’
“Some of that is subtle, and it wasn’t X’s and O’s. Obviously, we weren’t doing a good job defensively. But it was just a challenge of, ‘Everybody in the room take responsibility for whatever just happened. Own it. And let’s respond and move on.’”
Leading scorer Michael Cooper returned from a four-game absence (four points in 15 minutes), but second-leading scorer Michael Imariagbe was sidelined with a leg injury.
Still trailing by one early in the second half, the Raiders ripped off seven straight points — Callaghan’s 3 and inside buckets by Pickett and Burch — to take a 55-49 lead.
YSU (9-10, 2-6) closed to within 69-67, but Burch made two free throws and then had a steal and assist to Pangonis to push the margin back to comfy zone.
Credit: Bryant Billing
“They got us the first time (69-68 on Dec. 3). That loss was big for us. It hurt us a little bit, and we’ve been real fired up for this game,” Burch said.
“We had this game — not circled, because we take the same approach every time — but we didn’t come out in the first half like we wanted to. The coach talked to us at halftime, and we came out like we wanted to after that,” Pickett said.
The Raiders went into the season with a 50-21 series lead against YSU, racking up more wins against the Penguins than any other foe.
The victory tally, though, hasn’t moved much in recent years. They’d lost seven straight and 10 of the previous 12 games.
“I’m proud of how we responded in that second half. I didn’t think we were connected in the first half. I thought we were irritated and frustrated. I’m proud of the resiliency of the team,” Sargent said.
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
Centerville grad Rich Rolf, who hit the game-winning free throws for YSU in the first meeting, had five points in his homecoming.
Next game
Who: Cleveland State at Wright State
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 1410-AM, 101.5-FM
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