Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes Youngstown State forward Michael Akuchie (31) battle for a rebound with Robert Morris' Rasheem Dunn (3). Akuchie finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds as YSU toppled the Colonials, 64-60.

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — It was far from Youngstown State’s best effort. In fact, the Penguins were fortunate to come away with a win at all.

But with a critical 9-0 run late in the second half, YSU overcame a season-high 26 turnovers to top Robert Morris 64-60 in Horizon League play at the UPMC Events Center on Wednesday night and earn a much-needed road win. It was YSU’s fourth consecutive victory over the Colonials and third straight at RMU.

“I’m a little bit shocked. I’ve never been a part of a basketball game where my team turned it over 26 times and won,” YSU coach Jerrod Calhoun said. “Usually when you’re on the road, you have to value the ball, defend and rebound. We did two out of three.”

Indeed, the Penguins outrebounded RMU 49-24, and though the Colonials (2-11, 0-4) shot 23-of-57 (40.4 percent) from the field, they were just 2-for-20 from 3-point range.

Initially, it appeared YSU was set to cruise, as the Penguins took an early 15-6 lead with 13:58 to play in the first half. From there, however, the turnovers began piling up, allowing the Colonials to stay in the mix until the Penguins’ decisive 9-0 spurt late in the second half.

That run spanned from the 6:56 mark until 4:15 remained, and was pieced together by a pair of Tevin Olison 3-pointers and a free throw and second-chance bucket from Jamir Thomas. It gave YSU a 56-49 advantage, which it didn’t relinquish the rest of the way.

Olison finished with 15 points and six rebounds, while those were the only three points for Thomas on the night, the forward did grab seven boards. Michael Akuchie, meanwhile, tallied a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds. He stands at 982 career points.

“Relief, glad we got that over with, and I’m especially glad we didn’t go into overtime,” Akuchie said of the win. “It was ugly, but we’ll take it. We’ll take the win.”

Ugly, indeed. YSU’s 26 turnovers came in a variety of ways, but most often on intercepted passes in the lane and in transition. Calhoun said he felt his players were too sped up early on, and it avalanched from there. The previous season high was 20 at West Virginia.

Thankfully for the Penguins, Robert Morris didn’t capitalize. The Colonials scored just 18 points off of all those takeaways.

“To give away that many possessions, we put so much pressure on our defense,” Calhoun said. “But our defense delivered, our defense and rebounding. We outrebounded them by 25. That’s hard to do; that’s determination.”

YSU also had trouble finishing in the paint, shooting just 19-of-56 from the field overall. The Penguins were outscored down low 36-14. However, that was made up for with a 10-of-25 night from 3-point range and 19 second-chance points from 18 offensive rebounds.

Four of those triples came from Olison, while Chris Shelton sank three in the first half to finish the night with nine points. He also grabbed four rebounds.

“Chris Shelton was kind of the unsung hero, and Tevin and Mike were really good. They’re fifth-year seniors, and they delivered. They stepped up on the road,” said Calhoun, who also had praise for Thomas and Luke Chicone (2 points, 4 rebounds).

Does the sloppy win serve as a wake-up call?

“For sure,” Akuchie said. “We know we have to take care of the ball better. That’s something we have to put a major emphasis on going into these next couple games this week, just focusing on it.”

Finally done with their four-game road trip — which was supposed to be a five-game swing before the Detroit Mercy cancellation — to begin Horizon League play, the Penguins return home Friday night to host Purdue Fort Wayne and begin a four-game homestand.

At 3-1 in league play for the second time in three years, Calhoun said he likes where his team stands, but the Penguins know things have to improve.

“We have to play much, much better this weekend,” Calhoun admitted. “The guys know it. But we’re 3-1, and we’ve played four road games, so now we get a chance to play at home. We have to be ready to roll.”

jwhetzel@tribtoday.com