Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes. YSU forward Ziggy Reid celebrates in the aftermath of the Penguins' 81-71 win over Wright State on Friday night.

YOUNGSTOWN — No one in the country is better at making shots than Wright State, but Youngstown State showed that when it gets going, it’s hard to stop.

Despite falling behind by nine with about 9:32 to go, the Penguins put together one of their best stretches of the season. Behind a roaring crowd, YSU rode the wave of a massive second half surge to an 81-71 victory over the Raiders on Friday night in front of a national television audience on ESPN2 at the Beeghly Center.

“Basketball is all about momentum,” head coach Jerrod Calhoun said. “Programs are all about momentum. You have to have the ability to grab momentum. We grabbed momentum after year two and we just kept building and building, and now I think we’re a top-three (atmosphere in the Horizon League). … I put our venue up against anybody, I really do. Tonight was a home-court advantage. Hopefully people nationwide see what our program is about.”

Wright State leads the country in field goal percentage, shooting 54.1% this season, and had eclipsed 100 points in each of its last two games.

So the Penguins needed one of their best defensive performances of the season to contain the Raiders. It wasn’t perfect, but YSU held Wright State to its lowest scoring total since Dec. 2, when it scored 73 in a loss to Davidson.

“You have to credit (assistant coaches) Mantoris Robinson, Ben Asher and Danny Reese,” Calhoun said. “I’ve got a really good staff — we’re very in-tune with one another. We know each other really well, and there’s great continuity. Danny was doing all the matchups, calling out the actions. They did a masterful job. … A lot of coaching is just getting your guys to believe and motivating your guys, and I thought our staff did a good job of that in the last 24 hours. You’re only as good as your players are.”

The Raiders showed their scoring prowess early, hitting each of their first five shots, as well as their first three shots from beyond the arc.

Conversely, the Penguins struggled to match WSU’s shotmaking to start the half, shooting just 31.3% from the floor during the period.

But, as the Raiders stretched their lead to seven, YSU answered with a 10-0 run to retake the lead. The Penguins finally were able to force some misses and get some stops, as WSU went 0-for-10 during that stretch.

It was short lived, however, as the Penguins went scoreless over the next five minutes and went into halftime trailing Wright State by two.

YSU had limited the Raiders to 39.4% shooting in the first half, and despite a strong start to the second half that saw WSU make eight of its first 11 shots, YSU was able to lock down at around the nine minute mark.

Trailing 62-53, the Penguins came out of a timeout to score the game’s next 18 points. YSU got stops on the defensive end and made game-changing shots on the offensive end, and things just snowballed from there.

“It started off in the timeout — we realized we were down nine, and I told the guys, ‘C’mon man,'” Ziggy Reid said. “We needed to get stops first, then we were going to execute on offense. We know we’re capable of scoring, so I wasn’t too worried about the offense. We were just focused on defense. We know they’re a high-powered scoring team.”

Brett Thompson and Reid paced YSU with 20 points apiece, while DJ Burns had 12. But Gabe Dynes proved to be a gamechanger on the defensive end for the Penguins.

Dynes finished with six blocks, and at 7-foot-3, his ability to disrupt and affect shots in the paint was pivotal for YSU’s second half run.

“(Dynes) came in and impacted the game,” Thompson said. “Without him, I don’t think we could have got the stops on the defensive end. He’s altering shots and blocking shots and that’s really what’s helping us get in transition.”

Wright State’s trio of Trey Calvin, Tanner Holden and Brandon Noel have shown themselves to be one of the best cores in the Horizon League. Collectively, they average 51.3 points.

Calvin leads the conference in scoring at 19.5 points per game, and the Penguins are intimately familiar with his scoring ability after he dropped 44 on them in YSU’s 91-89 3OT victory over the Raiders last season.

Yet, the Penguins were able to limit the trio to below their scoring averages, holding them, collectively, to 31 total points.

“We just had to be tough,” Burns said. “We had to make the 50/50 plays and we had to make great plays and the players followed. They’re not the only good offensive team in the league, as you could see today. We were able to catch fire (in the second half). But that was just a reflection of this city. Youngstown is a great place and had a great atmosphere, and you saw us reflect that out there on the court hustling, fighting for every 50/50 ball and really trying to challenge them inside, which they’re very good at.”

After completing this three-game homestand with three straight wins, YSU now heads out on the road for three straight games. The Penguins will make the return visit to Oakland on Wednesday. Tip is at 7 p.m.

nmadhavan@tribtoday.com