Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes. YSU's Brett Thompson drives and scores during the second half against Robert Morris on Wednesday at the Beeghly Center.

YOUNGSTOWN — In the wake of Youngstown State’s gut-wrenching loss to Green Bay on Saturday, Penguins coach Jerrod Calhoun was curious to see how his experienced, veteran group would respond.

After a day off to begin the week, YSU returned to practice, and Calhoun wasn’t thrilled with what he saw. But, nothing helps turn the page on a loss better than a win.

YSU shook off a slow start on Wednesday and weathered the storm from Robert Morris, before finally putting away the Colonials for an 87-77 victory.

“(Green Bay) was a huge game, and we kind of let a lot of people down,” Calhoun said. “So I think to move on and get a win in this one, is what this group needed.”

In the early going, with most of the Penguins struggling to find their offense, they turned to two of their oldest, most experienced players.

Brett Thompson and DJ Burns carried the scoring load early on for YSU, combining for 28 of YSU’s 37 first-half points.

“We had a couple of slip ups, we did a couple things wrong, but for the most part everybody played well,” Burns said. “I know a couple of guys that wished they would have played better and that will play better. But we stepped up, understanding what was going on at that time and really accepting the challenge of just being a key scorer. But credit to (other players) because without them none of that stuff would have been open for me and (Thompson).”

Thompson ended up finishing with 27 points to lead the Penguins, while Burns added 24 points and 17 rebounds for his ninth straight double-double.

“It’s really about defense and toughness, and I give our guys a lot of credit,” Calhoun said. “We outrebounded them by 12 — DJ Burns is one of the best rebounders in the country. Say what you want, the kid goes and gets every rebound. He’s top five in the country in double-doubles. To have a guy like that, he puts so much pressure on the D — he does every time. He’s one of the best rebounders I’ve seen.”

Thompson left the game early in the final minutes after hitting the floor hard driving to the basket, but Calhoun said afterwards that Thompson was “OK” and was receiving treatment from the trainers in the locker room.

Each time YSU tried to put some distance between it and the Colonials, Robert Morris did just enough to hang around.

The Penguins got their lead up to 10 in the first few minutes of the second half, but the three-ball helped RMU climb its way back. The Colonials hit 10 threes against the Penguins, with nine of them coming from Josh Corbin and Justice Williams.

“I thought Coach (Andrew) Toole did a nice job of mixing in his 1-3-1. We knew they were going to do that,” Calhoun said. “They played man-to-man and they played 1-3-1, but he played more (zone) tonight than against other teams.”

At the 11:33 mark in the second half, Robert Morris took its first lead since the opening minutes. But from there, YSU would go on a 13-0 run to retake a lead it would not relinquish.

“I thought we did a much better job of guarding and getting out and running,” Calhoun said. “Coach Toole was going to that 1-3-1, so it can get you stagnant. We got good looks. Sometimes people don’t think we’re running offense, but my offense against the 1-3-1 is free flowing. We either ball screen it or we match, where we literally come down and match what they’re doing and we should have two-on-ones.”

Ziggy Reid was a key part of that run. After Thompson and Burns carried YSU early offensively, Reid picked things up for the Penguins in the second half.

After having four points at halftime, Reid scored 16 in the second half to finish with 20 on the night.

“We were just trying to find a rhythm early in the game. Luckily DJ and BT were good for us scoring,” Reid said. “I think we just figured it out, being seniors and old enough, we knew in the second half we had to pick it up. I knew for me, especially — I was telling myself that I gotta pick it up. I knew I started slow, the team started slow, but we ended up picking it back up on both ends of the floor.”

With its three-game homestand in the rearview mirror, the Penguins now begin a three-game road trip Saturday at Cleveland State at 3 p.m.

“Now it’s life on the road. We have three straight road games,” Calhoun said. “This league is very unbalanced. Not too many leagues in America where you play three straight road games. So we gotta be mentally tough. Cleveland State’s a really good team, and we gotta be ready to go.”

nmadhavan@tribtoday.com