Things were so fierce that one of the three officials was popped on the bridge of the nose with 2:04 left in the first half. Youngstown State coach Jerrod Calhoun put his arm around the official to see if he was OK after the official went to one knee and play was stopped briefly. The official was fine, as were the Penguins in a 70-64 win over Illinois-Chicago, the Penguins’ first win in Chicago since 2016.

“It was kind of a bam, bam play,” said Calhoun, whose team has won four of its last five games. “I was directing with my left hand and he went running up the sidelines and got nailed in the nose. I felt terrible. He joked about it a bunch. He said it happens more than you think.”

The Penguins (9-6, 2-0 Horizon League) are the only team in the league to win two straight road games to start conference play.

“I’m so proud of my guys,” Calhoun said. “Our guys played with a little bit of a chip on their shoulder. We haven’t had much success in Chicago.

Staff photo / John Vargo YSU’s Naz Bohannon looks to shoot as UIC’s Braelen Bridges defends.

“We had a lot of guys who chipped in. Our city should be really proud. They’re really starting to reflect the city of Youngstown. When you can get up two games on the road, this is going to pay dividends down the stretch, because it’s hard to win on the road.”

YSU was led by arguably the best post player in the league in 6-foot-6 junior Naz Bohannon, who had 12 points and 12 rebounds, his third double-double this season.

“We knew it was going to be physical before we got here,” Bohannon said. “We locked in. Double-double feels good. This is something we talked about. I told my guys this is what I’ve got to do to help us win.”

Defensively, YSU is one of the best in the Horizon, and held a UIC team which makes around eight 3-pointers a game to 4 of 14 shooting from behind the arc. Godwin Boahen, who led the Flames with 15 points, made a 3 with about 3 minutes left, as the Flames (6-9, 1-1) cut the Penguins’ lead to 59-53.

“That was our emphasis,” Calhoun said. “Let’s limit their transition. Let’s make sure they see two with the pick-and-roll coverage. Let’s contest every shot out there and really do a good job contesting. We held them to four 3s. That’s hard to do against this team. I’m really, really proud of my guys.”

The Flames cut the lead to 60-55 on a lay-up by Michael Diggins with 2:13 left, but that’s all the closer UIC got to a surging YSU team.

YSU’s Darius Quisenberry, who led the Penguins with 20 points, had one of 11 steals with 4:42 left as he swiped the ball from UIC’s Marcus Ottey and finished the lay-up on the other end for a 57-48 lead.

Donel Cathcart had two straight drives with less than 17 minutes left as YSU led 35-28. He gave up shooting the 3 and drove, as YSU did many times Monday. YSU led in points in the paint, 34-30. Cathcart had eight points.

YSU started to pull away with an 11-4 run to start the second half, capped by Bohannon’s drive with 14:45 left for a 42-30 lead. YSU led 31-26 at the half.

“I told the fellas at halftime we’re here because of our identity, defense,” Bohannon said. “We always talk about winning the first four minutes and the last four minutes. We came out and punched them in the mouth because we locked up and do what we do best.”

Michael Akuchie added 10 points for YSU.

In the first half, YSU’s high-flying sophomore guard Jelani Simmons had a one-handed slam off the break to give the Penguins a 15-11 lead.

The Penguins had more rough play Monday as Devin Morgan used all of his 5-foot-10 frame to smother a loose basketball with 8:41 left before intermission. He quickly called timeout with YSU ahead 19-18. Morgan got up, wiping his eyes after the melee for the ball. Bohannon, a rugged force inside for the Penguins, even got up slowly from that skirmish to gain possession before he signaled that he was OK.

YSU even forced a shot-clock violation on the Flames with 6:52 left in the first 20 minutes as the Penguins’ defense continued to dominate a UIC team that has given YSU fits over the years.

It was part of 3-minute scoring drought in which neither team scored. Christian Bentley, who finished with six points, made it 19-18 YSU with about 9 minutes left in the half. He scored again at the 6-minute mark of the first half for a 21-18 lead.

Bohannon had a tip-in of a Cathcart missed 3 with 4:20 left in the first half as YSU led 25-20. The Penguins had a 20-16 rebounding advantage with eight offensive rebounds.

Simmons continued his aerial tactics with 3:25 left as he banked one high off the backboard for a 29-20 lead off a UIC turnover.

Quisenberry drove with 2:52 left and drew a blocking foul one UIC’s Godwin Boahen. Quisenberry, who led YSU with seven points at the half, got up and looked as if he was favoring his elbow. Then, he was shaking his right hand. He was an uncharacteristic 0-of-2 from the foul line.

Incidentally, YSU didn’t attempt a free throw until the 4 minute mark. Quisenberry made two free throws at that point.

On Saturday, the Penguins conclude a three-game stretch on the road at Cleveland State. The game begins at 3 p.m.