Staff photo / Neel Madhavan. YSU forward Nico Galette finishes at the rim against Toledo on Saturday at the Beeghly Center.

YOUNGSTOWN — It’s been Youngstown State’s MO in several games this season.

The Penguins would maintain a lead, but the opposing team would rally back, only for YSU to respond in kind. On Saturday afternoon, it happened again.

YSU built up a double-digit lead against Toledo, but the Rockets rallied with a big run in the second half. Facing a tie game in the final minutes, YSU closed things out on both ends of the floor to hold on for a 93-87 victory over the Rockets for its first win over the in-state foe since 2010.

“I told our guys, I was probably most proud of how we responded,” head coach Ethan Faulkner said.

“Coach Faulkner just told us to relax, live in the moment and take it play by play,” added EJ Farmer, who finished with 20 points to lead the Penguins. “Pretty much with him, he just told us to chill and we were ready to go from there.”

After YSU had gotten its lead up to 11 in the first few minutes of the second half, Toledo roared back into it with a 13-0 run to tie things up and then take its first lead since the opening minute of the game.

During that stretch, the Penguins were scoreless for almost five minutes. It was all part of an 18-4 run by the Rockets over a six-minute stretch.

With 4:09 to go and the game tied 76-76, YSU had one last dash effort left to close things out.

After a pair of three throws from Juwan Maxey, Nico Galette grabbed a defensive rebound and took off in transition. He sprinted up the middle of the floor and found Cris Carroll in the left corner, who drained a key three-pointer.

“Monster play. His versatility — falls right in the mold of the other guys that we’ve had in our system,” Faulkner said of Galette. “We want to recruit versatility from the forward position, guys that can transport the ball in transition, guys that can play on the perimeter and take advantage of mismatches in the post. He fits right in that mold.”

Galette then got a steal at the top of the key and took it down the floor for a fast-break dunk that stretched the Penguins’ lead back to seven. He did a little bit of everything for YSU, posting a near triple-double with 17 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.

“We talk about — you’ve gotta be able to read the game in the ball screen, you’ve gotta be able to read the game below the free-throw line,” Faulkner said. “Where Nico is making great strides is being able to read that thing below the free-throw line when he beats a defender or when he’s playing in advantage situations, just letting the defense tell him what to do. … He’s playing really good basketball right now.”

The Rockets wouldn’t go away, though. Even though YSU kept its lead, Toledo kept making baskets to stay within reach.

Carroll made a pair of free throws with 48.7 seconds left to make it a two-possession game, but Toledo’s Seth Hubbard quickly scored a driving layup. After the inbound, the Rockets fouled Jason Nelson and sent him to the free-throw line.

Nelson made the first, but missed the second. However, Gabe Dynes grabbed the offensive rebound and immediately slammed home a dunk to give YSU a six-point lead, just about sealing the deal for the Penguins with under 30 seconds to go.

“It’s why I play basketball. I love it,” Dynes said. “There’s nothing better than to be someone who can help your team win, especially in a moment like that.”

YSU’s efficiency on the offensive end made up for a down defensive performance against a skilled, high-scoring Rockets squad.

Five Penguins scored in double figures. Led by Farmer’s 20 points and Galette’s 17, Maxey added 16 points, Nelson finished with 13 and Dynes had 12. YSU shot 49.2% overall from the floor, while also hitting 12 threes against the Rockets.

“We’re playing with a lot of confidence, and that’s what we want,” Faulkner said. “We want guys playing with freedom and confidence, obviously playing within our system and concepts.”

The Penguins will now return to conference play on Wednesday with a trip to Wright State at 7 p.m.

“I told our guys in the locker room, we weren’t our best defensively tonight, but we were much better offensively,” Faulkner said. “We can’t continue to hang our hat on scoring 93 points every night. … We’ve gotta get back to our grittiness, our griminess, and rebounding the basketball is going to be important for us to be able to go down on the road to Dayton and get that win.”

Staff photo / Neel Madhavan. YSU’s Gabe Dynes goes up for a layup against Toledo on Saturday at the Beeghly Center. Dynes finishes with a career-high nine blocks against the Rockets, the third-most in a game in program history.

DYNES’ BLOCK PARTY

While Dynes’ offensive contributions were notable, he was even more valuable on the defensive end of the floor for the Penguins on Saturday.

The 7-foot-3 Dynes finished with a career-high nine blocks against the Rockets, the third most in a single game in program history.

“Obviously that’s a big part of my game, being my size,” Dynes said. “I really can’t do anything without my teammates’ help. It’s actually just them funnelling their guys to me so I can go block a shot, or me getting the ball fed to me in the post. … I just do what I’m supposed to do on defense and play my role.”

Dynes has been a pivotal part of YSU’s team defensive success this season.

“I think we’ve got guys that are very willing to defend,” Faulkner said. “I think we’re connected on that end of the floor. I think we do an incredible job of taking away the three-point line, and when you do that, and you’ve got Gabe back there that blocks nine shots, you’ve got a chance to be pretty good defensively.”

Staff photo / Neel Madhavan. YSU’s EJ Farmer shoots a jumper against Toledo on Saturday at the Beeghly Center. Farmer finished with a team-high 20 points.

FARMER REUNITES WITH ROCKETS

A Cleveland native, Farmer spent the first two seasons of his college career at Toledo.

While only two players on the Rockets’ roster are still there from Farmer’s time with the program, Saturday’s game gave him a win over his former coach, Tod Kowalczyk, and a pair of his former teammates.

“There was a little bit of trash talk from beginning to end. But to my guys though, nothing but love,” Farmer said with a smile. “It was a pretty amazing experience. Not too many people get to play the team they transferred from. So it was a great experience, for sure, and happy to get the win.”

Finishing with 20 points on 8-for-15 shooting, it was the fourth time in the last five games that Farmer shot over 50% from the floor.

“I’m just pretty confident right now in my play,” Farmer said. “It’s just, everything I shoot right now, I feel like it’s going in.”