Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes. YSU's Nico Galette reacts to a made second half three-pointer on Thursday night against Purdue Fort Wayne. He scored 22 points to help guide the Penguins past the Mastodons 72-67 in the Horizon League tournament.

YOUNGSTOWN — For most of the first half on Thursday night, Youngstown State couldn’t buy a basket, especially from beyond the arc.

As a result, the Penguins needed their defense to carry them in their Horizon League tournament quarterfinal matchup against Purdue Fort Wayne.

YSU held a high-scoring Mastodons team to 37.1% shooting and survived a scare late in the second half to hold off Purdue Fort Wayne 72-67 at Zidian Family Arena.

“I thought the two things in the first half that kept us in the game was our offensive rebounding and our ability to guard them,” head coach Ethan Faulkner said. “I thought that was a critical component to keeping us in the game when offensively we weren’t playing very well in the first half. A lot of times, when it gets to this moment, and there’s so much on the line, you’re just pressing.

“We made some good adjustments at halftime, and our guys really went out and executed much better in the second half.”

In his first season as head coach, Faulkner has helped the Penguins advance to the Horizon League tournament semifinals in Indianapolis for the third time in program history.

The win was YSU’s 20th of the season, which marks the first time in program history that the Penguins have posted three consecutive 20-win seasons.

“It’s special for me, and it’s special for our group,” Faulkner said. “I told our guys, you’re fighting for one more game, you’re fighting for one more practice, fighting to be together for one more week. I thought we competed at a really high level, and this is the time of year where you’re going to take everybody’s best shot, and they’re going to take our best shot.”

It took YSU three minutes to make its first basket, and the Penguins had managed to score just three points over the first seven minutes.

Even though YSU started 0-for-17 from three, the Penguins’ defense kept the Mastodons close. YSU went on a 10-1 run during the latter stages of the first half to get itself back in it as the two teams went into halftime tied 26-26.

“We pride ourselves on how we play on the defensive side of the ball,” fifth-year Nico Galette said. “Us going into the half tied 26-26 in a low-scoring game, that means we were getting stops, so we weren’t upset with that.”

The Penguins felt slighted by how the Horizon League awards shook out on Monday, and carried a chip on their shoulder coming into Thursday’s game, especially Galette.

Despite YSU’s slow start, he carried the Penguins’ offense into the second half, finishing with his eighth double-double of the season with 22 points and 10 rebounds.

“It’s definitely a blessing to be recognized,” Galette said. “But we definitely, a couple of us, felt shorted in that aspect. We came into this game knowing that we had a chip on our shoulder with (PFW) having two First-Team guys and we didn’t have a Third-Team All League guy (EJ Farmer) playing. So we definitely had that chip on our shoulder to make sure to know the league and whoever’s watching, we’re here.”

Following Galette’s start, fellow fifth-year Ty Harper came alive in the second half, scoring 16 of his 20 points after halftime. At one point during a three or four minute stretch, Harper scored 11 straight points for the Penguins.

“I was just staying aggressive,” Harper said. “I feel like in the (second) half, I really came out trying to just put pressure on the defense and not settle for threes a lot. That really opened up everything else for me. So then, sticking with the process, staying the course and just believing in my teammates because my teammates believed in me.”

After YSU had grown its lead to its largest of the game (15) with four minutes left, things started getting nervy for the Penguins, as PFW made one last effort to save its season.

The Mastodons started pressing and trapping, and in the blink of an eye, YSU’s lead had shrunk all the way to six as Purdue Fort Wayne went on a 9-0 run.

The Penguins didn’t make a single field goal over the final five minutes, so they had to rely on free throws and their defense to close things out.

The Mastodons cut the lead all the way to one with about eight seconds left, but Cris Carroll made four straight free throws to seal the deal for the Penguins.

“We threw the ball to them more than we threw it to ourselves the last three or four minutes. Then obviously they were fouling, so they weren’t really giving us a chance to make field goals late in the game,” Faulkner said. “We gotta handle that better. We didn’t handle the pressure at the end of the game well, and it’s on us to make sure that we get them ready to go for the next time.”

Now, YSU will face Cleveland State on Monday night at 9:30 p.m. in the Horizon League semifinals at Corteva Coliseum in Indianapolis. The Vikings defeated Northern Kentucky 68-63 on Thursday in their semifinal.